Round 11 Review – NPL NSW Women’s
Round 11 of the National Premier Leagues NSW Women’s competition kicked off Female Football Week in style with goals flooding in and plenty of surprise results.
Have a read of our full breakdown of the weekend that was!
Match of the Round – Macarthur Rams 4-1 Bulls FC Academy at Lynwood Park
The Macarthur Rams made a statement on a chilly Sunday evening at Lynwood Park as they defeated Bulls FC Academy 4-1 in the National Premier League NSW Women’s match of the round.
Click here to view the full match report.
Football NSW Institute 2-1 Sydney University at Valentine Sports Park
Football NSW Institute were able to hold onto a 2-1 win over Sydney University after an impressive first half performance against the reigning premiers.
FNSW Institute would find their opener when Caley Tallon-Henniker’s cross into the Sydney Uni box hit the arm of Frances Lechner and led to the home side earning a penalty. Sienna Saveska, carrying her form over from last round’s dramatic 3-2 win over Bulls FC Academy, then buried the resulting penalty.
Barely two minutes after her opener, Saveska decided a simple penalty goal was not enough and, after winning the ball back, elected to launch a pinpoint effort from well outside the box, beyond goalkeeper Sophia Varley, and into the far corner of the net. Sensational Saveska.
Sydney Uni returned serve in the 68th minute and, after several attempts at goal, were able to earn a goal back when Cushla Rue picked up the ball on the right wing, pushed the ball beyond an Institute defender and inexplicably launched the ball over Tahlia Franco in the Institute goal. We may never know if it was a cross or a shot.
For all of their efforts and forays towards goal, Sydney Uni was unlucky not to earn a point out of the match. Significantly for FNSW Institute though, back-to-back wins keeps them in the running for a spot in the top six.
Emerging Jets 1-3 Blacktown Spartans at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility
The Emerging Jets were unable to steer themselves towards securing the three points in a 3-1 loss to Blacktown Spartans over the weekend.
It was a bottom of the table clash at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility as the 14th placed Emerging Jets took on a Blacktown Spartans side sitting just above them in 13th.
The Spartans would begin the match the happier of the two sides, having taken the lead through Christa Oliva. The opener would arrive when midfielder Alana Murphy showcased her excellent vision with a delightful through ball to Oliva from deep in her own half that was cleared by Jets keeper Xanthe Parsons. Parsons’ clearance would not travel far however before it found its way in the pathway of Donelle Moore, Moore opting to shoot from distance only to be stopped again by Parsons chesting the ball outside the box. Parsons’ good fortune would soon run out when Oliva picked up the loose ball and chipped the Jets no. 1 for 1-0.
Jets forward Claire Adams had a chance to equalise when she was played through on goal by Josie Allan, only to see her resulting finish saved heroically by an onrushing Anna Norton in the Spartans goal. Unfortunately for the Jets, the subsequent counter-attack led to the Spartans notching their second goal of the day through Abbey Lemon.
A resounding header from Alexis Collins would get the Jets back into the match in the 33rd minute, only for Christine Olivia to round out the win for the Spartans in the final minutes of the 90.
Illawarra Stingrays 1-1 NWS Spirit FC at Macedonia Park
Macedonia Park played host to a fascinating 1-1 draw between the Illawarra Stingrays and NWS Spirit FC on Sunday evening.
As the Stingrays would discover, the first goal of the day would prove to be the most challenging to score. Michelle Carney’s opener was the result of Sakura Nojima’s shot from the left wing unwittingly hitting the crossbar and falling to Sasha Grove on the right wing. Grove’s delicately chipped cross then met the ruthless Carney, who proceeded to put her side 1-0 up.
NWS Spirit FC then took control of the match and scored an excellent equaliser in the 37th minute, the goal arriving off the back of intelligent work in the midfield by Mary Stanic-Floody to progress their side up the field. Rola Badawiya continues to prove herself to be a critical signing by the Spirit at this point in the season, with her goal to bring her side level significant to confirming a result for the away side
A largely evenly-matched affair that saw both defences standing up and both midfields staying relentless, the result ensures that the NWS Spirit FC remain unbeaten since round 4. Importantly, the Stingrays have shown quality in their past few matches and have begun to click at a critical point in the season.
