Round 9 Review – NPL Women’s NSW
Round 9 of the National Premier Leagues Women’s NSW competition produced several close clashes, with only one team remaining unbeaten after nine rounds of action.
Read on to get a full breakdown of the weekend that was.
Match of the Round – Gladesville Ravens 2-2 UNSW at Christie Park
Two stoppage time goals in either half helped UNSW rescue a point at Christie Park against the Gladesville Ravens on Sunday night in the National Premier Leagues Women’s NSW match of the round.
It was the Ravens that hit the front via Lexie Moreno just before the half hour mark but UNSW responded with an equaliser in the final moments of the first half through Sonali Singh.
Moreno then had her second and the Ravens back on track, only for UNSW to strike back again, Substitute Allira Toby lobbing the keeper to make it 2-2 in the 90th minute.
Click here to view the full match report.
Bulls FC Academy 1-0 Manly United at Northbridge Oval
Bulls FC Academy have slowly come into their own as the season has progressed, however a clash against an unbeaten Manly United will have been seen as a major test. Manly have gelled perfectly so far this campaign and are showcasing plenty of resilience in defence to match the quality of their attacking prowess.
In the first half the majority of the early forays at goal were produced by a determined Bulls team, who took it to their opposition early on with real gusto.
This momentum would lead to the Bulls taking the lead in the 24th minute after Jasmine Meli intercepted a ball in midfield and strode forward to put her team into attack mode, leading to returning star Amber Luchtmeijer making an instant impact by holding off her defender in the box and setting up Petria Phillips for a ruthless finish that thundered into the back of the net. 1-0 to the home team.
Ultimately, this match would continue in the same vein with Manly unable to secure an equaliser from this point on, ensuring they ultimately fell 1-0 to a confident Bulls outfit, the result ending Manly’s unbeaten start to the season after nine rounds of action.
Illawarra Stingrays 1-0 Macarthur Rams at Macedonia Park
Fresh from a difficult 5-1 loss to the Northern Tigers in heavy rain, the Illawarra Stingrays returned home to Macedonia Park and recuperated ahead of a clash with last season’s championship-winning Macarthur Rams. The Rams are in flux this campaign, having conceded the most goals in the competition and finding themselves closer to the foot of the ladder than where they’re expected to be.
The Stingrays were able to frustrate their opposition throughout the opening forty-five minutes, and drew plenty of fouls to prove it as Macarthur gave away 11 in the first half.
However, it was a poor giveaway in midfield that allowed the home team in for a well-executed goal that was generated by Layla Etherington receiving the ball out wide and taking a step before dragging a low cross to the back post that was tapped in at the back post by Siobhan Edwards. 1-0 to the Stingrays in the 24th minute.
Illawarra’s defensive resolve proved to be instrumental in their endeavour to shut out their opponents, with the Rams finding it challenging to break down the Stingrays defence.
After a fairly one-sided 90 minutes, the match would conclude in a 1-0 victory for the Stingrays over the Rams.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers 3-1 Northern Tigers at Popondetta Park
Eight games into the season and the newly promoted Mt Druitt Town Rangers are flying high in 1st place. The unbeaten side from Sydney’s west have set a standard with their defensive resolve (conceding only 3 goals so far), which will have this season’s top-scorers Northern Tigers itching to unlock the Rangers backline and upset the home faithful at Popondetta Park.
Rosaria Galea opened the scoring for the Rangers in the 9th minute with a venomous free-kick that swerved over the wall from close range and bested Tigers goalkeeper Anna Norton. 1-0 to Mt Druitt.
Tigers defender Savannah Murray was then given her marching orders in the 31st minute after lunging in on a Rangers attacker and earning her second yellow of the evening.
Though the Tigers were competitive against the Rangers – even with a player down – the home side doubled their lead soon after the half-time break when Olivia Sloan found herself in acres of space down the left wing and rewarded the late run into the box from Galea with an assured square ball that was promptly put away by the Rangers dynamo. 2-0 to the Rangers in the 48th minute.
A determined Haley Johnson got her side back in the match in the 82nd minute after being found at the back post from a quality cross, with the striking sensation just able to get her boot to the ball and knock it in from a tight angle at the near post. 2-1.
Unfortunately, it was too little, too late for the Tigers, as Leena Khamis arrived at the near post to meet a decent cross by guiding the ball strongly into the top right corner with her head. 3-1 the final score.
APIA Leichhardt 0-2 NWS Spirit at Lambert Park
Coming into this weekend’s matches APIA Leichhardt were still reeling from a 2-0 loss to Manly United, and a run of three losses in their last four that had them in 8th place. In comparison, NWS Spirit have won three of their last four matches and will be gunning for a win over APIA to push themselves into a position in the top four.
Spirit were up for the match from the beginning and would open the scoring after Kayla Osborn smartly dropped in to reclaim possession from a loose ball for her side, before firing a reverse ball over to Siena Hawkins who laid her pass on a platter for Skye Halmarick to smash home the opener for Spirit. 1-0 to Spirit in the 13th minute.
Halmarick showed real class to add a second for her team in the 44th minute, as she was played in for a counter attack that she instead opted to turn into a goal by chipping APIA No. 1 Sophie Magus and ensuring Spirit went into the halftime break 2-0 up.
APIA had several opportunities to score in the second half but found no such luck, meaning Spirit left Lambert Park with a 2-0 win and the three points over their opposition.
Sydney University 1-0 Western Sydney Wanderers at Sydney University Football Ground
Though they were sitting closer to the bottom of the ladder heading into this fixture, a draw last weekend against UNSW will have given Sydney University some confidence in a matchup with the Western Sydney Wanderers. The erratic Wanderers have been entertaining to watch this season but will know they need to improve their defence to stay in the fight for a top four spot.
The Wanderers were the more dominant of the two sides in the opening half, with Sydney Uni unable to find a rhythm to disrupt all of the effort being given by the visitors.
That was until just before the half-time break, when Ruby Egan-Brown was played through on the right wing and delivered a quality cross that was unfortunately not met by a teammate. However, the Wanderers defence failed to effectively clear the cross and handed Sydney Uni a chance to take the lead with Maddison Van Dijk on hand to tuck the ball away into the bottom left corner of the net to send the home fans into a frenzy. 1-0 to Sydney Uni in the 46th minute.
Whilst the Wanderers remained determined to score a goal, they were unable to best the Sydney Uni defence and would be defeated 1-0 in the end.
Sydney Olympic v Newcastle Jets – WASHED OUT
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Words by Matthew Badrov
