NPL NSW Womens 2 Round 3 Review
In the last round of the NPL NSW Womens 2 before the Easter break, Sydney Olympic hosted Northern Tigers, UNSW Lions faced Central Coast Mariners Academy, Southern Branch took on Sutherland Shire and Inter Lions travelled to Bathurst to face Western NSW Mariners.
Sydney Olympic picked up their first win of the season, defeating Northern Tigers 1-0 at Peter Moore Park. In a topsy-turvy match, Lisa Mitchell’s first half strike was enough to consign Tigers to their third straight loss, although they did create a number of chances throughout the match.
After just six minutes, Sydney Olympic’s dangerous front duo combined for the first chance of the match. Danielle Calvi turned the Tigers’ defence inside out in the box before squaring the ball to Lisa Mitchell who blazed her shot over the bar.
The warning signs were there for Northern Tigers and a few minutes later, the duo’s combination resulted in a goal. Calvi was again the creator, carrying the ball forward and before playing a cute reverse pass in behind for Mitchell who made no mistake, finishing perfectly into the bottom corner of the net.
But Olympic’s early domination of the chances soon ended and Tigers came into the match, finding joy when playing off second balls and moving into the space between the midfield and defensive line of Olympic. Katie Baker was the first to go close for Tigers, finding space on the edge of the box. Her right footed strike was arrowing for the bottom corner only to hit the post with the goalkeeper stranded.
After 30 minutes the woodwork was again the only thing that prevented Tigers from equalising, with Olympic’s goalkeeper Saade Jihaem getting a fingertip on Molly Woods’ long range free kick and diverting the ball onto the post.
With Tigers so close to equalising, it was Mitchell who nearly doubled Olympic’s lead against the run of play in the 40 minute. Pouncing on the loose ball, Mitchell got a dangerous shot away but Matilda Eder in goals dived to her right and saved to keep the score at 1-0 going into half time.
Two minutes after the restart, Olympic nearly doubled their lead thanks to sloppy play from Tigers at the back. A cheap give away on the edge of the box allowed Mitchell to put in a dangerous cross towards Calvi. Rashna Krishnan in defence anticipated the cross and got in front of Calvi but her attempted clearance was horribly shanked and she could only scream ‘oh no’ as the ball looped up and onto the apex of the goal frame. The danger was cleared but shortly after Olympic again went close from a set piece, with Sophie Scott allowed a free header and a follow up shot in the box, with both blocked.
Olympic continued to apply pressure and when Scott again found herself free in the box, her header found Calvi who attempted an audacious bicycle kick.
Calvi’s chance spurred on Northern Tigers, who again had a spell of opportunities to level the score, coming close twice in two minutes. Jihaem was called into action, saving a 1-v-1 opportunity for Tigers before Molly Woods struck just over the ball with a venomous effort on goal.
That saw the end of the chances in the match and the score ended 1-0, although neither side was able to dictate or control the match in the topsy-turvy affair.
Western NSW Mariners vs Inter Lions SC, at Proctor Park
Western NSW Mariners and Inter Lions played out a 1-1 draw at Proctor Park. Goals from Katie Pakai-Kelly for the Mariners and Georgia Klapos for Inter meant the points were shared.
UNSW Lions vs Central Coast Mariners Academy, at David Phillips Field
Details to come…
Southern Branch FC vs Sutherland Shire FA, at South Nowra Football Complex
Sutherland picked up their first points of the season with a 3-2 win on the road against Southern Branch.
Reserve Grade Results:
The match looked headed for a 2-1 win for Sydney Olympic but Northern Tigers grabbed two late goals to snatch the victory. Elsewhere, Inter Lions defeated Western NSW Mariners 3-0 and Southern Branch and Sutherland Shire played out a 2-2 draw.
– Kate Cohen
