PS4 NPL NSW Women’s 2 Round 16 Preview
Round 16 throws up some mouth-watering clashes at the top of the table as several sides do battle looking to cement finals places.
Nepean host a Stallions side that will be itching to get back to winning ways, and Southern Branch look to show they are no pretenders when they take on Olympic.
Inter travel to UNSW in a buoyant mood after last weekend’s win, and Sutherland Shire try to restore a winning mentality against the Northern Tigers at Mills Park.
Before all that though, the Tigers take on Olympic in their round 13 catch up match on Thursday night in a vital clash for both sides.
Northern Tigers FC v Sydney Olympic FC, 8pm Thursday 9th July at Mills Park
This fixture was originally scheduled for round 13, but was postponed due to that weekend’s wet weather. The Tigers desperately need to make the most of this match after their disappointing result on the weekend, and they will want to make amends here. Olympic too will want to rediscover their winning form now that Southern Branch has shown themselves as legitimate challengers for second place. A win here would give them a little breathing space for the run into the playoffs.
Nepean FC v Marconi Stallions FC, 3pm Sunday 12th July at Cook Park
Nepean has started to really show what they are capable of in the last few weeks. 3 wins from 4 will see them arrive at home this weekend full of confidence that they can take something away from the league leaders. While it hasn’t realistically damaged their title chances, Marconi will be hurting after suffering their first defeat of the season. The Stallions have put 5 past Nepean twice this campaign, so they’ll look to make a statement to the rest of the league by putting Nepean to the sword once again.
UNSW Lions v Inter Lions SC, 3pm Sunday 12th July at David Phillips Field
UNSW have a mountain to climb to gain a place in the finals, and they now face an Inter side with momentum after their 3-0 victory last weekend. This week could well see Inter adopt the same approach they had against the Tigers – invite them on, press hard, counter – as a way of exploiting UNWS’s emphasis on passing the ball around at the back. Inter have shown vulnerabilities at the back themselves this season, so if UNSW can find their shooting boots a high scoring encounter may be on the cards.
Northern Tigers FC v Sutherland Shire FA, 3pm Sunday 12th July at Mills Park
Northern Tigers will hope their exertions on Thursday don’t negatively impact their performance against one of the league more mobile outfits on Sunday afternoon, as the result could be crucial to their hopes for the remainder of the season. 2 straight losses have seen Sutherland drop to 5th, and they need to rediscover that winning feeling quickly to avoid dropping too far behind the other finals bound sides. If the shire side can shut down Tigers playmaker Ester Pannwitz they’ll go a long way to ensuring they return home with the 3 points.
Southern Branch FC v Sydney Olympic FC, 3pm Sunday 12th July at South Nowra Football Complex
The giant killers of Southern Branch will be trying to put an exclamation point on last weekend’s triumph over Marconi by knocking off Olympic down the south coast. Southern Branch can really show the other sides that their victory against the Stallions was no fluke, and if they keep this momentum going there’s no reason why they can’t make it 7 wins from their last 8. Olympic need to bounce back after their draw to UNSW on the weekend, but they could hardly have been presented with a tougher task. Olympic have spent most of the season with a mortgage on 2nd spot, but with both side locked on 23 points this match is key to both team’s positions at the end of the season.
-By Eamonn Warner, PS4 National Premier Leagues NSW Women’s 2 Reporter
