Round 14 Review – NPL Women’s NSW
A fascinating Round 14 of the National Premier Leagues Women’s NSW competition saw plenty of upsets and huge results, with the Emerging Jets notching their first win of the season and APIA Leichhardt maintaining 1st place in the lead up to Round 15.
Read on for our full breakdown of the weekend that was.
Match of the Round – NWS Spirit 2-0 Northern Tigers at Christie Park
NWS Spirit FC recorded a fine 2-0 victory over the Northern Tigers on Sunday night at Christie Park to open the beginning of the second half of the season.
A goal in each half was enough for Tony Candy’s team as Savannah Murray opened the scoring, while youngster Talia Younis sewed up the points in the second period.
It was the Northern Tigers’ first defeat since the 24th of March and they will be keen to bounce straight back next week.
Click here to view the full match report.
UNSW 2-3 Football NSW Institute at The Village Green
Football NSW Institute prevailed 3-2 over UNSW in an entertaining Friday night matchup at The Village Green.
The opening match of the round saw UNSW returning home after their win away to the Blacktown Spartans last time out. However, both sides will have entered this matchup determined to earn the three points.
And the home side would open the scoring through Talia Backhouse, who did well to press the Institute defence into a risky back pass that left just enough room for an instinctive finish across goal. 1-0 to UNSW in the 34th minute.
Trouble at the back would again leave FNSW Institute vulnerable, with Chloe Smith excellently hounding her defender before stealing possession and sneaking the ball in underneath the diving Jasmin Selva with a strike from range. 2-0 to UNSW on the stroke of half time.
Miraculously, the teams appeared to swap trajectories at half time, with a poor pass this time from UNSW out the back allowing FNSW Institute in with a chance to begin their comeback through Anita Zordan, who placed the ball into the bottom right corner from distance. 2-1 in the 67th minute.
FNSW Institute were looking determined in the second half and found an equaliser in the shape of a stunning long-range strike by Kiara Bonora, who showed complete composure in picking out the top left corner from well outside the box. 2-2 in the 71st minute.
A dramatic 90th minute winner for FNSW Institute would be crafted by Tiana Fuller thirty seconds on from seeing her own potential winner saved by the goalkeeper, this time setting up Amelia Cassar for a well-taken effort to give her side the three points. 3-2 the final score.
Bulls FC Academy 7-0 Blacktown Spartans at Northbridge Oval
Bulls FC Academy delivered an emphatic 7-0 trouncing of the Blacktown Spartans in Sunday evening’s matchup at Northbridge Oval.
Fresh from a mid-week draw with Sydney University, the Bulls will no doubt have wanted to quickly get back to winning ways against the Spartans. With the season halfway gone, the Spartans know that every result counts in the run in to the end of the year.
The Bulls would take control of the match early on, and were quickly rewarded after some good build up led to Tamires Souza picking up a loose ball and squaring up Briana Woodall for an easy tap in in front of goal. 1-0 to the Bulls in the 7th minute.
Woodall then backed up her opener with a poacher’s finish after following up from a cross that was initially touched on to the crossbar by Spartans goalkeeper Anna Norton.
Souza would then notch a goal of her own in the 39th minute, burying a header after a pinpoint cross was launched in from the right wing toward the back post. 3-0 to the Bulls heading into halftime.
The goals continued to flow for the Bulls in the second half, with Elizabeth Grey adding a fourth for her side in the 51st minute via a strong header from a corner.
A pull down on Amber Luchtmeijer just outside the box would lead to a red card for Spartans defender Chantelle Maniti. Luchtmeijer herself would then earn a brace after goals in the 65th and 75th minute respectively, the first just crossing the line after an initial save by Norton and the second a well-taken volley after a shot deflected into her path.
The final goal of the day would be earned from a penalty scored by Souza, who showed total composure in burying her finish into the bottom right corner to secure a brace and to seal a 7-0 win.
Manly United 1-2 APIA Leichhardt at Cromer Park
Despite pushing for a late equaliser, Manly United would go down 2-1 to APIA Leichhardt in Sunday night’s clash at Cromer Park.
Entering this fixture after a tough run of form will no doubt have left Manly focused on delivering a positive performance against APIA. However, the away side will have been buoyed by the prospect of taking on a wounded Manly side that had been knocked off the top of ladder in recent weeks.
