Round 11 Review – NPL Women’s NSW

There were dominant performances aplenty in Round 11 of the National Premier Leagues Women’s NSW competition, with a stack of goals scored across several one-sided clashes.

Read on for the full review of the weekend’s matches.

Match of the Round – Illawarra Stingrays 3-0 Manly United at Macedonia Park

The Illawarra Stingrays delivered a comprehensive 3-0 win over fellow top four side Manly United in front of the home faithful at Macedonia Park on Sunday evening.

Siobhan Edwards got her side off to a flying start in the 14^th minute after keeping the Manly backline at bay and releasing a magnificent strike from distance that nestled into the bottom right corner.

Illawarra withstood Manly’s attacking forays and continued to produce many attacking opportunities of their own, which ultimately led to two more outstanding goals in the second half – a 60^th minute pearler from range by Layla Etherington and a 83^rd minute wonder strike for Edwards to earn her brace – to round out a successful 3-0 win.

Check out the full report here.

NWS Spirit 1-2 Northern Tigers at Christie Park

NWS Spirit entered Round 11 on a strong run of form, with ten goals scored and a single goal conceded across their last three fixtures alone. For a Northern Tigers side searching for answers to their woes after back-to-back losses, a matchup away to an in-form Spirit side will have been daunting in spite of their own qualities.

The opening goal of the day went to the Tigers in the 27^th minute, with striking sensation Haley Johnson well-positioned in the box to head home a fantastic cross from the left wing. 1-0 to the Tigers.

It was an entertaining opening forty-five minutes between the two sides, however the Tigers proved to the stronger of the two and would carry the momentum of their opening goal into the second half.

The visitors doubled their lead early in the second forty-five after Saffron Grass competed well to best her opponent and knock back a clearance from the Spirit defence that Charlotte Mortlock quickly pounced on to smash a half-volley into the bottom right corner. 2-0 to the Tigers in the 52^nd minute.

With the Spirit fans making their voices heard in the stands, the home side earned a goal back late on in the 74^th minute when Ariana Stoltzfus’ corner swerved in and was mishandled by Tigers’ goalkeeper Jasmine Black into her own net. Despite this, the away team would hold on for a 2-1 win.

Bulls FC Academy 5-2 Macarthur Rams at Northbridge Oval

Bulls FC Academy have well and truly come into their own over the past month, and will have felt confident in returning home to face a Macarthur Rams side that have been inconsistent this campaign. For the Rams, this game will have been seen as an opportunity to build on their positive result last week, and a chance to disrupt the Bulls’ form.

The in-form Petria Phillips was at the heart of her side’s opener in the 21^st minute, darting past her defender with a heavy touch into the box and seeing her squared ball intercepted before Amber Luchtmeijer arrived to bury the loose ball into the back of the net. 1-0 to the Bulls.

Luchtmeijer then showed real quality to setup her side’s second of the afternoon, taking on a through ball into the box and displaying quick-thinking to touch the ball onto Tamires Souza, who controlled the pass and finished superbly off of the post. 2-0 in the 25^th minute.

A foul on the goal line during a corner led to the Rams finding a way back into the match close to halftime, with Tea Mucenski slotting the resultant spot kick into the bottom left corner in the 40^th minute. The Rams make it 2-1.

Barely a minute later and Mucenski almost had a double when Claire Corbett played a ball into the path of the Rams no. 9, who was prevented by the back post from notching a double. However, the goal would not have counted anyway with Mucenski ruled offside.

This did not deter the Rams however, who looked inspired toward the back end of the first half as they created another opportunity through Maya Lobo’s sensational pass that cut through the Bulls’ midfield and defence and gave Mucenski a chance to equalise, which the Rams striker did with aplomb after rounding Issabella Coelho and finishing into an empty net. 2-2 in the 42^nd minute.

After conceding two goals unanswered, the Bulls were able to retake the lead in the second half when Phillips weaved her magic in the box to slip in Jynaya Dos Santos for a strike that Luchtmeijer miscontrolled back to Libby Morris, who unwittingly knocked the ball into her own net. 3-2 to the Bulls in the 51^st minute.

Dos Santos had to wait until near the end of the 90 minutes to notch a goal of her own, and it was a credit to her own determination that she scored after rushing the goalkeeper in a vulnerable situation and taking advantage of a loose touch to hit the ball against the post, before smashing the rebound in for 4-2 in the 89^th minute.

The Bulls then put the finishing touches on a dominant second half performance through Luchtmeijer, who bypassed Coelho and picked out Dos Santos to secure a brace for herself in extra time. 5-2 the final score.

Sydney University 0-4 Gladesville Ravens at Sydney Uni Football Ground

Though they have shown patches of resilience in matches this season, Sydney University have lacked the attacking quality needed to capitalise on their defensive efforts which have left them equal fourth in the least goals conceded category. A win for the Gladesville Ravens last week snapped a challenging losing streak, giving the side a gust of momentum which coach Lauren Phelps will have hoped to carry into their clash against Sydney Uni.

It was a real battle between the two sides in the first half, with chances limited as the respective starting elevens dealt with the rain and cold conditions. The Ravens came close just prior to the half-time whistle in what was a precarious situation for Sydney Uni, when Keisha Allen leapt at a corner kick to challenge Sydney goalkeeper Sofia Fante’s attempt to catch the ball and may have had a chance to score a tap in from close range before it was cleared.

The Ravens then scored a terrific goal in the second half, building up from defence to attack seamlessly and creating their chance through Miku Sunaga’s superb pass in behind the Sydney Uni defence for Morgan Roberts, who assuredly guided the ball into the far corner in a one-on-one situation with the keeper. 1-0 to the visitors in the 64^th minute.

