Round 19 Review – NPL Women’s NSW
With no lightning in sight, Round 19 of the National Premier Leagues Women’s NSW competition delivered on its potential to be a blockbuster weekend of football action.
Read for our breakdown of a round full of exciting clashes.
Match of the Round – Macarthur Rams 1-5 Northern Tigers at Lynwood Park
The Northern Tigers snapped a four-game losing streak in style with a commanding 5-1 over the Macarthur Rams at Lynwood Park on Sunday night in the National Premier Leagues Women’s NSW match of the round.
Charlotte Mortlock opened the scoring with a lovely goal before Savannah Murray doubled the visitors advantage with a thunderbolt.
The Rams got back into the game moments before the break through Tea Mucenski, only for a rampant Tigers to add three more in the second half, via Nicola Dominikovich, Olivia Cartwright and Lily McMahon.
Check out the full report here.
Bulls FC Academy 2-1 NWS Spirit at Northbridge Oval
Northbridge Oval plays host to two sides battling it out for a position in the top four as the season inches closer and closer to the end. Bulls FC Academy will be eager to put in a strong performance in front of their home fans after last weekend’s clash with Sydney University was interrupted by weather. In comparison, NWS Spirit enter Round 19 on a run of three draws and will want to prove they are a winning side here.
As well as securing their opener for the afternoon, the Bulls produced one of the best counterattacking goals of the season in the 32nd minute when the ball was won on their edge of their own 18-yard box. The home side then clinically built up from there, laying the ball off for one another in midfield before Jynaya Dos Santos drove forward to setup her winger. Dos Santos then received the seized on a loose ball from a defensive interception before a lasering her effort into the top left corner. 1-0 to the Bulls.
Harper Bell did brilliantly to spot the loose pass out of the Bulls defence and quickly played in Kayla Osborn just in front of the 18-yard box, which the Spirit captain proceeded to turn into a brilliant finish after gathering possession and shaping a peach of a finish into the top right corner. 1-1 in the 63rd minute.
However, the Bulls were determined to keep the three points at home and were able to do so when Amber Luchtmeijer raced onto a brilliant ball in behind the Spirit defence to produce a superb chip over the outrushing Tiahna Robertson. The Bulls regained the lead in the 77th minute and eventually saw out the match as 2-1 winners.
UNSW 1-0 Western Sydney Wanderers at The Village Green
UNSW continued the trend of their rollercoaster season last weekend, going down to a 3-0 loss against the lowly Macarthur Rams. Whilst UNSW have a small chance of finishing in a finals football spot come the end of the regular season, it is hard to say the same for the Western Sydney Wanderers, who have gone winless for an extended period of late.
The first half was largely dominated by UNSW, who created a number of chances going forward to entertain the strong crowd in attendance at The Village Green. Though the Wanderers had chances of their own, they struggled to break down the UNSW defence.
UNSW were able to take the lead ahead of the half-time break however when a quick exchange of passes put the home side in a threatening area, leading to a Wanderers defender being pulled out of position in an attempt to impede the chance. The loose ball from the defensive challenge then fell to Abbey Lemon who initially drove to her left before turning the ball onto her right foot to plant an emphatic finish into the bottom right corner. 1-0 to UNSW in minute 45+1.
The match continued in the same vein in the second half, with the Wanderers unable to trouble a UNSW side who were content with relying on their defensive resilience to see out the win.
Manly United 2-2 Sydney Olympic at Cromer Park
Manly United’s fans have experienced true highs and lows this campaign, with the home side beginning the season brilliantly before falling away from the pack, to now sitting in 2nd heading into Round 19. Standing in their way is a Sydney Olympic team who found their spark late on in the season, but have since endured back-to-back losses in recent weeks.
It was Olympic who got off to the brighter start of the two sides when Aideen Keane hassled a Manly defender into coughing up possession inside the 18-yard box. The Olympic captain then stormed forward before bypassing Jodie Drever and promptly squaring the ball for Tiana Fuller to bury the ball into an empty net. 1-0 to the visitors in the 5th minute.
Barely thirty seconds into the second half and Olympic doubled their lead, with Fuller securing herself a brace after making a smart run in behind a dismantled Manly defence to receive a terrific pass from Alyssa Whinham and deliver a confident finish to cap it off. 2-0 in the 46th minute.
With a whole second half still to play, Manly looked to respond after conceding twice. They took their first steps toward a comeback when Sienna Dale raced down the left wing and produced a stray shot that was inadvertently knocked in by Sarah Yatim at the back post. 2-1 in the 5th minute.
Substitute Tegan Biasi’s hard work on the right wing manifested a leveller for Manly in the 70th minute, with the No. 11 holding off her defender before knocking a quality cross into the box that just missed the head of Emily Minett. The ball then landed at Dale, who brought it down and produced a low finish into the near post to send the Cromer Park crowd wild. Manly make it 2-2.
