Round 16 Preview – NPL Women’s NSW

Some enticing fixtures await us ahead of round 16 in the National Premier Leagues Women’s NSW competition this weekend.

NWS Spirit v Sydney University at Christie Park, 3pm

The action kicks off on Saturday afternoon at Christie Park as NWS Spirit host Sydney University at 3pm.

It looks as though things are starting to line up for NWS Spirit with their newest additions slotting in now and getting accustomed to Tony Candy’s style.

Two consecutive clean sheets and a strong 5-0 victory on Sunday away at the Newcastle Jets has them in fourth place.

The job was all but done in the first half of that one, Skye Halmarick with a brace, taking her season tally to 16.

Due to some serious bad weather on Sunday evening, Sydney University’s match against the Northern Tigers was postponed.

Their last two games have been tight and perhaps could have got more from both fixtures, something they’ll take confidence from.

This young team’s defence will be proper tested against the potent Spirit attack.

Northern Tigers v Sydney Olympic at North Turramurra Recreation Area, Saturday 6:30pm

What a game this promises to be!

If you’re looking at the current table positions you’d be confused, if you look at the form table, you will completely understand why.

The Tigers have only lost one of their last four but missed the weekend’s game due to lightning against Sydney Uni.

Freshly capped Matilda Izzy Gomez is back for the Tigers and was available for last Sunday’s game.

Olympic, four straight wins, 17 goals scored and only two conceded (both against Macarthur Rams) and have climbed from last to 10th rapidly.

They are also off the bottom of the club championship for the first time this season and will look to continue that rise to avoid a relegation battle.

Bulls FC Academy v Newcastle Jets at Northbridge Oval, Sunday 2:40pm

Sunday afternoon’s first game takes us to Northbridge Oval as Bulls FC Academy host the Newcastle Jets.

When you’re chatting about in form teams in the competition, you can’t look beyond Bulls FC Academy.

They are currently nine games undefeated, dropping points only twice in that period with scorers coming from all over the park, Liz Grey displaying her goalscoring prowess in recent weeks, finding the back of the net three times in her last two games.

Some bad news coming out of the Bulls camp is that Indi Dos Santos has ruptured her ACL, we wish her all the best with surgery and her recovery.

Things are not looking good at all for the Newcastle Jets at the moment.

They are bottom of the table and the club championship and are winless in their last six games, conceding at least four goals in each of them.

UNSW v APIA Leichhardt at The Village Green, Sunday 5pm

Another blockbuster clash this round has UNSW welcoming APIA Leichhardt to The Village Green at 5pm.

UNSW suffered a comprehensive defeat last weekend against Bulls FC Academy, their second straight loss and second game without scoring a goal.

They cannot afford to not take any points here as it will make it quite difficult for them to keep pace with the top four.

APIA will feel disappointed they didn’t take all three points on Sunday against the Gladesville Ravens, Eliza Coleman putting up an incredible performance between the sticks to keep APIA at bay.

Similarly to UNSW, should APIA not take three points here, then their hopes of the Premiership will be dashed, but they will also slip further behind the top four.

WS Wanderers v Illawarra Stingrays at Wanderers Football Park, Sunday 5pm

At Wanderers Football Park on Sunday evening, the Western Sydney Wanderers host the Illawarra Stingrays.

This is the Wanderers final chance to throw themselves into any sort of finals conversation with only one win in their last five.

They also have to content with a Sapphire Cup semi final on Wednesday night at the same venue against APIA Leichhardt.

On Sunday, the Stingrays suffered only their second loss of the season, a heavy 4-0 defeat against Mt Druitt Town Rangers.

A bounce back will be required here, much like they did after their first loss of the season back in Round 8 against the Northern Tigers.

Mt Druitt Town Rangers v Manly United at Popondetta Park, Sunday 5pm

The Mt Druitt Town Rangers are at home on Sunday at 5pm against Manly United at Popondetta Park.

Mt Druitt returned to the top of the table after a short stint in second place with a convincing 4-0 win over the Illawarra Stingrays.

Leena Khamis will be a welcome return for Ben Gough’s team but they do lose Roukayah Al Fararjeh who made her long awaited return to first grade football.

Macarthur Rams v Gladesville Ravens at Lynwood Park, Sunday 5pm

Lynwood Park will host the final clash of the round at 5pm as the Macarthur Rams take on the Gladesville Ravens.

Five straight losses for Vic Guzman’s side and they sit second bottom only on goal difference.

They will be keen to turn things around immediately, in particular as things in the relegation zone are currently quite tight.

The Ravens took a point from APIA and probably felt they could have taken all three, in particular having led twice.

Miku Sunaga returns to her former employer’s after an excellent performance on Sunday, along with Eliza Coleman who was outstanding between the sticks for the Ravens.

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-By Nikola Pozder