Round 8 of the National Premier Leagues Women’s NSW provided fans with a weekend full of upsets and surprise results, with the ladder undergoing a massive shakeup in the process.
Read on for the full breakdown of the weekend’s matches.
Match Of The Round – Gladesville Ravens 2-3 Northern Tigers at Christie Park
A five-goal thriller went the way of the Northern Tigers at Christie Park on Sunday night as they over-came the Gladesville Ravens in the NPL Women’s NSW Round Eight Match of the Round, 3-2.
The home side took the lead inside the first 10 minutes thanks to Annie Halls, before Amy Hislop equalised for the Tigers before the break.
Two goals inside the first 10 minutes of the second half to Lily McMahon and Nicola Dominikovich saw the visitors completely turn around the scoreline.
Isabella Habuda then gave the Ravens a lifeline mid-way through the second half but the Tigers managed to hold on.
Click here to read the full match report!
Football NSW Institute 5-0 Emerging Jets at Valentine Sports Park
Football NSW Institute proved to be too strong for the visiting Emerging Jets, with the home side securing a dominant 5-0 win at Valentine Sports Park.
FNSW Institute did well to hold the Gladesville Ravens to a lone goal last weekend, and will have been aware of the need to be on their toes defensively against a Jets side arriving to Valentine Sports Park off the back of a sensational performance in their 2-2 draw with the Illawarra Stingrays in Round 7.
Institute opened the scoring in the 25th minute after a deep cross was headed back into the middle for Adelaide Wyrzynski, who made no mistake in placing the ball into the bottom left corner through a sea of defenders.
Barely a minute later, Wyrzynski was at the heart of her side’s second goal as she stole possession in midfield and proceeded to bypass a Jets defender with sublime skill to setup Tiana Fuller for a terrific strike beyond goalkeeper Lily-Rose Dunbar.
The second half would continue the momentum in favour of FNSW Institute, with Mikayla Duong put through on goal in the 52nd minute and assuredly burying the ball past the onrushing Dunbar. 3-0 to the home side.
A fourth goal arrived in the 58th minute courtesy of a quick counter from Institute and Amelia Cassar’s lethal strike, before Wyrzynski put the finishing touches on her side’s second victory of the season after dribbling past Dunbar and calmly slotting the ball home for 5-0.
Bulls FC Academy 0-3 Illawarra Stingrays at Northbridge Oval
The Illawarra Stingrays travelled away to Bulls FC Academy and triumphantly came away from Northbridge Oval with the three points.
The Bulls returned to Northbridge Oval for the first time this season and will have been determined to harness the home advantage to bounce back after a loss in Round 7. The Stingrays were to be a formidable opponent for the Bulls however, as they looked to return to winning ways after back-to-back draws this past week.
The Stingrays would have to wait until the second half to open the scoring however, with star attacker Sakura Nojima making a superb run into the box and latching onto a terrific ball from Tara Cannon before firing a half-volleyed finish past Trudy Simmons in the Bulls goal. 1-0 to the Stingrays in the 54th minute.
Nojima was in the right place at the right time to receive an errant pass from Simmons in the box for the Stingrays’ second of the day, which the No. 8 duly finished calmly into the bottom corner. 2-0 in the 60th minute.
The Stingrays’ third of the evening would be scored late on by Layla Etherington, the substitute confidently finishing across goal after receiving an aerial through ball from deep.
Manly United 3-0 Sydney Olympic at Cromer Park
Manly United have moved to first place on the ladder after a strong 3-0 victory over Sydney Olympic at Cromer Park on Sunday evening.
Second versus third in the NPL Women’s NSW competition presented itself as an exciting fixture for fans, but for Manly and Olympic it would have been seen as a crucial opportunity to potentially move into first place pending the result of the Macarthur Rams match.
Though both sides were showing attacking intent throughout the opening stages, it would be Manly who opened the scoring through Alexia Forner’s classy free-kick from the edge of the box that zipped past Susanna Behne-Smith in the Olympic goal and into the back of the net. 1-0 to Manly in the 18th minute.
