NPL NSW Womens 2 Round 11 Preview

A fortuitous set of fixtures in Round 11 of the NPL NSW Womens 2 competition will see each team play their nearest rivals.

Central Coast Mariners Academy, first, will take on second placed Inter Lions whilst last placed Northern Tigers will travel to Sutherland to take on Sutherland Shire who are one spot above them. To finish off Round 11, there will be a third versus fourth clash between UNSW Lions and Sydney Olympic and Western NSW Mariners (sixth) will play Southern Branch (fifth).

UNSW Lions vs Sydney Olympic; at David Phillips Field, Sunday 3pm

UNSW Lions’ clash with Sydney Olympic will be important both in isolation and with what the potential outcomes mean for the teams in and around them. With distances starting to emerge between teams on the ladder, one or both of the sides, in the case of a draw, dropping points will be a welcome sight for the teams trying to break into a top four position. A win for Sydney Olympic, who are coming off the back of a thumping 5-0 win over Northern Tigers, could see the Belmore side move into second spot, depending on the result of Inter Lions’ clash with Central Coast Mariners Academy. But if UNSW Lions were to quickly recover from their 5-1 loss to Central Coast and pick up all three points, they themselves would overtake Olympic and move into third spot. A loss for either side could see them fall out of the top four, depending on the outcome of Western NSW Mariners’ clash with Southern Branch.

Sutherland Shire FA vs Northern Tigers; at Harrie Denning Centre, Sunday 3pm

Northern Tigers’ good recent run of form came to a screeching stop when Sydney Olympic put five unanswered goals past their defence. It was the second week in a row when the Ku-Ring-Gai side had the opportunity to take advantage of Sutherland Shire’s loss to move above them in the ladder but they again failed to do so, having previously conceded a late equaliser to UNSW Lions. But now they have a better opportunity than ever and the equation for getting off bottom spot is simple – beat an out-of-form Sutherland Shire side. Sutherland are on a four game losing streak, the latest of which was a crushing 6-2 loss to Southern Branch. That poor form has allowed Northern Tigers to creep up behind and move within two points of them and they must reverse their form quickly if they want to push for a finals spot.

Central Coast Mariners Academy vs Inter Lions; at Pluim Park, Sunday 3pm

Barring a late season collapse, Central Coast Mariners Academy could all but wrap up first position should they register a win over second placed Inter Lions. Already eight points clear at the top, a win for Central Coast, who comfortably beat Inter 4-1 last time the two sides played, would see them open up an 11 point lead at just over the half-way point in the season. A blip in the form of a 6-2 loss to Southern Branch has not fazed the Mariners, and they continue to score at an incredible rate of over three goals per game. But, in Inter Lions, they will face the most organised defence in the league. Since losing to Northern Tigers in Round 7, three straight wins have seen Inter Lions move into second spot and their defence was crucial as they survived a second half revival from Western NSW Mariners to win 1-0. 

Western NSW Mariners vs Southern Branch; at Proctor Park, Sunday 3pm

The high-scoring version of Southern Branch, which put six goals past Central Coast Mariners Academy, returned last week to defeat Sutherland Shire 6-2 and end a three week losing slump. That win, coupled with their win over Central Coast, proved that scoring goals isn’t an issue for Southern, but the consistency in which they score is. Despite being the second highest scorer in the NPL NSW Women’s 2 competition, half of Southern Branch’s goals (24 in total) have come in two games. Western NSW Mariners will be hoping that it is the goal shy version of Southern Branch that travels to Bathurst. Western NSW’s form has seen them fall below their opponents on the ladder but if they were to match the result when the two sides last met, a 5-0 win to Western NSW, that might change again.