Round 23 Review – NPL Women’s NSW
Despite the rainy conditions, Round 23 of the National Premier Leagues Women’s NSW competition carried on and delivered the action.
Read all about the weekend’s results below.
Match of the Round – Illawarra Stingrays 1 v UNSW FC 0 at Ian McLennan Oval
The Illawarra Stingrays made a statement on Sunday night with a 1-0 win over UNSW in the National Premier Leagues Women’s NSW round 23 match of the round.
An early goal inside the opening 10 minutes from Poppie Hooks was enough to secure the three points in this one.
This match had much riding on it with finals and premiership hopes hanging by a thread for both teams.
The win puts the Stingrays in a good position in terms of finals football but more importantly, their hunt for the premiership is still well and truly on.
As for the visitors, this result will come as a major setback, their fine form of late has come undone with this defeat and finals football may be a stretch now.
Click here to view the full report.
Bulls FC Academy 4-1 Sydney Olympic at Northbridge Oval
Northbridge Oval hosts the opening match of Round 23, with Bulls FC Academy taking on Sydney Olympic. The league-leading Bulls are in their stride at the moment and will look to keep the momentum going against Olympic. However, Olympic have quality at their disposal – especially in attack – and will want to upset the Bulls to shake up the competition at the top of the ladder.
After a competitive first half of action, Olympic secured a penalty on the stroke of halftime after a header toward goal struck the arm of a Bulls defender. Alyssa Whinham then stepped up to confidently roll her spot kick into the bottom right corner, giving her side a 1-0 lead in the 45+4th minute.
The return to the match action brought the wet weather in the second half, with the Bulls raining down on their opponents to score their equaliser in the 59th minute. Three Bulls attackers caught out an Olympic defender in a dangerous position of the field and raced forward to setup Isabella Coco-Di Sipio for an emphatic finish past Annalee Grove in the Olympic net. 1-1.
An unlucky deflection in midfield caused the Bulls to pounce on Olympic’s misfortunes once again and storm forward to produce a superb sequence of play, with the home side cutting through their opposition’s defence to ultimately slip Coco-Di Sipio in for a calm finish. 2-1 in the 61st minute.
A second yellow card and subsequent red issued to Chloe Gordon in the 66th minute compounded an already challenging second half for Olympic.
The Bulls were proving ruthless on the counterattack and summoned their third goal of the afternoon after Tamires Souza latched onto a loose ball at halfway to chip a pass through to Petria Phillips, who promptly cut in and out before squeezing the ball past Grove from just outside the box. 3-1 in the 77th minute.
Di-Sipio was well-positioned late on in the match to earn herself a hattrick by running onto an through ball placed over the top of the Olympic backline, the Bulls attacker then slotted the ball in via the nutmeg for her side’s fourth of the day. 4-1 in the 90th minute.
The Bulls then saw out the match as 4-1 winners.
Sydney University 3-0 Macarthur Rams at Sydney Uni Football Ground
After spending much of the first half of the season sitting closer to the bottom of the ladder than the top, Sydney University have found a spark in the second half of their campaign and been delivering strong performances off the back of it. For the Macarthur Rams, three points is essential here if they want to stave off relegation after a challenging year.
A set-piece from close to the halfway line gave the Rams an opportunity to take the lead in the 29th minute with the rain pouring down at the Sydney Uni Football Ground. Though the initial ball in fell just shy of the box, the Rams worked the ball superbly back into a dangerous area for Lola Sossai to eventually sneak in at the back post and bury the all into an empty net. 1-0 to the Rams.
Tea Mucenski’s excellent run into the box created a fantastic opportunity for Libby Morris to add a second goal for her side in the 70th minute, however her strike rattled the bar and found its way back to Mucenski, who headed home from close range. The Rams make it 2-0.
It was a brilliant second half performance from Mucenski, with the Rams’ No. 9 showcasing her array of skills in the build-up to earning herself a brace. After bypassing her defender on the edge of the box with a skillful turn, Mucenski calmly made space for herself before slipping the ball in at the near post. 3-0 to the Rams in the 83rd minute.
The visitors held onto their 3-0 result and secured the three points as a result.
APIA Leichhardt 2-0 Northern Tigers at Lambert Park
An excellent run of form – to add to the high of a recent Sapphire Cup win – has seen APIA Leichhardt fly into 2nd place on the ladder in recent weeks. The home side will be eager to get the victory over the Northern Tigers, who have struggled as the season has gone on. For the Tigers, this match will be played for pride as they look to finish their campaign on a high with a spot in the finals looking unlikely.
The Lambert Park were on their feet early with the home side taking the lead in just the 4th minute of the match. A corner kick opened up the opportunity for APIA’s wealth of quality options to attack the ball, however it was their captain and star striker Ashlie Crofts who steered an excellent cross home with a header toward the far corner. 1-0 to APIA.
The Tigers then spent much of the match attempting to claw their way back onto the scoreboard, with chances falling to both sides throughout the ninety minutes.
However, APIA would shut the Tigers out officially in the 90+5th minute courtesy of individual brilliance from Crofts. The APIA attacker won the ball in a tight area in midfield before bursting past her defender to then round the goalkeeper and seal a 2-0 win for her side by planting the ball into the back of the net.
