The penultimate round of the National Premier Leagues Women’s NSW competition was always nailed on to deliver the drama as several sides fought for a spot in the top four.
Read on for the full breakdown of Round 25.
Match of the Round – Macarthur Rams v Bulls FC Academy at Lynwood Park
The Macarthur Rams put on a clinic in the second half as they defeated Bulls FC Academy 5-0 at Lynwood Park on Sunday night.
After a tense opening 45 minutes, it was all the home team in the second period, scoring five unanswered goals to set up a blockbuster clash next weekend against APIA Leichhardt at Lambert Park for the Premiership.
Bronte Trew opened the scoring in spectacular fashion, before Kelli Brown and India Breier both scored a brace each to round out the scoring.
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Northern Tigers 4-1 UNSW FC at North Turramurra Recreation Arena
A dominant performance saw the Northern Tigers overcoming UNSW FC 4-1 at North Turramurra Recreation Arena on Sunday afternoon.
The Tigers entered this fixture knowing that a win was essential to keep them in the running for a spot in the top four come the end of the regular season. By contrast, UNSW have staved off relegation and will focus on enjoying this matchup with the Tigers and on putting the building blocks in place for 2025.
The home side began the match on the offensive immediately and would quickly be rewarded for their attacking intent after Isabella Keech glided a superb free-kick in behind the UNSW defence that was directed in off the far post by captain Lily McMahon. 1-0 to the Tigers in the 4th minute.
McMahon would again step up for her side, scoring an assured penalty into the bottom right corner in the 22nd minute after Nicola Dominikovich was brought down in the box. 2-0 to the Tigers.
Dominikovich would again be involved in her side’s goalscoring exploits as she stormed down the right wing before firing a pass across goal that was unwittingly latched onto by Talia Backhouse, who scored an own goal in the process. 3-0 to the Tigers in the 31st minute.
UNSW found a way back into the match through Allira Toby, who showed her quality in planting a sensational free-kick over the Tigers wall to best Aimee Hall in the Tigers goal. 3-1 in the 55th minute.
An excellent bit of play down the right wing opened up an opportunity for Dominikovich to add her name to the score sheet, with the dynamic forward receiving a perfect squared ball before guiding her strike into the bottom left corner. 4-1 to the Tigers in the 57th minute.
The fourth goal was enough to extinguish any hope of a fightback from the visitors, and the Tigers enter the final round still with a chance of a finals spot but needing other results to go their way.
Football NSW Institute 3-2 Blacktown Spartans at Blacktown Football Park
Football NSW Institute and the Blacktown Spartans played out an end-to-end match at Blacktown Football Park on Sunday evening, with FNSW Institute coming back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 over the visitors.
A matchup between the similarly-positioned Spartans and FNSW Institute at this point in the season had the potential to be an entertaining affair, with both sides showing plenty of attacking flair throughout the season.
An even early period saw both sides generate opportunities with neither team willing to take a backward step, though the Spartans would strike first in the 14th minute following a terrific run by Alyssa Whinham which saw the Blacktown midfielder dancing through the Institute defence before lining up a speculative shot from a tough angle that was unwittingly turned in by Zanthe Juric for an own goal. 1-0 to the Spartans.
A mistake from FNSW Institute opened up an opportunity for the Spartans to make it 2-0, with Roukayah Al Fararjeh pouncing on an Institute back pass and bypassing goalkeeper Jasmine Black before firing an emphatic finish into the back of the net to double her side’s lead before the half-time break.
FNSW Institute knew they needed to start firing in the second half and would find a goal through Anita Zordan, who smashed in a loose ball at a corner to put her side back in the fight in the 64th minute.
The Institute bench had barely sat down by the time they scored their second of the day, with Zordan making an intelligent run to meet a cross at the near post before firing into the top left corner and giving herself a brace and her side the equaliser. 2-2 in the 65th minute.
Lauren Nada then completed the dramatic comeback for her side in the 67th minute, firing in from the centre of the goal after a ball was headed back into the mixer after the Spartans failed to clear from a corner. 3-2 the final score, with all of Institute’s goals incredibly arriving in succession.
Emerging Jets 1-3 APIA Leichhardt at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility
APIA Leichhardt put their loss in Round 24 behind them by overcoming a resurgent Emerging Jets side 3-1 at the Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility on Sunday night.
