It all comes down to the final day of the season in the National Premier Leagues Women’s NSW competition with the Premiership up for grabs.
Match of the Round – APIA Leichhardt v Macarthur Rams
5:30pm, Sunday 25 August, Lambert Park
The Match of the Round we left for the final game of the regular season and what a match it promises to be between APIA Leichhardt and the Macarthur Rams.
It’s winner takes all here more or less, with a draw enough for the Rams to secure the Premiership.
It is the perfect way to end the season and the football gods could not have written a better script.
They have been by far the best two teams of the competition so far and rightfully have a one on one to decide the Premier.
APIA’s recent form has been a bit lopsided, allowing the Rams to take over the leaders mantle on the table.
Whereas Macarthur has been unstoppable in the last two months, scoring over 30 goals and conceding in only two games.
The home side will be without their top scorer Ash Crofts, while the Rams come into this one at just about full strength.
APIA won the earlier clash in he season 2-1, an excellent game of football, who will come out victorious this time and lift the Premiership?
Bulls FC Academy v Manly United
4:40pm, Sunday 25 August, Northbridge Oval
The first match of the final round takes place at Northbridge Oval as Bulls FC Academy host Manly United in a Northern Beaches derby.
Neither side can qualify for finals football after suffering defeats in their previous round.
A win for the Bulls here and they will jump Manly on the ladder and potentially finish as high as sixth on the ladder.
Manly started the season on fire and would like to finish on a high too and can also finish in sixth with a point.
Bulls won the previous fixture between the two by the odd goal, courtesy of veteran Jess Seaman.
Football NSW Institute v NWS Spirit FC
4:45pm, Sunday 25 August, Valentine Sports Park
At Valentine Sports Park, Football NSW Institute take on NWS Spirit on Sunday afternoon.
Football NSW Institute have found some form late, winning two of their last three games.
Tony Candy’s NWS Spirit side has been excellent this season, but fell just short of finals football and will want to finish the season with a victory.
It was a tight game between the two last time they met, Spirit winning 2-1, Talia Younis scoring the winner.
Sydney Olympic v Illawarra Stingrays
5pm, Sunday 25 August, Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
One of the big games of the round takes place at Netsrata Jubilee Stadium as Sydney Olympic take on the Illawarra Stingrays.
Another tough week for Olympic with a mid-week clash against Football NSW Institute where they confirmed their finals place.
The Stingrays are assured third spot with a draw against Olympic, while a loss could see them drop to fourth and facing the Premiers in week one of finals.
We will once again see the Stingrays playing finals football, something they have been waiting a while for.
When they clashed back in May, it was Priya Sciuriaga that scored the winner in a 1-0 Olympic win.
Emerging Jets v Gladesville Ravens
5pm, Sunday 25 August, Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility
At Lake Macquarie on Sunday evening, the Emerging Jets take on the Gladesville Ravens.
It’s been an excellent second half of the season for the Emerging Jets, picking up an excellent 18 of their 20 points in that period.
Signing off on a win would be a great to start preparing for 2025.
Expectations were high at the Gladesville Ravens in preseason but they will need to wait another year to play finals football.
They came close this season and could finish as high as sixth with a win here.
The Ravens won 6-0 the last time these two met.
Sydney University v Northern Tigers
5pm, Sunday 25 August, Sydney Uni Football Ground
A replay of the Sapphire Cup Final will see Sydney University host the Northern Tigers on Sunday night.
Uni’s season has been inconsistent and they haven’t been able to put a run of results together to throw them in the finals mix this season.
The Tigers have come good in recent weeks but unfortunately left their finals run too late to catch Sydney Olympic.
It won’t be an easy game, in particular considering both teams will need to back up from an emotionally charged Cup final won by the Tigers.
They couldn’t be separated earlier in the season, drawing 3-3 in an exciting match at North Turramurra.
UNSW v Blacktown Spartans
5pm, Sunday 25 August, The Village Green
At the Village Green, UNSW host the Blacktown Spartans on Sunday night.
This was meant to be a blockbuster and the decider to see which team would be relegated in the 2024 season.
Instead, UNSW secured their safety in the top tier a week ago and come into this game with no pressure.
As for the Spartans, it’s been a disappointing campaign where they haven’t got it together, they dreamt of surviving on the last day as they did last season but it wasn’t to be.
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By Nikola Pozder
