Round 8 Review – NPL Women’s NSW
National Premier Leagues Women’s NSW fans were treated to a blockbuster Round 8, with matches across the weekend enduring challenging weather conditions and still producing plenty of action.
Find out which side’s unbeaten streak came to an end in our wrap-up of an exciting long weekend of football.
Match of the Round – Macarthur Rams 1-2 Mt Druitt Town Rangers at Lynwood Park
The Mt Druitt Town Rangers remained on top of the National Premier Leagues Women’s NSW competition with a hard fought 2-1 win over a brave Macarthur Rams on Sunday night at Lynwood Park.
It took a stoppage time winner from former Rams legend Leena Khamis to secure the points, after Phoebe Gordon had cancelled out Rangers’ first half goal from Rita Boateng.
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NWS Spirit 5-1 Sydney Olympic at Christie Park
Sydney Olympic were no match for NWS Spirit in Saturday afternoon’s matchup at Christie Park, as the home side came away with a 5-1 victory.
Patchy form heading into Round 8 has kept Spirit away from the tight battle taking place at the top of the ladder, however the side possesses the quality to cause problems for their opposition. Similarly, Olympic have been one of the stronger sides in the NPL Women’s competition in recent years and will be desperate to get the three points here to push themselves off the root of the ladder.
Spirit’s resident set-piece specialist Skye Halmarick opened the scoring for her side in the 34th minute by placing a superb free-kick into the right side of the net, far from the reach of Olympic goalkeeper Brianna Clarke who was well-beaten. 1-0 to Spirit.
Halmarick secured a brace for herself in the 40th minute after receiving a square ball in the box and chipping her strike onto the crossbar, and then following that up by collecting the rebound and calmly slotting it into the bottom corner. 2-0 to the home side.
Kayla Osborn got her side off to a flyer in the second half after bypassing the Olympic defence to tap the ball past Clarke and give Spirit a 3-0 lead in the 46th minute.
A wonderful goal courtesy of Chloe Gordon gave Olympic a brief avenue back into the match, as she picked up a wayward pass out of the Spirit defence to hit a magnificent, first-time curling strike from range that eclipsed Grace Smith and nestled into the back of the net. 3-1 in the 51st minute.
Olympic’s high would be short-lived however, as Spirit cut through the side with ease after intercepting a pass out of the visitors’ backline and building the ball all the way through to Siena Hawkins, who made no mistake in dispatching her finish to make it 4-1 in the 54th minute.
A sensational cross from Ariana Stoltzfus was met by an even better header from Halmarick in the 78th minute, with the Spirit No. 9 putting the ball away strongly and earning herself a perfect hattrick in the process. Spirit would then see out the match as 5-1 winners.
Northern Tigers 5-1 Illawarra Stingrays at North Turramurra Recreation Area
The Northern Tigers triumphed 5-1 over the Illawarra Stingrays on a rain-soaked Saturday evening at the North Turramurra Recreation Area.
Fans of both the Tigers and the Stingrays would have been anticipating an entertaining clash on Saturday evening, as two sides unbeaten prior to Round 8 were to be pitted against one another. Both teams entered this fixture in near identical form, with the Stingrays ahead of the Tigers on the ladder by two points.
Despite the heavy conditions, the Tigers were relentless from the get go, and would cause the Stingrays plenty of trouble as a result. This would then lead to their opening goal in the 13th minute as they took advantage of the Stingrays’ struggles in clearing the ball to eventually setup Nicola Dominikovich for a simple tap in to make it 1-0.
A few minutes went by and Olivia Cartwright matched the weather by bringing the thunder early and rocketing her strike into the top right corner from a fair distance outside of the 18-yard box. The Tigers lead 2-0 in the 17th minute.
Saffron Grass then pounced on an errant Stingrays pass in midfield before shimmying and striding past her defenders to unleash a decent strike from range that goalkeeper Sophie Emery lost control of and saw roll over the line and in for 3-0 in the 35th minute.
Barely a minute into the second half and the Stingrays began a real attempt at mounting a comeback as Alexia Karrys-Stahl fired a quality cross in from a set-piece that Poppie Hooks leapt onto and put away to make it 3-1 in the 46th minute.
Unfortunately for the Stingrays, the Tigers remained determined to see out the win and would add a fourth for the evening when Dominikovich setup Isla Witham for a thumping half-volley in the 49th minute. 4-1 to the Tigers.
Haley Johnson saw the incredible goals being put away by her teammates and elected to score one of her own in the 67th minute, after picking up the ball just outside of the 18-yard box and finding plenty of room to let off a wicked strike into the top right corner. 5-1 to the Tigers.
Karrys-Stahl, sensing another opportunity for the Tigers to continue their rampage, took out Johnson on the edge of the box and earned a second yellow card and subsequent red in the 71st minute.
The Tigers held onto the 5-1 win to ultimately reward their fans who braved the intense rain with a big win over their previously unbeaten opposition.
Manly United 2-0 APIA Leichhardt at Cromer Park
Manly United kept their strong run of form going in a classy 2-0 win over APIA Leichhardt in inclement conditions at Cromer Park.