A visit to Christie Park last weekend saw the Jets prevail 4-3 over NWS Spirit in a rollercoaster clash, instilling confidence in a young side set to take on an APIA team battling for the Premiership in the penultimate round of the season. Significantly, APIA endured the complete opposite in Round 24 as they were upset by UNSW.
APIA got the scoring underway after a superb interchange of successive passes from defence to attack ended with Sophie Hoban holding off a Jets defender before calmly slotting the ball into the bottom left corner of the net. 1-0 to APIA in the 15th minute.
Former Jets star Brinley Gentle then doubled APIA’s lead in the 68th minute after successfully stealing the ball from the goalkeeper and calmly slotting it into the back of the net for 2-0.
APIA’s third of the day was a ruthless showcase of their quality going forward, with the side efficiently cutting through the Jets defence before Hoban finished off the chance with confidence. 3-0 in the 73rd minute.
The Jets did well to force an error from APIA in the 79th minute after a back pass proved too unexpected for the APIA defence, which allowed Josie Allan to leap on the opportunity to get her side back into the match with a well-taken strike into the far post. 3-1 the final score.
Sydney University 1-0 Manly United at Sydney Uni Football Ground
Sydney University held onto to a 1-0 lead to successfully defeat Manly United in a tense match at Sydney Uni Football Ground on Sunday.
Sydney Uni came into Round 25 unbeaten in their previous three matches, with the side finishing the season strongly. In contrast, Manly have experienced an up-and-down season and will have aimed to secure the victory here to give themselves any chance of playing finals football.
And it was Sydney Uni who took the lead in this match through Jaime Beaufils in the 13th minute, with the No. 8 striding forward to pick up the loose ball after Manly struggled to deal with an Amelia Kirby cross from the right wing, leaving Beaufils with the space to clean up and drive into the box before burying her strike underneath Jodie Drever. 1-0 to Sydney Uni.
The match then became a battle between a Sydney Uni side wanting to sustain their 1-0 lead and a Manly team desperate to push for the three points.
However, Sydney Uni remained resilient all the way through to the final stages of the match, as Manly threw a host of players forward in search of an equaliser that resulted in several attempts being blocked by Uni’s defenders and pushed away by goalkeeper Chelsea Hromek.
Illawarra Stingrays 1-1 NWS Spirit at Macedonia Park
The Illawarra Stingrays and NWS Spirit could not be separated in a closely-fought match at Macedonia Park, with the two sides sharing the spoils in a 1-1 draw.
Despite an unpredictable run of form, the Stingrays were still able to lock in a finals spot with victory over the Northern Tigers last time out. Heading into this match, Spirit ensured that the battle for fourth place remained open as they defeated Sydney Olympic 1-0 midweek and will be gunning for another three points here.
Although the first half saw the home side carve out a majority of chances, Spirit made it difficult for the Stingrays due to their sturdy defensive work which ensured that the two sides would enter the sheds at half-time with a goal to break the stalemate in the second period.
And it was Spirit who broke the deadlock in the 68th minute through Skye Halmarick, who found herself in luck when Stingrays goalkeeper Sophie Emery mishandled a Spirit through ball and allowed her to take the ball and bury it into an empty net for 1-0.
In a moment that was emblematic of the tone of match, the Stingrays notched a goal of their own immediately after Spirit took the lead when Caitlin Cooper hit a lethal first-time finish from outside the box, after some nifty work by Sakura Nojima opened up the opportunity for the Illawarra No. 15 to equalise for her side in the 69th minute. 1-1 the final score.
Gladesville Ravens 0-1 Sydney Olympic at Christie Park
Sydney Olympic bravely held onto a 1-0 lead in Sunday evening’s match with the Gladesville Ravens at Christie Park to keep themselves in the running for a spot in the top four heading into the final round of the season.
Like many teams around them, the Ravens headed into Round 25 fully focused on earning the three points to give themselves a chance of playing finals football. Olympic’s form of late (which included a midweek loss to NWS Spirit) will have left the Ravens wanting to take the opportunity to heap further misery on a side struggling to secure a win lately.
The two sides were well-matched in the first half, with chances limited as both teams demonstrated a desire to maintain control of the match.
However, Olympic would notch a pivotal goal on the stroke of half-time courtesy of Brianna Oliverio, who did brilliantly to bring down a lofted pass from Tara Baudana and beat the onrushing Renee Pourtney before planting the ball into the open net, with the captain’s strike sending a palpable relief throughout a squad who have found it tough of late to score goals. Olympic would then see out the duration of the match as 1-0 victors.
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Words by Matthew Badrov