Manly refused to back away and in the second half would extend their lead after Emily Minett’s quality footwork resulted in a shot that was initially deflected by an Olympic defender toward Behne-Smith, who was unable to get a hold of the ball, leaving Gemma Woolley with all the time in the world to tap the ball over the line and in. 2-0 to Manly in the 59th minute.
Minett would then show her quality and chase down a brilliant ball through from midfield to finish emphatically into the back of the net for 3-0, giving her side added confidence to see out the match and to finish Round 8 atop the ladder.
Macarthur Rams 1-3 Blacktown Spartans at Lynwood Park
The Blacktown Spartans sprung a surprise upset over the weekend, defeating then league leaders Macarthur Rams 3-1 to knock them off the top of the NPL Women’s ladder.
Returning home after two rounds away, the Rams will have entered the matchup with the Spartans knowing a win was urgently needed to keep them in first at the end of Round 8. The Spartans were yet to have added to their solitary win this season and will have known they needed to be at their best against Macarthur.
The Spartans opened the scoring against the run of play in the 9th minute when a Rams defensive clearance found its way into the path of Christa Oliva, who took the chance and fired home a low volleyed strike that eluded Rams goalkeeper Kaydi Christie and bounced into the bottom left corner.
Macarthur would quickly respond through Bronte Trew in the 12th minute after Spartans goalkeeper Anna Norton brought down Miku Sunaga in the box, leaving their ever-reliable No. 11 with the chance to equalise from 12 yards, which she promptly did.
Some quality interplay around the 18-yard box proved to be Macarthur’s undoing in the 25th minute, with Alyssa McKenzie on hand to bury Charlotte Wilford Carroll’s pinpoint pass to add a second for the visitors.
Oliva would provide the heroic winner for her side in the 78th minute, dispatching a penalty coolly into the bottom right corner to secure an incredible away win at Lynwood Park for the Spartans.
Sydney University 2-3 APIA Leichhardt at Sydney Uni Football Ground
Despite taking a 2-0 lead into half time, Sydney University were unable to hold out as APIA Leichhardt crafted a miraculous comeback in the second half to win 3-2 at Sydney Uni Football Ground.
Sydney Uni gave a good account of themselves last weekend despite going down to Sydney Olympic, and will have wanted to carry that momentum into a tough fixture against an APIA side stacked with several attacking weapons.
And they certainly began well when Jaime Beaufils broke away from her marker at a corner and finished a firm header beyond Sophie Magus to give her side a 1-0 lead in just the 2nd minute.
Sydney Uni would add to their lead in the 19th minute again from a corner, with Anna Hunt on the spot at the back post to tuck away a looping cross that bested the APIA defenders.
APIA came out of the sheds in the second half keenly aware of the need to score quickly and would do just that in the 52nd minute when Charlotte Lancaster picked up a loose clearance from Baylee Broomhead and curved a brilliant finish from distance into the back of the net.
A 75th minute equaliser for APIA would be scored through Estelle Fragale, who did well to meet a free-kick from the left edge and place her header over Broomhead for 2-2.
APIA would notch a dramatic late winner through Ashlie Crofts, with the No. 11 standing strong and meeting a looping cross to head home beyond Broomhead in the 77th minute. 3-2 the final score.
UNSW 1-0 NWS Spirit at The Village Green
UNSW prevailed 1-0 over the visiting NWS Spirit in a tight contest at The Village Green on Sunday evening.
UNSW will have wanted to keep Spirit’s attacking weapons at bay in this fixture, especially in light of the away side tasting victory for the first time this season after successive draws. Moreover, the home team will have been aware of the need to start picking up points having endured a tough run of form of late.
There were limited chances for either side in the first half, with UNSW only able to fire several shots off target and Spirit kept at bay by a more resolute UNSW defence than we’ve seen in recent weeks.
With the second half continuing in the same vein as the first, it appeared the match would require a moment of luck or a mishap for either side to find the opener. And UNSW would find exactly that in the 50th minute when Amanda Levaskevich’s cross proved difficult to clear for the Spirit, leaving Marcella Santos with a brief window of opportunity to pounce and score what would be the game’s sole goal.
UNSW successfully withstood Spirit’s many subsequent forays toward goal, and were able to maintain their lead to ensure the three points at the end of the match.
By Matt Badrov