Arrive Alive NSW Women?s Premier League Round 21 Review

Who would be the semi finalists? Would Rams or Koalas be Minor Premiers? Can Marconi hold off The Koalas to win the Club Championship? It?s a sign of a fine competition when ten teams can work their way through 20 rounds of games yet still have all the titles up for grabs in the final round of the season.
The question of semi finalists had been answered earlier in the week when Manly United FC defeated Penrith Nepean United in a ?catch up match? at Cromer Park. Manly turned in one of their more dominant performances; overcoming a disappointing Penrith side 7-1. This left Manly five points clear of Penrith with just Sunday?s round of matches to play.
Sunday?s games saw the top four playing each other. Both games were vital to the result of the Minor Premiership and Club Championship. Macarthur held a two point lead in the former; Marconi a thirteen point lead in the latter. Our Match of the Day coverage came from Marconi Stadium where The Stallions met NWS Koalas.
The Stadium itself was being used for the 1^st Division Grand Finals of the local association. This meant that the girls were relegated to the back fields at the Marconi complex. It was obvious when I arrived at the park, midway through the first half of the Reserve Grade game, that the Club Championship had already been decided. The wide smiles of Marconi club officials told the tale! The Koalas had needed to win in every grade to overtake The Stallions but were unable to do so. Congratulations to the Marconi club on an outstanding achievement.
Bossley Park certainly didn?t resemble Bermuda on a cold and overcast Sunday afternoon. However, an immediate bright spot appeared in the weather when I noticed that the league?s prettiest referee, Ariane Nemorin, was to officiate in the first grade game. Okay, so this all sounds sexist but gee, how many good looking referees do you know? Just to top it all off Ariane does a damn good job in the middle as well!
Okay, okay, my focus is back. Let?s talk football. Marconi were missing a number of first graders with Ash Copper suspended after being red carded last weekend, Fab Perfilio with a knee injury and Jodie Bain also unavailable. The Stallions did welcome back their Captain, Amanda Poulton, after 12 weeks on the sideline with a lung infection.
The Stallions made the early running, putting together some nice passing movements that opened gaps in the Koalas defence. In the opening moments Temika Wearing fired over the bar from a Marconi corner. Soon after Marconi were on the attack again. However, Koalas received a free kick after a foul by Sam Muscat on Koalas keeper Anne Rutlidge.
Muscat was having a busy game. She made a strong run down the right of the field before crossing to an unmarked Wearing. Unfortunately her header lacked control, flying over the crossbar. Marconi were certainly right on top but not turning their opportunities into goals.
The Koalas raids kept falling apart through incomplete passes. A Rachel Jones kick, high into the box, brought some hope for the visitors as Alicia Cavanagh leapt high to contest the ball with the Marconi defence. Stallions? keeper Courtney Halpin was equal to the task though, managing to palm Cavanagh?s header as it speared towards goal.
Gabbie Dickinson was working hard for The Koalas. In the 12^th minute however, Dickinson picked up a yellow card. This led to Temika Wearing fashioning yet another goal scoring chance but keeper Rutlidge saved the day again for The Koalas.
The Koalas pushed forward with Cavanagh providing a neat pass which released Anna McLean down the left. McLean?s booming shot was saved in spectacular fashion by a diving Halpin but the Marconi keeper is only able to deflect the ball into the path of Sanaa Hawkins who calmly slots away the tap in to give The Koalas the lead. This goal opened up the game with both sides pushing forward, providing us with end to end play.
The Koalas appeared to have hit their stride with Hawkins knocking down a ball to the feet of Cavanagh whose ferocious shot flew over the bar. Marconi were not backing off though with Amanda Poulton and Sam Muscat shooting for goal in quick succession. In the 33^rd minute, however, Poulton was dispossessed on half way. The ball was put forward to Anna McLean for The Koalas who centred the ball as she raced towards the left hand side of the Marconi area. The ball was chested down by Alicia Cavanagh who then turned to slam a shot at goal. Unfortunately the ball flew wide, denying Cavanagh what would have been a magical goal. 
