Women?s Premier League Round 12 Review

Two matches were postponed; those being the Inter Lions v Macarthur Rams match at Concord Oval and the Central Coast FC v Marconi Stallions clash at Pluim Park. These matches will now be played on a date to be advised.
The four games that were played failed to supply any surprises with teams in the top half of the competition coming away with victories. The postponed matches caused a temporary reshaping of the top four with second placed Marconi Stallions and fourth placed Macarthur Rams both being involved. The Rams in particular may be further disadvantaged by facing competition leaders the Illawarra Stingrays next weekend without having played for a fortnight.
Speaking of The Stingrays, they played host to the Western NSW Panthers on Sunday at J.J.Kelly Park. Unfortunately for The Panthers the Illawarra side were not in a particularly hospitable mood, handing out a 6-0 hiding to the visitors.
Illawarra?s Michelle Heyman, who was dropped from The Matildas squad for the World Cup a few weeks back, returned to the Stingrays to fine tune her game. This match saw Heyman enjoy the freedom of playing up front with Ash Connor, a last minute inclusion after a fitness test, as the pair toyed with the Western defence.
The game opened with the Stingrays going on the attack and after 8 minutes a through ball found Heyman. From 20 meters out the W League star unleashed a powerful shot that dipped, beating the keeper.
The game then see sawed with Western having a couple of good chances. Illawarra Coach Brett Wallin would have been unhappy to see his side put under such pressure. The Stingrays hit the crossbar twice and the post once in the run up to half time but the score remained 1-0 in their favour at the break.
A stirring half time chat from Coach Wallin saw a different Stingrays side return to the field in the second half.
An attacking raid in the 48th minute saw Heyman slot her second goal from close range. This seemed to put The Panthers on the back foot as they struggled with waves of Stingrays attacks as the second half went on.
Heyman?s third goal came one minute later when she gathered another through ball from Ash Connor before beating the keeper easily. In the 51^st minute Heyman again shot from close range only to see the Panthers keeper, Sarah Hunt bring off a superb save. The ball was then pushed wide from where a cross to goal found Courtney Danyi in the right spot to put away goal number four. Just six minutes later Heyman climbed high above the pack to head the ball into the far corner of the net, giving the girl with the golden boot her fourth goal for the day.
In the 83rd minute Caitlin Cooper took advantage of some poor defence to calmly place the ball in the back of the net to make it 6-0 to Illawarra. This left yet another clean sheet for Sydney FC W League keeper, Dimi Poulos.
This proved a good hit out for The Stingrays in preparation for next Sunday?s blockbuster with Macarthur Rams.
ILLAWARRA STINGRAYS 6 (M.Heyman 8m/48m/49m/57m, C.Danyi 51m, C.Cooper 83m)
WESTERN NSW PANTHERS 0
(Thank you to the Illawarra Stingrays club for providing this match report)
At Harrie Dening Centre Sutherland Shire took on Sydney University, looking to erase a first round mauling at the hands of the students.
Whilst Sutherland put up a much more competitive performance this time around they were unable to match Sydney University?s touch of class.
Jenna Kingsley opened the scoring for Sydney University after just six minutes but Sutherland hung in before equalising through a penalty by Daila Borg in the 40^th minute.
Just as it appeared the two sides would go to the break locked together Sydney FC W League defender, Alesha Clifford, put University back in front one minute before half time.
Sutherland tried hard in the second half but Sydney University sealed the three points in the 77^th minute when Caitlin Jarvie scored the visiting team?s third goal.
The win keeps Sydney University in the top four whilst Sutherland Shire, ten points out of the finals reckoning, look to be playing for pride from here on in.
SUTHERLAND SHIRE 1 (D.Borg 40m)
SYDNEY UNIVERSITY 3 (J.Kingsley 6m, A.Clifford 44m, C.Jarvie 77m)
ELS Hall Park was the venue for the NWS Koalas versus Blacktown Spartans clash.
The Spartans travelled to North Ryde looking for their first win of the season but, though they produced a strong effort, they once again went home without the points.
The Koalas struggled to find their A game against a willing opponent. Micaela Damas put the home side in front after 32 minutes; a rare highlight in an otherwise uninspiring first half.
If The Koalas hoped that this strike may open up the game for them they were to be sadly disappointed. After maintaining their 1-0 lead into half time NWS tried hard to extend their advantage in the second stanza but met with stiff resistance.
