Round 21 Review – Women’s State League

The final round of Women’s State League football saw the Western NSW Mariners FC claim an impressive and well deserved Premiership, with a win against Southern Districts.
Meanwhile, the Gladesville Ravens continued their seemingly unstoppable form. In our Match of the Round, Finals contenders Bankstown City FC and St. George FC locked horns in a tight draw. 

Match of the Round – Bankstown City FC vs. St. George FC: 1-1
With a potential Premiership on the line, Bankstown City FC hosted St. George FC at Jensen Park, in the final round of the Women’s State League.
The visiting Saints got off to the perfect start, taking a lead in only the third minute. An optimistic long ball towards the Bankstown City goal was handled by a defender, and St. George were awarded a freekick outside of the Bankstown goalbox. Left back Tijana Ljubisavljevic stood over the ball, and curled a perfect shot into the top right corner.
St. George pressed high throughout the opening fifteen minutes, as they looked to capitalise on a rattled Bankstown City. The home side struggled to play out from the back under the pressure.
However, St. George were unable to take advantage of this spell of play, and eventually Bankstown regained confidence. The Saints defence remained extremely organised and determined to hold the home side at bay.
In the twenty first minute, Muscat forged the first major opportunity for Bankstown, bursting into the box with pace; however, with only the keeper to beat, the striker placed her shot wide of the goal.
This would prove the only significant chance for Bankstown in the first half, stifled by superb defending from the visitors. Tijana Ljubisavljevic and Kylie Manias in particular stood out for St. George.
Early play in the second half was characterised far less by spells of dominance, with both sides playing confident end-to-end football.
Maniso Micheal almost found an equaliser for the home side in the sixtieth minute, launching a powerful shot from the edge of the box agonizingly high of the crossbar.
Immediately after, Lily Chen should have doubled St. George’s lead. Jessica Carosi played a well timed chipped ball over the top of the  Bankstown defence, and Chen dribbled into the box with time and space; her shot, however, was weak and straight to the keeper.
In the seventieth minute, Bankstown’s Lyndsay Kohlet latched on to a loose ball in the St. George box and volleyed towards goal. The ball rattled off the upright and out behind.
Finally, in the seventy ninth minute, Bankstown found an equaliser. Melissah Parlato swung a powerful corner into the St. George goalbox, which was headed home smartly by Maniso Micheal.
The Saints squandered the opportunity to retake the lead immediately, after Chen outpaced her centreback and then rounded the goalkeeper. Instead of shooting, she cut back towards Amy Bennett at the far post who fumbled her first touch before firing off a weak effort at goal.
The game opened up for the last ten minutes, with both sides determined to finish the regular season with a victory. Nevertheless, despite some entertaining football, neither side was able to break the deadlock. The game finished 1-1, with both sides perhaps deserving their share of the points.
Match Stats
Bankstown City FC                                           1 (Maniso Micheal 79’)
St. George FC                                                  1 (Tijana Ljubisavljevic 3’)
Sunday, 30th of August, 2015
Jensen Park, Regent’s Park
Bankstown City FC: 17. Tania Baban (2. Lyndsay Kohlet), 4. Liana Babic, 3. Rosie Bacon, 1. Lana Ferreira, 40. Kristen McMahon, 10. Maniso Micheal (9. Jami-Lee Mussett 80’), 21. Samantha Muscat, 26. Jessica Burgess (7. Melissah Parlato 60’), 13. Marie Sim-Sing, 6. Allegra Vickas.
Substitutes Not Used:  8. Jessica Abrahim, 12. Lauren Danaskos,
Yellow Cards: 26. Jessica Burgess, 17. Tania Baban, 3. Rosie Bacon.
Red Cards: N/A
APIA Leichhardt Tigers: 33. Tijana Ljubisavljevic, 15. Ashlee Sutherland, 29. Kylie Manias, 7. Amy Bennett, 10. Vanessa Stanton (30. Serena Bomze 69’), 12. Bronte Young, 32. Stephanie Lara (8. Jessica Carosi), 5. Natalie Michos, 3. Lauren Gardner (28. Lily Chen 53’), 2. Susanne Gallagher, 1. Selen Santoro, 35. Rachelle Wang (11. Arnika Seed 71’).
Substitutes Not Used: N/A
Yellow Cards: 33. Tijana Ljubisavljevic
Red Cards: N/A

Gladesville Ravens vs. Parramatta FC: 3-0
The Gladesville Ravens have maintained their incredible end to the season with a 3-0 victory against Parramatta FC this Sunday. Goals came by way of Noelle Loyzaga, Celeste Loyzaga and Kate Butler-Howell, capping what has been an impressive season.
Finishing in fourth, with a spot in the Finals, the Gladesville club will be delighted with their run over the past two months, where they have been unbeaten in eight games. This leaves them as the competition’s in-form side, heading in to the Finals.
Parramatta have endured a difficult finish to a similarly challenging season. Although the clear underdogs, the travelling side would have liked to have ended on a positive note. Nevertheless, the club will have learnt a lot from its first adventure in the Women’s State League and be happy about the effort put in by the squad all year.

Mt. Druitt Town Rangers FC vs. APIA Leichhardt Tigers: 2-0
Mt. Druitt will be happy to have brought their season to a close with a confident win against APIA Leichhardt, at home in Popondetta Park. Brianna Trigg and Kristy Hope found the back of the net, while the Rangers defence kept a resilient clean sheet.
They finish their season in fifth place, agonizingly short of the Ravens in fourth and a spot in the Finals. They will likely be disappointed with this finish, believing that a more consistent final month of football could have resisted the rise of Gladesville.
APIA Leichhardt finish their season in sixth place, and too will be disappointed that they failed to hold onto fourth spot when given the chance. Nevertheless, their performance in the second half of the season has proven a major improvement on that of the first half, and even last year.

Southern Districts SFA vs. Western NSW Mariners FC: 2-6
Western NSW sealed the Premiership this Sunday with a thumping 6-2 victory over Southern Districts. Although suffering defeat in Round 20, the Mariners regathered and showed no mercy (or complacency) against the home side.
It has been a dominant season for the Western NSW Mariners FC, who have held first place for the majority of the year. They will be delighted to have opened the flood banks in Round 21, as they warm up for the Finals.
Southern Districts have endured a disappointingly poor season, and finish at the foot of the table with only six points to their name. Although showing signs of improvement in the final month, exemplified in their ability to score twice this weekend against the Premiers, they’ve a lot of work to do over the offseason.
– by Daniel Palmer, Women’s State League Report