Manly have found a seemingly unbeatable rhythm this season, showcasing a real tenacity that has kept them in the running for top spot across the opening seven rounds. A solid over Sydney University last weekend saw APIA return to winning ways after back-to-back losses in their previous two fixtures, which will have given the side confidence in the leadup to their matchup with Manly.
It was an even contest between Manly and APIA in the first half, with both sides approaching the match cautiously to avoid giving away any opportunities to their opposition.
The home side struck first in the 23rd minute after a Daisy Arrowsmith set piece caused problems for the APIA defence, leading to the ball rebounding toward Grace Arnold who reacted instinctively to volley the ball over the crowd of players and nestle it into the back of the net. Manly lead 1-0.
As the rain made its way over to the Northern Suburbs of Sydney, Manly doubled the scoreline when Tegan Biasi received a pass on the edge of the box and took a second to compose herself before firing a sensational finish into the top left corner of the net. 2-0 in the 77th minute. The home team held onto their 2-0 lead.
UNSW 1-1 Sydney University at The Village Green
The NPL Women’s two University representatives battled it out on Sunday evening, with the match ultimately concluding 1-1 between UNSW and Sydney University at The Village Green.
Having come into good form in the leadup to this fixture, UNSW will have been determined to keep the momentum going in a home fixture against Sydney Uni. The away side finally earned their first win of the season with a 3-0 win over Sydney Olympic in midweek prior to Easter, but were unable to follow that up as they fell 2-1 to the Mt Druitt Town Rangers on Monday.
UNSW would kick-off proceedings early on with a goal arriving in the 20th minute following Demi Koulizakis’ pinpoint corner to the near post which was met by the head of Aya Yamahata, who saw her initial header blocked but who was able to successfully bury the rebound through the crowd of defenders. 1-0 to UNSW.
Sydney Uni were determined to rectify conceding first and fashioned a quickfire equaliser barely a minute later when Jenny Hill raced onto a loose ball on the edge of the 18-yard box and launched into the box before hammering a clinical finish beyond the reach of UNSW goalkeeper Stephanie Grimbilos.
Ten minutes into the second half and UNSW earned a chance to retake the lead when Hill blocked Maryam Mostaghimi’s header on the line with her arm, leading to a red card for the Sydney Uni goal scorer in the 56th minute.
However, Sofia Fante did brilliantly to stand strong and deny an Allira Toby penalty, thus sparing her side’s blushes in the process. The match would ultimately conclude in a 1-1 draw.
Newcastle Jets 1-2 Gladesville Ravens at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility
The Gladesville Ravens made the tough trip to the Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility and braved the heavy rain to come away with a 2-1 win over the Newcastle Jets.
The Jets have demonstrated plenty of ability this season, particularly in the attacking third with several options available across their forward line, and their matchup with the Ravens shaped up to be an exciting ninety minutes. Gladesville have experienced an underwhelming start to the year; however, they seem to have found better form of late and will have wanted to earn their second win here.
The Ravens opened the scoring in spectacular fashion in the 32nd minute when Charlotte Wilford Carroll produced a magnificent half volley from range that bested Jets goalkeeper Ally Boertje and burrowed into the far bottom corner. 1-0 to the Ravens.
Shortly after and the visitors would add a second for the evening as Allyssa Ng Saad received the ball at the far post and assuredly put her cross on a platter for Isabella Habuda to make it 2-0 in the 39th minute.
Alexis Collins notched a goal for herself instantly in the second half, which gave the Jets a chance of mounting a comeback. 2-1 in the 47th minute.
However, the match would ultimately finish 2-1 in favour of the Ravens who celebrated the victory minus one of their stars Claudia Cholakian who departed the club last week bound for England for work commitments which may see the Armenian international play in one of the lower leagues of the English Women’s leagues.
Western Sydney Wanderers 1-3 Bulls FC Academy at Wanderers Football Park
Western Sydney Wanderers were defeated 3-1 by Bulls FC Academy in an entertaining derby clash at Wanderers Football Park.
A positive run of form saw the Wanderers sitting just outside of the top four in the lead-in to their matchup with a local Western Sydney rival in the Bulls. The Bulls have yet to find their groove this year, but there is no better opportunity than a derby to notch a must-needed win to kick their season into gear.
Petria Phillips sparked her side’s positive performance in the 4th minute by winning possession confidently in midfield and riding the momentum of the tackle to hit a world class strike from range that sailed into the top right corner of the net. 1-0 to the Bulls.
Isabella Coco-Di Sipio then put her side 2-0 up in the 24th minute after taking on a deflected pass from Phillips just outside of the box and turning confidently to let off a strike that ricocheted off of a Wanderers defender and landed behind goalkeeper Aimee Hall.
The Wanderers found a way back into the match just before halftime when Brooklyn Hudson’s terrific cross met the run of Miriam Zumaya, who eluded the Bulls defence and rounded Mio Nemoto to tuck the ball away into an empty net. The home side make it 2-1 in the 40th minute.
A third for the Bulls extended the deficit by two in the 57th minute, as Coco-Di Sipio played a quality pass in behind the Wanderers defence for Phillips who confidently bypassed Hall and smashed the ball in for 3-1. The Bulls would ultimately hold onto their 3-1 lead and take the three points with them.
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Words by Matthew Badrov
