Arrive Alive Women?s Super League Round 11 Preview

The only side to have completed all ten scheduled matches so far is Southern NSW FC who now find themselves atop the competition table due to the weather anomaly. As your intrepid reporter types merrily away at his keyboard he can see the sunshine and clear skies above; a most welcome sight for those who want to play football. Things are looking positive for a big weekend in the Arrive Alive Women?s Super League.
One of the matches of the round is definitely at Alec Lamberton Field in Bathurst where the Western NSW Panthers play host to Southern NSW FC. One can be sure that Bathurst will be a cold spot to be with snow having been reported in neighbouring areas this week. 
The ?country derby? is always a keenly contested affair with the Western NSW Panthers having the better of recent clashes between the two sides. The first round encounter saw The Panthers come away from Ison Park with a narrow 1-0 win; an achievement in itself as Nowra has proven a graveyard for many teams in the last couple of seasons. The Panthers recent form hasn?t been their best but they bounced back to the winner?s list at their last outing with a narrow defeat of Gladesville Ravens at Magdala Park. Despite a few niggling injuries to key players I?m sure that Coach Paul Waine will have his girls ?up? for this week?s game.
Southern NSW FC have been fortunate enough to sidestep the big wet and keep up a steady stream of football. With eleven competition points from a possible twelve in recent weeks the girls from Nowra have been surging up the ladder. Their form has been sound with last weekend?s hard fought draw with Central Coast Lightning holding plenty of positives. Southern NSW are a good side with a very talented centre of attack through goalscoring machine Katie French. This will be a match that Southern NSW FC will be keen to win.
This should be a very interesting match. Let?s hope that the football on display can keep the spectators jumping; it may be the only way they can keep warm!
The Northern Tigers play Blacktown Spartans at Parklands Oval. Whilst both sides sit in the bottom half of the ladder they?ve generally proven quite competitive.
The young Tigers outfit crashed to one of their heavier defeats of the season to Gladesville Ravens last weekend. However, they bounced back in a catch up game on Monday to record their second win of the season with a 2-0 defeat of St George FC. They lost narrowly to Blacktown in their first round encounter but will obviously be hopeful of turning the tables here. You have to admire this team?s enthusiasm and character.
The Spartans have a couple of catch up games in hand, sitting in eighth place on the ladder. Their season is a little mixed; some promising performances spread amongst some disappointing ones. On their best days Blacktown have shown that they?re going forward rather than backwards but the side need to find some consistency. There?s plenty of talent in the side but games like this one are ones they must win.
This will be a close game. Whichever side takes their opportunities will get the points.
Central Coast Lightning host St George FC at Pluim Park.
Central Coast Lightning are a side that seem to be gathering momentum in their most recent games; not that there?s been a lot of them! Having only played seven of the ten rounds so far scheduled The Lightning girls obviously have a fair bit of football in front of them in coming weeks. They are poised in fifth place on the competition table with the look of a side that has a finals campaign at their mercy. They will be striving to maintain their promising progress with a win here.
St George FC have not had an easy season. Like many clubs they?ve battled a crippling injury toll; made no better by the early loss of their Captain, Natalie Di Francesco, to an ankle injury in the game against PCYC Lady Hawks last Sunday. A reduced squad in a period where so many teams have a plethora of catch up games isn?t a recipe for success but the St George girls can?t be accused of not having a dig. That win in Bathurst might be a good inspiration for this shorter road trip girls?
Central Coast Lightning would have to start favourites here but St George FC are capable of an upset.
Inter Lions and Gladesville Ravens do battle at Ron Routley Field. The locals have come up against match postponements three weeks in a row and the players? frustrations have been obvious on their Facebook posts!  I?m sure that they won?t believe they?re playing until the referee blows the whistle for kick off.
Inter Lions have been the team that everyone in the Arrive Alive Women?s Super League have been talking about in 2009. Whether it was the off season signings, controversy stirred by pre season rumours or just their early season form The Lions have attracted plenty of attention. They?ve scored plenty of goals, conceded barely a handful and won six of their seven games. This side certainly seem the benchmark by which the others are judging themselves this season. Back when they last played almost everyone seemed to be in form. Now?
Gladesville Ravens have started to find their feet in recent weeks with some excellent performances. Whilst they may have been expected to beat Northern Tigers last weekend it was the manner in which they did so that impressed. This followed on from a fine effort against Western NSW Panthers, giving proof positive that Coach Paul Wade?s claims of his team?s improvement were well founded.  The first round clash between these two sides saw a comfortable win to Inter but The Ravens get the chance to balance the ledger this Sunday. Just how much have they improved?
I can?t imagine that the lengthy break will have done Inter Lions any good. The Ravens meet them at the right time but do they have the talent to match the competition?s most dangerous team?
Last but not least in this week?s preview we come to the match between PCYC Lady Hawks and Sydney Tigers which will be played at Melita Stadium on Sunday.
The Lady Hawks sit in sixth spot on the competition table. They?ve done quite a creditable job so far in their debut season. With Matlidas Leena Khamis and Danielle Brogan pulling the strings from the bench the PCYC girls have a couple of perfect mentors. The Lady Hawks looked gone a couple of time during last week?s match with St George FC but fought back well in the second half to come away with a share of the points. Monday wasn?t quite as kind to them with a drubbing at the hands of Southern NSW FC but the girls are sure to give a good account of themselves this weekend.
The Sydney Tigers had successive draws with Blacktown Spartans and Western NSW Panthers before becoming victims of the wet weather in recent weeks. The Tigers have been another club battling with a lengthy injury list though inspirational midfielder Lisa Gilbert looks likely to return from an Achilles problem this weekend. Gilbert will be welcomed back with open arms, having been in red hot goals scoring form immediately prior to suffering her injury. The Tigers are a bit of an enigma; they still hold a lofty spot on the table but don?t appear to have hit anything like their best form yet. That?s a worrying thought for their opponents.
This will be a tough one for The Lady Hawks. The Tigers can be a formidable side and will take plenty of watching. 
With the promise of a full weekend of football fans of the Arrive Alive Women?s Super League have the opportunity to get out to a game and cheer for their favourite team. The players are rearing to go so plenty of good football is sure to be on display.
-By Ross Anderson