NPL NSW Womens 2 Round 13 Review

Round 13 of the NPL NSW Womens 2 was an incomplete round, with Western NSW Mariners’ clash with Sydney Olympic washed out due to poor weather. In the remaining matches, Central Coast Mariners Academy pulled further away at the top of the competition while UNSW Lions solidified their spot in the top four. In Football NSW’s Match of the Round, Inter Lions hosted Southern Branch.

Match of the Round – Inter Lions vs Southern Branch
Inter Lions broke their two game losing streak, defeating Southern Branch 1-0 at Concord Oval. Southern – who had played in one of the most entertaining, attacking matches of the season last week against Central Coast Mariners Academy, eventually losing 3-2 – struggled replicate their good performance in a match where chances were few and far between.
Both sides took time to work their way into the goalless first half with Southern Branch creating the first attacking opening in the 11^th minute. After building up down the left wing, the ball was played inside to Madelaine Costanzo who fooled the defender by letting the ball run across her body, opening up space to shoot on her right foot which forced a save from the goalkeeper.
Just three minutes later, Inter Lions pounced on a misplaced Southern square pass in the back third, with Maria Kalogeropoulos winning back possession and shooting from 25 metres straight at the goalkeeper. Inter began to dominate proceedings, creating the majority of chances, and a 23^rd minute free kick from Georgia Klapos, taken from the left edge of the box smacked against the underside of the crossbar.
Just five minutes later and Kalogeropoulos, who had previously gone close from a similar distance, hit the top of the crossbar after running with the ball and shooting from 30 metres out.
Although Southern had some bright moments on the counter attack through Costanzo and Maddison Cornell on the left wing, Inter Lions ended the first half strongly and their best chance of the match came in the 40^th minute. After the Southern defence misjudged a high ball, Kalogeropoulos combined with Klapos who, first time, clipped a pass over the Southern defence and into the path of Christina Ferreyra who had come in off the left wing. With time and space in the middle of the box and close to goal Ferreyra mistimed her volley over the goal.  
The second half looked to get off to a more productive start, with Southern creating an early chance when the ball was fizzed across goal by Samantha Cornell in the 48^th minute. Inter Lions’ goalkeeper parried the ball into her own player but her embarrassment was saved when Danielle Watson cleared the rebound off the line.
But despite the quicker start to the second half the match again turned into a lacklustre affair with chances hard to come by until the 63^rd minute when Ferreyra finally broke the deadlock. After some neat build up play – with Kalogeropoulos passing up to Klapos who fed Ferreyra in behind – Ferreyra passed the ball into the bottom corner of the goal with her right foot after coming in off the left wing.
The match, which was of a reasonable quality but lacking chances, soon turned into a scrappy affair. Inter Lions had managed to keep Southern Branch’s attackers quiet for much of the match and survived a late surge as Southern pushed for an equaliser. After clearing a free kick on the edge of the box, Inter managed to withstand a series of stoppage time corners, with the goalkeeper making two timely punches in a crowded penalty area.
Inter’s 1-0 win means they move level on points with Sydney Olympic, but behind on goal difference, meaning they end the week in third spot. Southern Branch remain in fifth spot, outside a finals position by four points.
UNSW Lions vs Sutherland Shire FA, at David Phillips Field
UNSW Lions narrowly defeated Sutherland Shire FA, winning 1-0 at David Phillips Field. That is an important win for UNSW and sees them open up a four point buffer on Southern Branch in fifth place. It also pushes Sutherland Shire further away from a slim chance of making the finals.
Central Coast Mariners Academy vs Northern Tigers, at Pluim Park
A brace from the speedy Jayme Fressard was enough for league leaders Central Coast Mariners Academy to see off bottom placed Northern Tigers, winning 2-1. With Sydney Olympic not playing this week, their match against Western NSW Mariners was cancelled due to poor weather, Central Coast further extend their lead at the top of the competition to a nearly unsurmountable 14 points.
Western NSW Mariners vs Sydney Olympic, Proctor Park
Washed out.
Reserve Grade Results:
In Reserve Grade, Southern Branch shocked league leaders Inter Lions, winning 3-0 and having a late fourth contentiously disallowed for offside. Elsewhere, UNSW Lions defeated Sutherland Shire 4-2 and Central Coast Mariners Academy and Northern Tigers played out a 1-1 draw.<xml></xml>
– by Kate Cohen