And it would be APIA who would take the ascendancy in the first half following a terrific run and superb cross delivered by Charlotte Lancaster to the back post that Ashlie Crofts was initially unable to turn home, leaving an onrushing Te Reremoana Walker with ample room to bury the ball into the back of the net. 1-0 to APIA in the 40th minute.
Crofts then earned a goal of her own in the second half after the ball was won strongly in midfield, leading to APIA’s reliable No. 11 showing complete assurance in putting the ball away for a 2-0 lead.
Manly would give APIA some late strife when in the 86th Alexia Karrys-Stahl fashioned a sublime low free kick finish into the bottom left corner of the net. However, the match would conclude 2-1 in favour of the visitors.
Emerging Jets 1-0 Sydney Olympic at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility
The Emerging Jets pulled off the upset of the season so far in a spectacular 1-0 victory over high-flyers Sydney Olympic at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility.
Leading into this match, the Jets were continuing forward in search of their first victory of the season after coming close several times throughout this campaign. A midweek win for Sydney Olympic saw them leapfrog APIA Leichhardt and jump into 1st place heading into Round 14, and they will have been determined to maintain their spot at the top.
The first half saw both sides crafting plenty of chances on goal, with the Jets looking particularly dangerous in the front third and remaining fearless in playing out from the back.
The Jets would then earn the opportunity to take the lead in the second half after Alexis Collins was tripped in the box, with midfield maestro Josie Allan stepping up to knock the ball in off the post for 1-0 in the 58th minute.
A mere minute later, the Jets would be forced to see out the match with ten players after a second yellow card was awarded to Milan Hammond for pulling a player down. However, the home side would hold on to earn their first win of the 2024 season.
As they have shown several times throughout this campaign, the Jets are strong contenders at their Lake Macquarie home ground, and this result will leave many teams worried in the coming weeks on the drive up the M1.
Macarthur Rams 0-1 Illawarra Stingrays at Lynwood Park
The Illawarra Stingrays arrived at Lynwood Park and successfully pulled off a 1-0 win to stun the Macarthur Rams and their fans on Sunday evening.
A mid-week loss to Sydney Olympic pushed the Rams out of the top four, leaving them to take on the visiting Stingrays in a must-win match for both sides. The Stingrays have endured an inconsistent run of form of late, but still possess plenty of quality to upset the Rams at Lynwood Park.
A tight first half between the two sides saw limited chances being created by either team, with neither the Rams or the Stingrays willing to give an inch.
It would take until the stroke of half time for either side to land a shot on target, and in some style, as Sakura Nojima won the ball in midfield before unleashing a ferocious strike from distance that sailed beyond Rams goalkeeper Teresa Morrissey and into the top left corner of the net.
The second half would continue the theme of the first half, with both teams competing strongly in an attempt to gain the ascendancy. However, it would be the visitors from the South Coast who would see out the match as winners and earn the three points.
Sydney University 3-1 Gladesville Ravens at Valentine Sports Park
Despite being forced to shift this match to Valentine Sports Park, a massive performance by Sydney University saw them defeat the Gladesville Ravens 3-1 on Sunday evening.
Sydney Uni was forced to settle for yet another draw in their mid-week match against Bulls FC Academy, making it four draws in a row for the inner west side. Earning a win will have been a huge focus for Sydney Uni heading into Round 14, but a visit from the in-form Ravens presents itself as a big test for the side.
In-form Ravens attacker Isabella Habuda opened the scoring for her side in just the 4th minute of the match, having bypassed a Sydney Uni defender with a nice turn before sliding the ball in at the near post to give her side a 1-0 lead.
A smartly worked set play would lead to Sydney Uni finding an equaliser in the 20th minute following a sensational cross from Annabel Martin that was met by a rising Aimee Longhurst, who did well to place a fantastic header past the goalkeeper for 1-1.
Sydney Uni would head into the halftime break in the lead off the back of a second goal from Longhurst, this time generated when a long ball over the top caused plenty of trouble for the Ravens defence and subsequently allowed Ava Pritchard in to play the ball onto Longhurst for a last-gasp finish.
Talia Kapetanellis would then provide the goal in the second half to seal the three points for Sydney Uni, the No. 11 touching the ball in after a quality cross was delivered by defender Amelia Feeney from the right wing. 3-1 the final result.
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Words by Matthew Badrov
