The competition is heating up as we step closer to the conclusion of the National Premier Leagues Women’s NSW competition, with Round 23 delivering plenty of surprises to shake up the ladder.
Read on for our full breakdown of the weekend’s matches.
Match of the Round – Macarthur Rams v Sydney Olympic at Lynwood Park
The Macarthur Rams continued their fine run of form in the NPL Women’s NSW competition with another controlled and convincing victory, this time over Sydney Olympic at Lynwood Park, running away with a three-goal win.
They keep the pressure on league leaders APIA Leichhardt with the win, snapping at their heels and taking this Premiership race to the wire.
Kelli Brown opened the scoring in the first half before Darcey Malone and substitute Bronte Trew rounded off the scoring in the second half.
Northern Tigers 3-0 Blacktown Spartans at North Turramurra Recreation Area
The Northern Tigers proved to be too dominant on their home ground, taking out a 3-0 win over the Blacktown Spartans at North Turramurra Recreation Area.
Charlotte Mortlock got the Tigers on their way in the 33rd minute after making a smart run in behind the Spartans defence and tucking an assured strike into the back of the net to put the finishing touches on a brilliant through ball from Isabella Keech.
The Tigers then doubled their lead in the 70th minute after an exquisite interchange of passes opened up the opportunity for a squared finish that was initially saved by Anna Norton, with Lily McMahon stepping up to bury the loose ball to make it 2-0.
The final goal of the day was well-finished by Nicola Dominikovich, who rose highest after a free-kick was lobbed into the box and headed the ball over the outrushing Norton. 3-0 the final score.
APIA Leichhardt 2-1 NWS Spirit at Lambert Park
A consistent theme of this season has been APIA Leichhardt’s tendency to procure late winners, and the league leaders triumphed yet again over the weekend with a late 2-1 result over NWS Spirit in a hard-fought battle at Lambert Park.
A loss to the Illawarra Stingrays last weekend left APIA with little breathing room at the top heading into Round 23, and a matchup against an in-form Spirit side will have had the home team trepidatious about falling away from the race for the premiership.
However, it was APIA who took an early lead when Kiara De Domizio blocked an attempted clearance by the Spirit defence and raced on the loose ball before unleashing an instinctive floating chip beyond Mio Nemoto and into the bottom left corner. 1-0 to APIA in the 3rd minute.
Spirit would push APIA throughout the match and would be rewarded for their efforts with an equaliser through Nikkita Fazzari, who turned her defender inside and out before cutting in and sneaking a lethal strike into the near past to beat Sally James in the APIA goal and to make it 1-1 in the 73rd minute.
The intensity of the match was elevated late on as the need for a goal became increasingly more urgent, however Natasha Prior stepped up in the 90th minute to follow up from Sophie Hoban’s initial blocked strike and fire a rocket of a finish from the same spot that slotted perfectly into the back of the net, giving APIA the three points in a game that required yet another late-winner for the home side.
Emerging Jets 0-4 Bulls FC Academy at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility
Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility played host as Bulls FC Academy earned a strong 4-0 win over the Emerging Jets on Sunday evening.
The Jets have experienced a resurgence late in the season, and have shown themselves to be far from pushovers throughout the season. The visitors arrived to this match in-form and gunning for the three points to put them in the running for a finals spot.
As has been the case throughout this campaign, Amber Luchtmeijer was on fire for the Bulls in this match and earned a quickfire brace with back-to-back goals in the 17th and 18th minute respectively.
The Bulls No. 20 notched her first goal via a confidently dispatched chip from distance after receiving an errant back pass from the Jets defence, and scored her second with a thumping strike that was well-earned after stealing the ball away from a Jets defender.
Luchtmeijer was again involved in a goal for her side, this time feigning a touch to allow a low cross to land at the feet of Gemma Ferris, who demonstrated total confidence in slamming her finish into the back of the net to give her side a 3-0 lead before half-time.
The second half saw Luchtmeijer complete her hattrick with a tidy finish after receiving a square ball from Avaani Prakash after the Bulls No. 7 eluded her defender with some tidy skill. 4-0 the final score.
