Women’s Super League Round 16 Review
UNSW Lions are enjoying life at the top of the table after yet another fantastic display of football at David Phillips Field. Northern Tigers are sneaking into the top four of the ladder and Southern Branch are forced to share the points with Western NSW Mariners. All this and more in Round 16 of the Women?s Super League.
MATCH OF THE ROUND: St. George FC 1 ? 2 Northern Tigers
St. George Stadium. Once an 15,000 seater iconic stadium for St. George-Budapest in the National Soccer League, now a dilapidated piece of concrete. One positive is that whenever St. George FC plays at home, their football does the talking with a lovely passing game and fantastic team spirit.
The Saints might have started the game but it was Northern Tigers who looked the hungrier of the two teams across the park. It was the Saint?s ability to counter quickly and with numbers was always going to cause problems for a Tigers defence, which had let in 25 goals this season.
With 20 minutes on the clock and the scoreboard sitting at 0-0, St. George were gifted with the first real chance on goal all game. Alana Humphries was played into space allowing her to go one-on-one with Tigers? keeper, Jessica Golledge. The goalkeeper did everything right when approaching the ball, making a brilliant save to deny the Saints the opening goal of the game.
Six minutes later though and the girls in red were screaming for joy as Melissa Toumbelekis? strike on goal was carried by the wind into the top corner of the goal. 1-0 in front and the Saints were sending shock waves through the Tigers squad.
As the referee blew for half time, the smiles on the faces of St. George players stretched from ear to ear. For Northern Tigers, the girls knew that failure to get a result here could mean failure to secure a place in the finals which kicks off in just a couple weeks.
The second half saw a more aggressive approach to the Tigers? attack. First with Tarni Black?s free kick skimming the top of the crossbar just after the restart followed by Jennifer Cornell hitting the bar in the 54th minute.
Just a minute later and the Northern Tigers found a lifeline and an equaliser through Gab Dal Pozzo. Ellana Balicki played the pacey striker into space down the middle of the park forcing the goalkeeper to come off her line. Dal Pozzo chipped the ball over the goalkeeper sending out cheers amongst all the girls from the travelling side.
With a little under 25 minutes left to play, Northern Tigers took the lead for the first time in the game through Grace Ha. It was the midfielder come striker Tarni Black who provided the pin point accurate pass for the young striker to latch onto and put into the back of the net.
The final 20 minutes of the game quickly became a feisty affair with both teams desperate for a result. With free kicks galore and more foul throw-ins than you?d ever believe, the spectators quickly became just as frustrated as the players with the standard of refereeing.
As the full time whistle blew, Northern Tigers instantly knew that this was exactly the result they had come for. The post-game team talk was simple for the Tigers squad, ?You girls are the greatest!?.
Northern Tigers now has to win their remaining three fixtures of the competition and hope results work in their favour to maintain their spot in the top four. With a mid-week game against APIA Leichhardt Tigers on the cards, anything less than a win would be a disappointing result for the girls in green and white.
St. George have two fixtures remaining this season, next weekend against Nepean FC and the following week against APIA Liechhardt Tigers. Both games will provide valuable experience for the team as they target a stronger season in 2013.
Sydney Olympic 1 ? 1 Southern Districts
Playing out an entertaining fixture at Blick Oval, both sides had their fair share of opportunities in front of goal but were unable to find a winner in the 90 minutes. The first half saw Olympic show off their usual passing game which has served them so well this season. In the 22nd minute Olympic drew first blood through Zahrah Shaddad. Olympic dominated the game until the break at which point the Emeralds switched on. Willow Shorrock?s equaliser in the 68th minute was enough to ensure Southern Districts stay within reach of a finals appearance whilst Sydney Olympic slipped down to fourth on the ladder.
Eastern UNSW Lions 8 ? 0 APIA Leichhardt Tigers
In a completely dominating display of football, Eastern UNSW Lions ripped apart APIA Leichhardt Tigers at David Phillips Field. Having to overcome fatigue thanks to playing two games this weekend, UNSW Lions didn?t need to get out of second gear all game as this result saw hat tricks to Rebecca Browning and Lisa Mitchell whilst Kate Jenkins and Michelle Petschy got a goal each.
Southern Branch 2 ? 2 Western NSW Mariners
A four goal thriller at Ison Park saw the points shared thanks to a 2-2 draw between second placed side, Southern Branch and second from the bottom, Western NSW Mariners. Goals from A. Graham and K. Meehan gave the home side a glimmer of hope towards three points. Western NSW Mariners crushed those hopes, forcing a stalemate thanks to goals from K. Collingridhe and T. Cox.
CATCH UP GAME: Eastern UNSW Lions v Sydney Olympic
Played out on a cool Saturday afternoon at David Phillips Field, Eastern UNSW Lions took on Sydney Olympic after their Round 12 clash had been rained out. The reserve grade fixture say Eastern UNSW Lions run away 3-1 winners thanks to some fancy footwork in the final third.
In the first grade fixture which kicked off just as the sun started to set, UNSW Lions made the perfect start thanks to a goal from Lisa Mitchel in the opening five minutes. Deidre Barham extended the lead for the team in yellow just after the make to secure a convincing 2-0 win over Sydney Olympic at home.
RESERVE GRADE
The points were shared at St. George Stadium as St. George FC played host to Northern Tigers on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Starting the stronger of the two sides, the Saints set the pace for the game, testing Tigers? defensive partnership of Grace Balicki and Rashna Krishnan with a number of pacey long balls. Scoring before the break, the team in red were ecstatic and deserved the lead. The second half was the filled with Tigers pouncing on loose balls. With twenty minutes left in the game, holding midfielder Katie Daly blasted the ball into the back of the net to secure a 1-1 result away from home.
Sydney Olympic welcomed Southern Districts to Blick Oval where they claimed all three points in a 2-1 win. Eastern UNSW Lions pulled APIA Leichhardt Tigers apart in a 5-1 demolition at David Phillips Field. Southern Branch walked off Ison Park with three goals and three points as they beat Western NSW Mariners 3-1.
– By Pete Nowakowski
