Women?s Super League Round 8 Review

Once again we have a new leader while St George ensured no one in the league now remains without a win.
Feature Match of the Week: Parramatta Lady Hawks vs Gladesville Ravens
Parramatta Lady Hawks and Gladesville Ravens have played out a seesawing 1-1 draw at Melita Stadium.
Lady Hawks’ Steph Lagudi cancelled out Georgina Attalah’s first half opener to earn her side a share of the points in a contest that could have gone either way. 
Gladesville will be frustrated at their inability to turn a completely dominant first half into regular goalscoring opportunities.  While Lady Hawks turned it around in the second half, they struggled to even get the ball in the first period, such was Gladeville’s dominance.
Lady Hawks set themselves up with three at the back and it seemed to stifle the penetration of Ravens attacks through the middle. Not to be deterred, Gladesville continued to play some beautiful passing football, albeit on a decidedly bumpy surface.
With Parramatta stacking the center of defence, the Ravens tended to exploit the space on the flanks where utility Liz Talarico was causing all kinds of headaches for her markers.
Georgina Attalah worked tirelessly against some physical marking and got her just reward on the stroke of halftime when a fortuitous bounce off a defender put her in space to finish well into the bottom corner.
The halftime score flattered Lady Hawks who had been thoroughly outplayed in the first period but could take heart from the fact that they limited the Ravens to all but two shots on goal.
Gladesville seemed to drop their intensity in the second half, which was understandable considering they were playing their third game inside seven days. Lady Hawks fresh legs began to take effect, the home side shaving the post just minutes into the second period and generally enjoying the better of the goalscoring opportunities.
Just as the game seemed to be settling into a stalemate, Steph Lagudi broke through the Gladesville defence to find herself one on one with the keeper before slamming home the equaliser.
It appeared Gladesville were on their last legs and if not for the post could have left empty handed as Tamama Kunz slammed a right footed shot into the upright from a tight angle. Fortunately for the undefeated Ravens the ball just wouldn’t sit for their hosts, leaving both sides with a deserved and welcome point.
Lady Hawks coach Edd Terry was pleased with the result, but was a disappointed with his side’s first half performance.
“It was a very exciting game. I’m very happy with the result, though I thought Gladesville were the better side in the first half,” he said.
“We put it together in the last 25 minutes and pushed hard. It’s a pity that the chip didnt go in.”
Across the bench, Ravens mentor Paul Wade was full of praise for his fatigued side.
“After Thursday’s terrific effort beating Olympic – to come up here and get a point shows real character. To get four out of six points I can’t be unhappy,” he said.
It was a combination of them playing well, we were tired and it was a bad surface but all in all I think this one was won with our hearts.”
Parramatta Lady Hawks 1 (Lagudi)
Gladesville Ravens 1 (Attalah)
at Melita Stadium
APIA Leichardt Tigers have denied Sydney Olympic fourth spot on the ladder with strong 4-1 victory at WIlson Park. In a scrappy contest, APIA scored inside 2 minutes before Olympic had a girl sent off.
Goal maching Aysha Adalis grabbed another hattrick while Michelle Petschy rounded out the scoring. The tough hitout will be good for Olympic ahead of next weeks crunch match with Lady Hawks.  The win lifts APIA back into top spot after Gladesville’s draw and they face Northbridge on the artificial turf next week.
APIA Leichardt Tigers 4
Sydney Olympic 1
at Wilson Park
Indeed it was a great day for APIA Leichardt with both of it’s main rivals playing out draws. At Mills Park, Eastern UNSW Lions were kept to a 1-1 draw by Northern Tigers.  On top of last weeks thumping 5-1 win a St George, the Tigers have kickstarted their season with a string of excellent results.
It gets tougher for the Lions who face a double header next weekend, playing APIA Leichardt on Saturday before hosting Springwood on Sunday at David Phillips Field.  Similarly, the Tigers will face the undefeated Gladesville Ravens to round out the first half of their season.
Eastern UNSW Lions 1
Northern Tigers 1
at Mills Park
St George have finally earned themselves a win with a morale-boosting 2-0 success away to Springwood at Summerhayes Park. A goal in either half through Carosi and Gallagher sealed the Saints? first win of the season but was not enough to propel them from the bottom of the ladder.
Springwood will be disappointed that they missed a chance to distance themselves from the bottom side and with a tough game against Eastern UNSW Lions next week could find themselves there.
St George FC 2
Springwood United 1
at Summerhayes Park
Nepean FC have leapfrogged into fifth spot on the ladder with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Northbridge at Cook Park.  Hannon and Conroy got the goals for the home side while Robinson grabbed her side?s only goal.
It is a huge three points for Nepean that keeps them in touch with the top four, while the loss signals the end of an impressive run results for Northbridge.
Nepean FC 2
Northbridge 1
at Mills Park
-By Ryan Cropp