Substitute Allyssa Ng Saad would have an immediate impact on the match and be heavily involved in the Ravens’ second of the evening. The pacey forward found Isabella Habuda on the right wing, who proceeded to drive into the box before crossing back to Ng Saad who volleyed superbly for 2-0 in the 71^st minute.

After winning the ball strongly in midfield, defensive stalwart Annabelle Daczko quickly played a fantastic pass through to Habuda who made no mistake in calmly finishing across goal for 3-0 in the 80^th minute.

Ng Saad then notched a brace in the 88^th minute with a quality header that ultimately ensured a 4-0 victory for her side.

Mt Druitt Town Rangers 5-1 Western Sydney Wanderers at Popondetta Park

The Mt Druitt Town Rangers copped an upset loss last weekend against a goal-hungry Newcastle Jets side in a rare display of defensive frailty for the league-leaders. A win here against a Western Sydney Wanderers side struggling for wins recently after a decent start to their season will have been seen as top priority for the Rangers in their endeavour to stay on top of the ladder.

It was the Wanderers who opened the scoring between the two West Sydney sides on a drizzly evening in Mt Druitt, with Christa Oliva catching the Rangers defence sleeping in the 19^th minute and launching a ball from defence to attack which Olivia Vanderlaan turned into a goal after spotting goalkeeper Renee Krstanovska off of her line. 1-0 to the Wanderers.

Barely five minutes had passed before Mt Druitt scored a goal in a similar scenario, with Krstanovska putting the ball on a platter for Leena Khamis to get beyond an unsuspecting Wanderers defence and show real experience to patiently wait for goalkeeper Jasmin Selva to make her move before rounding the keeper to tap the ball into an empty net. 1-1 in the 24^th minute.

Selva was bested by Khamis again as the two teams returned to the second half, with the Rangers striker on her own up front and making the most of an aerial ball from her backline by striking a venomous hit from distance that the Wanderers goalkeeper unfortunately knocked into her own net. The goal gave Mt Druitt the lead in the 50^th minute and was yet another goal scored in transition from defence to attack by either side.

Brilliant skill from Rita Boateng earned the Rangers a third goal in the 63^rd minute, with the crafty winger leaving defenders in her wake before sending a quality cross to the back post that was tapped in by Erin Leah Tavares for 3-1.

Rosaria Galea made it 4-1 to the Rangers in the 80^th minute after pouncing on a saved shot in the box to send a rocket of a finish flying into the top left corner.

The Rangers’ final goal of the day was well-taken by Jessica Robinson, who picked up a loose Wanderers back pass and stormed toward goal before ultimately seeing her shot – which was slowed down by Selva – over the line in the 83^rd minute. 5-1 to the Rangers at full-time.

UNSW 4-1 Newcastle Jets at The Village Green

A late loss last week to the Illawarra Stingrays consigned UNSW to three matches without a win and a tough result to swallow. The side is full of quality, and will need to be alert coming up against a Newcastle Jets side who defeated the first-placed Mt Druitt Town Rangers last round in an outstanding result for the young side.

Both teams were forced to brave the heavy rain at The Village Green on Sunday evening, with opportunities mainly falling the way of the home side in the opening forty-five.

However, UNSW were able to notch a goal for themselves early on after a cross from the right wing into the near post was initially impeded by Jets goalkeeper Ally Boertje. The resulting loose ball then fell toward Marcella Santos who promptly dispatched a first-time volley into the far corner to give her side the lead in the 14^th minute. 1-0 to UNSW.

UNSW came out in the second half determined to make a statement at home and would begin to pile on the goals in the 46^th minute after Abigail Evetts’ deep cross caused commotion in the box and allowed Georgia Plessas time to chip the ball over the goalkeeper into an empty net. 2-0 to the home side.

Only a few minutes later and Chloe Smith added a third for her side after stealing in at the near post to steer a cross in with composure. 3-0 in the 51^st minute.

A fantastic through ball from Angelique Hristodoulou gave Demi Koulizakis the chance to score UNSW’s fourth of the evening in the 72^nd minute, which the NPL Women’s veteran did by chipping an outrushing Boertje. 4-0 to UNSW.

Though it was UNSW who delivered a stunning performance, the Jets had the honour of scoring the best goal of the match when substitute Lacey Dobson found herself in space on the edge of the box and produced a brilliant long-range strike that eluded Akala Howell to give the visitors some consolation in the 90^th minute.

UNSW ultimately saw out the match as 4-1 winners.

APIA Leichhardt 3-0 Sydney Olympic at Lambert Park

Heading into this fixture and Sydney Olympic were sat bottom of the ladder and lacking confidence, which was a far cry from the side that finished in 4^th place last season. For APIA Leichhardt, their last five matches has produced three surprise losses sandwiched between two wins, a run that has them sitting in sixth and desperate to push themselves into top four contention.

APIA crafted an expertly-worked opener in the 29^th minute, with the side navigating through the Olympic defence with ease before teeing up an open Ashlie Crofts via a squared ball in the box for the APIA attacker to put the finishing touches on. 1-0 to APIA.

A second goal for APIA would be scored in the 49^th minute when Zoe Panagopoulos calmly latched onto a wayward Olympic pass into midfield and strode up the field to play in Charlotte Lancaster unleash a sensational strike from a tight angle that Olympic goalkeeper Brianna Clarke could do little to prevent. 2-0 to APIA.

The Lambert Park faithful were rewarded for their support with a third and final goal of the day in the 57^th minute as Christina Kiceec rose highest to head home from a corner. This ultimately secured a 3-0 win for the home side in a strong showing.

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Words by Matthew Badrov