Arrive Alive Women?s Super League Round 11 Review

It was obvious that the sides who have suffered most during the bout of wet weather were happy to be back on the pitch though they may have suffered some lingering rust from their lay off. Nonetheless, it was a top weekend of football despite the very wintery conditions.
At Parklands Oval the Northern Tigers met Blacktown Spartans.
This promised to be a tough encounter with both sides having shown moments of promise, despite their lowly spots on the competition ladder.
Blacktown Spartans would have been trilled to bounce back into the winners list here, scoring a solid 3-1 win over the Tigers.
Whilst I?ve received the goal scorers for this game I have little other detail about the match. Both teams have big tests next weekend with the Northern Tigers travelling to Bathurst for a game with the Western NSW Panthers whilst Blacktown Spartans host competition front runners, Inter Lions.
Northern Tigers       1 (E.Banfield)
Blacktown Spartans 3 (Z.De Beer, T.Van Rijn, E.Connell)
At Pluim Park the Central Coast Lightning tackled St George FC.
Unfortunately it wasn?t a good day for the St George girls with Central Coast proving much too good. Again, I?ve been supplied with the goal scorers but have no other detail of the game.
The match was highlighted by a brace apiece to Central Coast players Jennifer Tatum and Liza Edwards.
This was Central Coast?s 2^nd game in two days after travelling down the F3 to do battle with Inter Lions on Friday evening. They meet Sydney Tigers next weekend whilst St George FC have a difficult match up at home with Southern NSW FC.
Central Coast Lightning 5 (J.Tatum 2, L.Edwards 2, L.Murray)
St George FC                   0
The Western NSW Panthers welcomed Southern NSW FC to a frostbitten Alec Lamberton Field. Bathurst was not warm and inviting on the weekend as winter starts to settle in.
The Panthers were back to some of their best form, grabbing a first half lead after two goals in the 25^th and 35^th minutes to their Captain Gillian Rosconi. The locals extended their lead after the break when Olivia Bird scored in the 67^th minute. Southern NSW FC snatched a late consolation goal through Louise Lloyd-Jones in the 84^th minute.
The Panthers were too good on the day though in a performance that would have had Coach Paul Waine smiling. Southern NSW FC will now have to book a place in the finals if they wish to extract some revenge on their country cousins.
Western NSW Panthers FC 3 (G.Rosconi 25m/35m, O.Bird 67m)
Southern NSW FC                1 (L.Lloyd-Jones 84m)
The PCYC Lady Hawks and Sydney Tigers locked horns at Melita Stadium.
The Tigers started warm favourites for this match with the return of Lisa Gilbert from injury and a much loftier spot on the competition table seeming to be sound recommendation. However, PCYC hadn?t read the script and proceeded to give their opponents the fright of their life.
The Tigers opened the scoring in the 8^th minute through Danielle Pagano. This looked like the start of a long afternoon for the home side. However, they stuck to their guns and kept the Tigers scoreless for the rest of the half. The match became a bit of an arm wrestle before PCYC?s Danyelle Pringle equalised in the 71^st minute from a Lady Hawks penalty.
This set the scene for a grandstand finish. The Lady Hawks looked set to come out of the match with something before that girl Lisa Gilbert bobbed up in the 84^th minute to score the winner for Sydney Tigers. Heartbreak for PCYC; euphoria for The Tigers!
Once again The Tigers struggled; a somewhat mystifying state of affairs considering some of the talent they have in their side. Still, if The Tigers can get away with the points when they don?t play well it has one wondering what may happen when they finally find their ?go? button. A great effort by PCYC, who deserved a better fate.
PCYC Lady Hawks 1 (D.Pringle 71m)
Sydney Tigers          2 (D.Pagano 8m, L.Gilbert 84m)
Inter Lions backed up for their second game in two days when they met the improving Gladesville Ravens at Ron Routley Reserve.
The Lions had beaten Central Coast Lightning on Friday evening after having missed the previous three rounds due to wet weather cancellations. The Ravens sat the locals on their pants early though when Fatma Agar scored for the Ravens in the 10^th minute.
Inter worked hard to get their engine running in the cold conditions before Renee Tomkins slotted away an equaliser in the 16^th minute. This was backed up by a goal from Dani Calvi in the 27^th minute which saw The Lions take a 2-1 lead into the dressing sheds at half time.
Both sides battled hard after half time but were unable to take advantage of their opportunities. However, The Ravens signalled their intent when Alyssa Hardie brought the scores level with a great goal in the 63^rd minute. Inter responded like a good team should though, breaking the game open with two goals in two minutes; one to Jo Saliba, the other to Elyse Goss. At 4-2 Inter?s way it looked all over. But, in the 75^th minute, Gladesville broke quickly from defence before Melissa Fornito was on hand to slot away the goal and renew The Ravens hopes of an upset win.
Try as they might though Gladesville couldn?t find that equaliser and The Lions went to the top of the competition table with a 4-3 win.
This was quite a match with both sides giving it their all. The Ravens have obviously improved considerably since the two sides? first round encounter and will consider themselves unlucky not to get something from the game. However, Inter Coach Joe Baldacci would have been proud of his team?s second win of the weekend. Nine goals in two games against solid opposition show the sort of firepower the leading side in the league have in their attacking arsenal.
Inter Lions              4 (R.Tomkins 16m, D.Calvi 27m, J.Saliba 68m, E.Goss 69m)
Gladesville Ravens 3 (F.Agar 10m, A.Hardie 63m, M.Fornito 75m)
The Lions also grabbed a 4-0 win on Friday night against Central Coast Lightning with Elyse Goss (2), Nat Spirovski and Dani Calvi scoring their goals. The match was marred by a serious neck injury to one of the Central Coast Lightning players. Fortunately, I?m pleased to advise the injury was not as serious as first thought and the player should be okay.
Congratulations to everyone who braved the miserable conditions on offer yesterday at the various Arrive Alive Women?s Super League venues. The standard of football was good, the close finishes providing plenty of excitement. Next weekend promises to be another round of close encounters of the football kind.
-By Ross Anderson