Illawarra Stingrays 1-3 Football NSW Institute at Macedonia Park
The Illawarra Stingrays fell 3-1 to a plucky Football NSW Institute side in a surprise result at Macedonia Park.
A win over APIA Leichhardt in Round 22 would have had the Stingrays primed and ready for a match against visitors FNSW Institute, though they will have known to be weary coming up against a team who has proven to be competitive even if the season has not gone their way.
It was Institute who opened the scoring when Lillian Skelly received a quality through ball and proceeded to sidestep the outrushing Sophie Emery before knocking the ball into an empty net to make it 1-0 in the 8th minute.
A penalty gave the Stingrays a route back into the game, with Sienna Saveska stepping up to plant a ball to the left of Jasmine Black, who despite getting a hand to the ball was unable to deny the Stingrays No. 23 from scoring from the spot. 1-1 in the 17th minute.
Institute then wrestled the momentum back from the Stingrays to take the lead again in the 36th minute as a well-positioned Tiana Fuller tucked the ball in after Maria Tsavalias’ initial strike deflected into her path in front of goal. 2-1 to FNSW Institute in the 36th minute.
Skelly showed some fantastic attacking instincts to extend her side’s lead in the 39th minute, having received a brilliant through ball to cap off a dynamite run in behind the Stingrays defence and putting the ball in with assurance to earn a 3-1 win for her side.
Sydney University 2-2 UNSW at Sydney Uni Football Park
The two university sides in the NPL Women shared the spoils over the weekend as Sydney University drew 2-2 with UNSW at Sydney Uni Football Park.
With neither side in particularly positive form leading into this fixture, fans of Sydney Uni and UNSW will have expected an even game between two teams pushing to keep clear of relegation from the top tier.
The home team grabbed a hold of the lead in the 12th minute, with Talia Kapetanellis receiving a fantastic pass over the top before taking the ball in her stride and racing toward goal and unleashing a superb low strike into the far corner to give her side the lead. 1-0 to Sydney Uni.
Kapetanellis, an ever-reliable source of goals for Sydney Uni throughout this campaign, was quick to secure a brace for herself after Giuliana Nicholas successfully turned her defender and play an inspired pass that cut through the UNSW defence, leaving Kapetanellis with a chance to double her side’s lead with a strong hit that was initially saved by Tiahna Robertson, though the UNSW No. 1 could do little about the follow-up as Sydney Uni went ahead 2-0 in the 21st minute.
Despite going down 2-0, UNSW remained intent on getting back into the game and would find an avenue through Allira Toby, who touched down a pinpoint cross into the box from Talia Backhouse and rounded the keeper before quickly ushering the ball in to make it 2-1 in the 34th minute.
Backhouse then bundled in a goal of her own after Toby forced Hannah Callaghan to lose possession of the ball, leaving Backhouse with a small window of opportunity to see her strike past a wave of Sydney Uni defenders and in for 2-2.
Gladesville Ravens 1-2 Manly United at Christie Park
Despite taking an early lead, the Gladesville Ravens were unable to hold on as Manly United came from behind to win 2-1 at Christie Park.
Gladesville and Manly will have known the importance of this fixture heading into it, with both teams looking to keep in the running for a spot in the top four come the end of the regular season.
The Ravens would take the lead early on in the 6th minute after capitalising on a Manly mistake and seeing the ball out to Isabella Habuda, who drove toward the end of the pitch before crossing deep to the back post for Claudia Cholakian, who dispatched a classy finish into the ground that bounced beyond Jodie Drever and in for 1-0.
Manly wasted little time in finding a way back into the match as Tegan Biasi improvised her touch to bring down a ball that was played in behind to her before volleying a quality strike beyond Romina Parraguirre. 1-1 in the 15th minute.
With her side needing the winning goal to keep their finals hopes alive, Emily Minett latched onto a sublime through ball that evaded the Ravens defence and proceeded to drive forward and fire a quality long range strike into the top left corner, giving her side the win in the process.
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Words by Matthew Badrov
