Women?s Super League Round 4 Preview

With the big guns yet to go head to head, finals hopefuls have been scavenging as many points as they can get. From now, the games will only get tougher as each team has ironed out the off-season cobwebs in the first few rounds.
The pick of the weekend’s fixtures is undoubtedly the intriguing clash between Sydney Olympic and Eastern UNSW Lions at Blick Oval.  The two sides are firming as dark horses for this year?s title after some very impressive performances over the first few rounds, while this matchup serves as their first major test.
Both sides possess attacking firepower, with the Lions’ Danielle Pritchard and Olympic’s Effie Rodopoulos banging in goals over the first three rounds. Both sides have recorded victories in their first two fixtures (round one was a washout) and both have scored plenty of goals.
It appears a very difficult result to pick, yet with the Olympic defence leaking four goals in two matches one could make a case for a Lions victory. What we can expect though is goals, and lots of them.
Out west, the unassuming but effective Gladesville Ravens head to Nepean FC, with both sides coming off the back of comfortable round three victories. Gladesville are one of only two sides yet to concede a goal (the other is APIA), while at the other end they’ve put away five in two games.
It shapes as a difficult fixture for Nepean who have played well over the first few rounds, but this may be a bridge too far. Gladeville look a stronger and more committed side than that of last year and should notch up their third straight win here, setting them up well for their much anticipated round six clash with APIA.
Another interesting round four match up is at Mills Park where the battered and bruised Northern Tigers play host to Parramatta Lady Hawks. The Tigers copped a seven-goal hiding last week at the hands of APIA and will be looking to put that behind them in this completely winnable fixture.
Lady Hawks dropped the ball last week, ending their perfect start to the season and bringing themselves back level with the chasing pack.  The Tigers can take heart from a much stronger second half performance on an altogether dismal day at APIA and will fight hard.  Realistically though, Lady Hawks should settle for nothing less than three points in this fixture.
Over at St George Stadium, the still winless Saints will get their best chance to get off the mark when they take on another winless side in Northbridge. One of the few teams to have played all three scheduled fixtures, Northbridge are still yet to get themselves a point – a poor start to the season by anyone’s standards. With both sides desperate for three points, this one could go either way, but expect St George to narrowly come away with this one at home.
Lastly this week, Springwood United are in for a tough time against a rampant APIA side fresh from a walk-in-the-park victory over Northern Tigers last weekend. It’s hard to see Springwood getting anything out of this, assuming Tigers coach Tarek Madani doesn’t rest his entire squad.  This doesn’t seem likely as APIA have only played one game so far, with their midweek catchup match against UNSW washed out yet again.
APIA should improve their already imposing goal difference here, and don’t be surprised if ruthless young striker Aysha Adalis doesn’t make it two hattricks from two starts.
Round four shapes as a telling test for many sides hoping to play finals football this year. Get down to a game near your and enjoy the exciting, quality football on offer!
-By Ryan Cropp