PS4 NPL NSW Women’s 2 Round 13 Preview

This weekend sees 5 games as Southern Branch and Nepean face off in a double header on the south coast which could have a huge bearing on the table at the end of the season.

Inter will face a Marconi side looking to bounce back from dropping their first points of the year, while elsewhere, Olympic will want to tighten their grip on second place away to the Northern Tigers.

UNSW will seek to continue their goal scoring form from last weekend against a Sutherland side in need of a win to hold onto 3^rd place.

Southern Branch v Nepean FC, 3pm Saturday 20^th and 3pm Sunday 21^st June at South Nowra Football Complex
This weekend sees a big double header on the South Coast as Southern Branch and Nepean FC play their rescheduled round 6 match on Saturday afternoon, before resuming hostilities again 24 hours later. The match could have a big say on the table at the end of the round, as twin victories for Southern Branch would put them in an enviable position in outright third place at worst. A double from Nepean FC could blow the race for finals football wide open as they will fly up from the bottom of the table to third place themselves if other results go their way.
Inter Lions SC v Marconi Stallions FC, 3pm Sunday 21^st June at Concord Oval
Inter Lions will be looking to consolidate a position in the top 4 as they try to upset league leaders Marconi. The Stallions will no doubt be smarting after dropping their first points of the season last weekend, and they will be looking to replicate the result from earlier in the year when they put 4 goals past the Lions. Inter have a strong home record this season – only 1 of their 4 losses has come at Concord Oval – but they’ll need to rely on more than home field advantage if they are to get anything from a side possessing the league’s most potent attack.
UNSW Lions v Sutherland Shire FA, 3pm Sunday 21^st June at Seymour Shaw
After their dominant victory against Nepean, the UNSW Lions will want to continue that good form this weekend with a win that would see them draw level with Sutherland on 15 points. A strong start to the year appears to have been squandered by Sutherland, with 1 win from their last 5 games leaving them right amongst a clutch of teams on 4 wins for the season. Anything short of a win could see the Shire side lose valuable ground on second placed Sydney Olympic, and send them down as low as 6^th place in the process.
Northern Tigers FC v Sydney Olympic FC, 3pm Sunday 21^st June at Mills Park – WASHED OUT
Northern Tigers face Sydney Olympic for the second time in a fortnight, and will endeavour to make it 2 wins from 2 against the league’s second best side. But with 4 losses in their past 5 games, the Tigers will need to discover some consistency to put them in a good position for a finals push. While Olympic will rue conceding a late equaliser against the league leaders, they should be full of confidence after their hard fought draw with Marconi. Another tactically astute performance like that should see them hold onto 2^nd spot for another week at the least.  
-By Eamonn Warner, PS4 National Premier Leagues NSW Women’s 2 Reporter