Western Sydney Wanderers 4-4 NWS Spirit at Wanderers Football Park
The Western Sydney Wanderers have struggled of late both in front of goal and in defence, with their 5-4 loss to the Macarthur Rams in Round 20 an exception among their recent run of results. NWS Spirit looked to be on track for a position in the top four but a recent string of losses and inconsistent performances has seen them fall down to 7th heading into this weekend.
The Wanderers showed patience in the build-up to their opening goal of the evening, with Nikkita Fazzari ultimately burying the ball underneath goalkeeper Tiahna Robertson after the Spirit No. 1 spilt the ball whilst saving a low strike from the edge of the box. 1-0 to the Wanderers in the 10th minute.
Barely a minute had passed and Spirit found themselves an equaliser when Ariana Stoltzfus struck her penalty into the bottom left corner, with Wanderers keeper Aimee Hall unlucky not to get a hand to it after diving the correct way. 1-1 in the 12th minute.
An outstanding header from Lola Greenberg gave Spirit the lead only a few moments after their equaliser, with Greenberg racing into the box to emphatically bury the ball in from a corner. Spirit go ahead 2-1 in the 14th minute.
Spirit looked to be in their stride as the first half rode on, with Bethany Gordon adding a third for her side in the 32nd minute after an interception from a Wanderers defender forced the ball out to the Spirit No. 8, who showed total assurance in measuring her strike into the bottom left corner from range. 3-1 to Spirit.
The Wanderers were determined to get themselves back into the match and found some luck when Roberston was unable to clear a corner and the ball fell to Siena Arrarte to finish on the goal line. The Wanderers make it 3-2 in the 41st minute.
With minutes remaining in the half, the home side were not done yet and made it 3-3 after Fazzari sent a terrific cross in for Olivia Vanderlaan, who showed decent composure to control the ball and guide a bobbling strike in for an equaliser in the 45th minute.
Vanderlaan would secure the honour of scoring goals either side of half-time after her corner in the 50th minute found its way over Robertson and nestled in via the point where the far post meets the crossbar. The Wanderers take the lead at 4-3.
However, there were destined to be more goals, as Spirit were unwilling to leave Wanderers Football Park without at least a point. Their equaliser – and the final goal of an entertaining clash – came through Greenberg, who was found in behind the Wanderers defence and delivered a confident finish across goal. 4-4 in the 54th minute was to be the scoreline in the end.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers 6-0 Newcastle Jets at Popondetta Park
A win here would be significant for the Mt Druitt Town Rangers, with the NPL Women’s newcomers having an outstanding campaign in the top flight and looking determined to upset a few of the sides around them come finals time. A win for the Newcastle Jets in Round 22 was their first in some time and will have given them plenty of confidence in their visit to Popondetta Park.
A great ball in-behind the Jets defence opened up a pathway for Kaiya Buchanan to launch an attack into the box. The Rangers defender brilliantly beat goalkeeper Ally Boertje to the ball to setup the run of Erin Leah Tavares to bury the ball on the goal line. 1-0 to the Rangers in the 22nd minute.
Barely a minute later and the Rangers had a second through Leena Khamis when Ena Harada won the ball high up the pitch and played in the veteran striker for a confident finish into the bottom left corner. The Rangers double their lead in the 23rd minute.
Rosaria Galea scored the Rangers’ third goal of the evening after smartly stepping in to challenge for the ball away from Emma Dundas and launching a sensational strike that rose above Boertje before dipping into the back of the net. 3-0 in the 40th minute.
Khamis secured a brace before half-time after Natalie Casha played a tidy pass inside for her to promptly go one-on-one with Boertje and hit the bottom right corner with a precision strike. 4-0 to the Rams in the 45th minute.
The Jets were struggling to contain the Rangers with the home side having all of the momentum, leading to Tavares earning herself a brace after Khamis played an exquisite pass through to the Rangers winger, who saw her initial strike saved by Boertje before she was able to score on the follow-up. 5-0 in the 45+1st minute.
Though the visitors were able to keep a lid on the action from the home side in the second half, the Rangers were able to add a sixth in the 85th minute when substitute Clare Holder saw her well-hit finish saved strongly by Boertje, leading to Tavares stealing in to head home and get herself a hattrick. The Rangers win 6-0.
Gladesville Ravens 0-3 Manly United at Christie Park
The Gladesville Ravens saw their unbeaten run come to an end last week after going down 3-1 to an in-form UNSW outfit. This will have spurred the side on in their return to Christie Park, however Manly United will be making the trip after troubling the league-leading Bulls FC Academy and earning a 1-1 draw last weekend.
Though chances were limited for both sides in the first half, Manly would grab ahold of the game quickly into the second forty-five when Sienna Dale was first to a Ravens back pass and raced out onto the wing before squaring the ball back inside for Ellie Kerr to finish into an empty net. 1-0 to Manly in the 48th minute.
Just a few minutes later and the visitors would add a second goal, this time through Dale getting setup by Nicole Stuart to thunder her strike into the top left corner. 2-0 to Manly in the 52nd minute.
Manly continued their dominance in the second half, with Grace Arnold crossing in for Emily Minett, who showed her striking prowess to calmly guide the ball into the far-left corner. Manly take a 3-0 lead in the 82nd minute before seeing out the match as victors.
Don’t miss a game! Subscribe to Football NSW’s YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/footballnsw
Words by Matthew Badrov