In the 87^th minute, with the game still in the balance, Blacktown conceded an own goal; confirming a Koalas victory. Micaela Damas added some icing to the cake one minute later with her second goal to leave The Koalas with a 3-0 winning margin.
No-one seems to understand how Blacktown are without a win in 2011. They keep handing in competitive performances against the competition?s leading sides but can?t seem to find their best form when they meet teams closer to their spot on the table.
The Koalas needed to win and win they did. Coach Gerry Gomez appears to have some work to do though as his side?s form has not been equal to their best in recent weeks.
NWS KOALAS 3 (M.Damas 32m/88m, own goal 87m)
BLACKTOWN SPARTANS 0
The Manly United FC girls headed south for their match with Southern Branch, looking to complete a hat trick of wins over the last three weeks.
The Southern Branch girls were doing something they hadn?t done all season; going into a match as last start winners.
Southern Branch started the game strongly; obviously buoyed by last Sunday?s win. As is often the case many of the Southern girls were backing up from early games but they rallied to really take it to the visitors in the early stages.
Manly took a little while to settle but, once they did, they created a number of opportunities. After wasting a succession of chances the first Manly goal came through the unlikely boot of Anna Nakao who cut through from the right flank to run into goal and beat the keeper. If Manly were hoping that this goal would open the floodgates they were sadly mistaken. 
Seven minutes later the scoreline was all level again when Southern?s Sarah Johnston headed the ball into the back of the net, to the delight of the local supporters.
Both teams came up with good scoring chances in the run to half time but the score at oranges remained at 1-1.
Some ?friendly? half time advice from Coach Grant Lee saw the Manly side return to the field for the second half with a new focus. Within a minute of the resumption a Gill Foster corner was headed home by Gemma O?Toole to give Manly a 2-1 lead. Eight minutes later Liz Morrison turned on a cross before slotting away a left foot shot to extend the Manly lead to 3-1.
In the 59^th minute, after an extended period of pressure from Manly United, Tiarn Powell found herself open in front of goal to give Manly their fourth goal.
Manly were on a roll, mounting attack after attack. Despite some near misses they were finding the back of the net with monotonous regularity as the Southern Branch girls started to tire.
In the 64^th minute Anna Nakao made it a double as she completed some good lead up work from Louise Neville and Liz Morrison. It was now 5-1 to Manly.
In the 69^th minute Tiran Powell had her second goal of the day after volleying in a looping cross from Louise Neville. Powell then turned provider for Manly?s seventh goal three minutes later, providing a neat cut back to Liz Morrison for her second goal.
In the 75^th minute Manly were awarded a free kick. Gill Foster?s strike brought a fumble from the Southern keeper with Tiran Powell on hand to tap the ball in for her hat trick.
Southern Branch?s Katie French, returning to the side for the first time this season, took advantage of a mix up in the Manly defence to get one back for the home side in the 81^st minute.
Manly were to have the final say though with Kristie Crawford, after winning a corner with a spectacular shot which the Southern keeper tipped over the bar, made sure with her second opportunity; volleying the corner into the back of the net to complete a 9-2 Manly victory.
This was certainly a game of two halves. Southern Branch were brave up until half time but, after the break, Manly proved too classy. The win leaves Manly five points out of the top four. Their mission if they hope to make the finals is simple; keep winning!
SOUTHERN BRANCH 2 (S.Johnston 30m, K.French 81m)
MANLY UNITED FC 9 (T.Powell  59m/69m/75m, L.Morison 54m/72m, A.Nakao 23m/64m, G.O?Toole 46m, K.Crawford 89m)
(Thank you to the Manly United FC club for providing a match report for this game)
We saw another exciting weekend of football, with plenty of goals. The postponed games will make life a little more difficult for the four clubs involved; especially Inter Lions who now face two catch up games as their earlier washed out fixture with Blacktown Spartans is yet to be played.
The upcoming weekend promises plenty with one of the matches of the season taking place at Lynwood Park where Macarthur Rams take on the Illawarra Stingrays. Many people are predicting that this will be a Grand Final rehearsal, though fans of Marconi Stallions and Sydney University in particular would tend to disagree.
I look forward to seeing you at a ground next Sunday.
-By Ross Anderson