Alicia wasn?t finished though with Natalie Spirovski and McLean combining to create anther chance for their Captain who shot wide again. The Koalas gained some ascendancy; Dickinson then sailing a long, high ball into the Marconi goal mouth which Stallions keeper Halpin leapt in the air to grab just in front of an advancing Cavanagh.
In the shadows of half time The Koalas butchered an opportunity after Spirovski released Hawkins in a run at goal. Rather than shoot herself Hawkins passed inside to Cavanagh. The pass goes behind The Koalas striker who, when she gathered the ball, shot at goal. The shot is knocked down, presenting Anna Mclean with a chance but a host of Marconi defenders block the shot on the line. That should have been 2-0!
Hawkins then won a ball from a Marconi defender after a deflection. The ball went to Dickinson who shoots high and wide.
These missed opportunities came back to haunt The Koalas right on half time when Marconi go forward. Keeper Rutlidge brought off a diving save from a shot by Nicole Kimber, before then knocking down a one on one opportunity by Amanda Cergovski. All these heroics come to nought though as the ball then flew to Sam Muscat whose shot hits the back of the net with the last kick of the half. That?s 1-1 at half time; probably a quite fitting result given the host of chances created by both sides.
The second half commenced with The Koalas taking control. Alicia Cavanagh was causing the Marconi defence all sorts of headaches; setting up a chance for Anna McLean and working well with her team mates to build the attack. A Koalas corner saw a goalmouth melee with The Stallions scrambling to prevent a goal whilst The Koalas did everything but score! Spirovski then shot wide for The Koalas. The visitors then replaced Katarina Kraft with Danni Calvi.
Calvi made an impression from the start with a shot on goal after good build up from Cavanagh. The resulting corner was not cleared by the defence, dropping to the feet of Rachel Jones who scored. The Koalas moved to a 2-1 lead with promise of more to come.
Within a minute The Koalas broke from defence after some good work by Adriana Cirjak. Cavanagh sets up a shot by Dickinson but she miskicked across goal. Fortunately Danni Calvi seized on the opportunity, following up to score and give The Koalas a 3-1 lead.  The game had suddenly been blown open with the Koalas hitting their straps.
Five minutes later The Koalas were on the attack again. After winning a corner the ball fell back to Natalie Spirovski whose clinical finish extended the Koalas lead to 4-1. Marconi were shell shocked! Cavanagh almost added to their woes moments later after good lead up work from Dickinson. However, her shot was well held by keeper Halpin.
Marconi?s best chances were now are coming on the break but The Koalas seemed capable of dealing with the danger. Koalas Coach, Claude De Francesco, took the opportunity to give his bench some game time with Evelyn Chronis replacing Dickinson, Stephanie De Francesco subbing for Cirjak and Leonore Carr coming on for Spirovski.  The changes made little difference to The Koalas dominance though as they continued to push forward. Hawkins and Calvi peppered the goal with shots but were unable to add to the scoreline.  In the closing moments Alicia Cavanagh capped off what had been a frustrating day in front of goal personally when she was unable to get the ball onto her right foot for the shot. Cavanagh shouldn?t be too hard on herself though as she played a big part in a very impressive Koalas? win. The final score stood at 4-1 to NWS Koalas.
Koalas Captain Alicia Cavanagh was very happy with the win after what she described as a ?rough start?. Whilst Cavanagh felt that her side had had their chances in the first half, she said that the 1-1 half time scoreline was probably a fair assessment of the game. She was very happy with the way her side tightened up defensively in the 2^nd half, allowing the Koalas attack to dominate. Cavanagh was happy with the turn around in form from recent weeks; just the boost the side was looking for prior to the finals. She was hopeful that the team can take their opportunities in the coming weeks.