The dramatic clash then ended in a 2-2 draw, with Manly and Olympic sharing the points.
Illawarra Stingrays 1-0 Newcastle Jets at Macedonia Park
The Illawarra Stingrays will be raring to go at Macedonia Park on Sunday, with their sights firmly set on maintaining their place in the top four. For the Newcastle Jets, a win here is pivotal as they desperately try to turn their season around, though a loss to the Macarthur Rams – sat just above the last-placed Jets in 13th – last weekend despite their valiant efforts dealt a crushing blow to their season.
The Jets did their best to keep the Stingrays at bay throughout the first half, with the home side struggling to put the ball in the back of the net as a result of the visitors’ determination.
It took a second half goal from Alexia Karrys-Stahl to give the Stingrays the lead, with the Jets unfortunate to go down 1-0 in the 66th minute courtesy of Illawarra’s No. 10.
The home side held onto the 1-0 lead and would ultimately claim the three points in the end.
Gladesville Ravens 1-1 Mt Druitt Town Rangers at Christie Park
A matchup with the league-leading Mt Druitt Town Rangers will have had the Gladesville Ravens excited for a major test in Round 19, particularly as they entered the weekend on a four-match unbeaten run. For the Rangers this fixture arrives at a significant point in their season, with two losses in their last five leaving them vulnerable to losing their spot at the top of the ladder.
The Rangers’ opener was initially started by Roukayah Al Fararjeh, who displayed real strength in midfield to hold off a Raven player before playing in Leena Khamis for a goal crafted with sheer magic. The Mt Druitt captain stormed down the left wing, shifted past the Ravens defender one-on-one and held off that same player with her back to goal.
Khamis then demonstrated her experience and quick-thinking to get away from the surrounding Ravens players to let off an exquisite finish from a tight angle at the near post, beating her sister, Shamiran Khamis, in goal in the process. 1-0 to the Rangers in the 24th minute via a goal of the season contender.
A terrific cross from Bianca Galic gave the Ravens a great chance to equalise in the 39th minute, with maestro midfielder Miku Sunaga perfectly positioned to steer a quality header past Renee Krstanovska in the Rangers goal and make it 1-1 before half-time.
The match ultimately concluded in a 1-1 draw, meaning the Rangers are now sharing the top of the ladder with Bulls FC Academy heading into Round 20.
APIA Leichhardt 4-3 Sydney University at Lambert Park
APIA Leichhardt have made a late push at a place in the top four, meaning the side will have entered this matchup with Sydney University desperate for the three points. However, APIA will be facing a Sydney Uni side that have truly hit their stride of late, with three wins in a row successfully pushing them away from the relegation zone.
Sydney Uni began the match in spectacular fashion, with Talia Kapetanellis pouncing on a under hit pass out of the APIA defence to then drive forward and launch a rocket across goal and into the top right corner. 1-0 to the visitors in the 12th minute.
Coincidentally, it took a loose pass from Sydney Uni to set APIA in motion for an equaliser, with Te Reremoana Walker picking up the ball in midfield and playing it to Ashlie Crofts who calmly played in Alyssa Rose for a well-taken strike that rolled across the face of goal and into the bottom left corner. 1-1 in the 26th minute.
Barely a minute had passed and Crofts would be involved again, this time as the goal scorer for her side’s quickfire second of the evening. The APIA captain turning a split-second opportunity following an attempted Sydney Uni clearance to smash the ball in at the near post. 2-1 in the 28th minute.
Amelia Feeney got her side off to a good start in the second half after burying her header at a corner to make it 2-2 in the 50th minute.
Crofts did not take long to hush the excitement from the Sydney Uni bench, with the APIA No. 11 collecting a quality Sophie Hoban cross at the back post before cutting in and unleashing a fantastic strike into the top right corner. 3-2 to APIA in the 55th minute.
It would prove to be a special evening for Crofts, with the APIA striker earning herself a hattrick in the 74th minute after finding herself unmarked in-between the Sydney Uni backline. The No. 11 thundering a half-volley past Sofia Fante after assuredly bringing down a cross. 4-2 to APIA in the 74th minute.
Sydney Uni were not done however, with Kapetanellis striving to create opportunities for her side and almost producing an assist for substitute Kiara Bonora, who unfortunately misplaced her headed attempt. The Sydney Uni No. 7 then stood strong to challenge for the ball inside the box and dispatched a cannon of a strike into the top left corner to best Sophie Magus. Sydney Uni pull one back and make it 4-3 in the 75th minute.
After an entertaining 90 minutes, APIA would take the three points in the end by seeing out the 4-3 win.
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Words by Matthew Badrov