Manly United 1-4 Sydney Olympic at Cromer Park
It was an excellent day out for Sydney Olympic as they came away 4-1 winners over Manly United on the weekend.
A dream start for Olympic set the match alight as the away side scored back-to-back goals in the 8th and 10th minute respectively through Angelique Hristodoulou and Kiara De Domizio. Striker Hristodoulou continues her fine form in the 2023 season and is regularly proving her importance to this Olympic side each week.
New signing Gema Simon – a former Matilda and Newcastle Jets legend – scored Manly’s sole goal of the day in the 17th minute and gave her side an avenue back into the match that they struggled to build on.
Olympic player Allira Toby would have been delighted to see the ball roll kindly towards her in the 61st minute after Grace Arnold’s errant pass went straight to her. However, Arnold was quick to the ball (twice) and ended the opportunity.
Toby would secure her goal however when Arnold failed to deal with a Megan Grew cross and therefore allowed the Olympic forward to capitalise. 3-1 to Olympic.
Olympic then earned a penalty in the 74th minute when Sarah Yatim was brought to ground in the box. Hristodoulou would lock in her brace when she scored the resulting penalty.
The Cromer Park faithful would have been left dismayed by the result, which compounds Manly’s struggles for form in 2023 and extends their winless run to six matches. However, it is a massive result for the away side as it pushes them to 2nd on the ladder this season.
Gladesville Ravens 1-3 APIA Leichardt at Christie Park
Gladesville Ravens’ winning run came to an end against an APIA Leichardt outfit that is proving more and more difficult to beat with each passing week.
APIA’s first goal – in an eventual 3-1 win over the Ravens – was brilliantly crafted via the in-game football nous of Sophie Hoban that led to her spotting the speedy Holly McNamara racing through on goal and playing an aerial through ball to the striker for a lethal strike past Ravens goalkeeper Romina Parraguirre.
A quick interchange between players in the front third resulted in the in-form Ashlie Crofts jumping onto a pass close to goal and finishing past Parraguirre. 2-0 to APIA.
As the Ravens searched for an avenue back into the match, on the precipice of half-time, Lexie Moreno sought to open up the APIA defence, only to have her cross parried away by the outstanding APIA defence. The resulting clearance bounced perfectly for Annie Halls to send an astounding volley beyond Morgan Aquino.
APIA’s third goal was scrambled home in the 80th minute after a fumble from Parraguirre led to plenty of attempts to clear the ball before Chris could sort It out.
Northern Tigers 1-3 Bankstown City Lions at North Turramurra Recreation Area
Bankstown City Lions came away with a 3-1 win over the Northern Tigers at North Turramurra Recreation Area.
Zoe Tolland was at the heart of the Lions’ opening goal when she spotted the overlapping run of Stephanie Ambrose, patiently waited and then played her through on the left wing, leading to a troubling low cross that Rasamee Phonsongkham finished emphatically into the back of the net.
The Lions’ pressing proved to be too difficult to handle for the Tigers, and in the 61st minute Olivia Price put a dent in the home side’s chances of leading a comeback when she received the ball on the right wing and confidently curled the ball past Josie Wilson in the Tigers goal.
Phonsongkham nearly had a second after she took advantage of a hesitant Wilson clearance, turned, and then finished just above the top left corner.
Continuing the trend of beautiful goals in the NPL NSW Women’s competition this weekend, the Tigers would finally score in the 71st minute through Claudia Cholakian taking control of the ball in midfield and unleashing a wicked strike for 2-1 to Japan.
In the 85th minute, Ambrose would find herself well-placed on the left wing yet again to replicate the Lions’ first goal, Demi Koulizakis the eventual scorer from Ambrose’s low cross with an excellent side-footed finish that hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced in. Although it was initially unclear if the ball had crossed the line, the offside referee confirmed that the goal would stand, leading the Lions to a 3-1 victory and back-to-back wins to give their season lift-off.
By Matthew Badrov