Marconi Captain Amanda Poulton described the result as ?disappointing?. She said that her team had been in good form in recent games and that this was not an ideal result going into the semi finals. However, Poulton said that it?s basically a whole new competition from next weekend with no second chances. ?All teams have to be on their game? she stated. Poulton was proud of her club?s success in the Club Championship with each of Marconi?s teams making the finals. She was hopeful that, back to full strength next week, The Stallions will be ready for a semi final clash with Manly United FC.
Marconi Stallions 1 (S.Muscat)
NWS Koalas          4 (S.Hawkins, R.Jones, D.Calvi, N.Spirovski)
This win was not enough however to bring The Koalas a Minor Premiership.
Elsewhere the Macarthur Rams wrapped up that title after a 3-3 draw with Manly United at Cromer Park. Whilst the draw left The Rams and Koalas equal on points Macarthur snared the title with a superior for and against.
Macarthur had opened the scoring in their match with a 2^nd minute goal by Renee Cartwright. However, the locals were back on even terms within 60 seconds when Sheerin scored. ?Deadly? Stephanie Haim put The Rams back in front in the 25^th minute though; the 2-1 scoreline remaining until the half time break. Linda Dudek extended that lead to 3-1 with a goal in the 76^th minute. The Rams were probably preparing their Minor Premiership winning celebration by this time but Manly caused a scare or two in the Macarthur ranks in the closing moments when first Neville (81m) and then Van Weeren (87m) scored to even up the ledger. The Rams held firm for the remaining moments though to cement their second successive Minor Premiership triumph.
The Rams now meet the NWS Koalas in next Sunday?s major semi final whilst Manly go on to play Marconi Stallions in the minor semi.
Manly United       3 (E.Sheerin, L.Neville, H.Van Weerin)
Macarthur Rams 3 (R.Cartwright, S.Haim, L.Dudek)
Penrith United finished their season with a good 3-0 win over Sutherland Sharks at Cook Park.
The disappointment of the mid week loss to Manly United was tempered somewhat by this result. Penrith led 2-0 at half time after goals by Emma Stewart (3m) and Claire Tyson (25m). Renee Tomkins completed the scoring with a 77^th minute goal to leave Penrith a creditable fifth on the ladder, just three points outside of the final four. Maybe 2009 will see the Penrith girls take things a step or two further?
Sutherland?s inability to score goals proved their weakness all season. If Dimitri Berbatov decides not to join Manchester United this week maybe The Sharks should consider signing him up before the 2009 season? Oh yes, the sex change operation may present a stumbling block in negotiations but you never know what you can do until you try. Thanks to The Sharkies for being such an enjoyable bunch of young ladies to deal with.
Penrith United         3 (E.Stewart, C.Tyson, R.Tomkins)
Sutherland Sharks  0
Finally, Sydney University capped off their season with a comfortable 5-1 win over Central Coast Lightning.
Sydney University, though finishing only sixth on the ladder, impressed many with the manner in which they improved as the season progressed. Sure, there?s a bit of work to do to reel in the big fish come 2009 but at least the University side have plenty of positives to work forward with.
Despite only holding a 1-0 half time lead after a 2^nd minute goal from McClymont, University went on with it in the second half with goals to Watt (55m), Seers (66m, 83m) and McBeath (73m). Central Coast snared a consolation goal in the 81^st minute to Swinfield.
A very disappointing season for The Lightning is finally over. Their young team tried hard but they struggled to handle the pace of the Arrive Alive NSW Women?s Premier League. Central Coast now face the prospect of playing in the Super League in 2009. I?m sure that the powers that be on the coast will be working hard to bring success to the club next season.
So, four teams now plan their Mad Monday celebrations whilst four others prepare for what is sure to be a keenly contested finals series. On any given day there is little between the finalists but defending Minor Premiers/Premiers, Macarthur Rams, would look likely to carry the dreaded ?favourites? tag into the semi finals. It?s anyone?s title though in what should be an absorbing couple of weeks.
-By Ross Anderson