Semi Finals Preview – Women’s State League

This weekend St. George FC and the Gladesville Ravens face off in the Minor Semi Final while Bankstown City FC and the Western NSW Mariners FC clash in the Major Semi Final.

St. George FC vs Gladesville Ravens – Saturday 5 September, 3:45PM at Valentine Sports Park
Saturday’s Minor Semi Final will see third placed St. George FC take on the fourth placed Gladesville Ravens, with the winner moving on.
St. George FC have been one of the league’s most consistent performers, maintaining their position in third for the majority of the year. However, questions remain over their ability to step up in big games. They will be looking to confidently answer these questions over the next few weeks.
Their main attacking threat this weekend will be the dynamic Rachelle Wang, who has been superb throughout 2015, totaling eleven goals.
Top-scorer Georgia Koinis has missed the past few rounds due to injury, and if she’s to miss this weekend’s fixture, will be a huge blow for the Saints.
St. George demonstrated their defensive ability in Round 21, where they were impressive in holding out Bankstown City FC away from home for most of the game. They did eventually concede, but one goal did not take away from their overall defensive performance.
However, without Koinis complementing Wang up front, their attacking movement left a lot to be desired. The duo have worked together superbly this year, but Wang looked isolated without Koinis in Round 21. This is something they will look to amend this weekend.
The Gladesville Ravens have been this year’s dark horse, and enter the Finals as the league’s in-form outfit. Surging up from second last place, the Ravens have been undefeated in their past eight outings, beating all three of their Finals Series competition along the way.
They finished the regular season with a convincing 3-0 victory against Parramatta, and will be extremely confident of their ability to win this weekend.
Their run of success has been founded on the back of the performances of Celeste Loyzaga and Kate Butler-Howell in midfield, with Noelle Loyzaga scoring freely ahead of them. Noelle Loyzaga has scored a hugely impressive 21 goals this season.
They also maintain one of the league’s hardest working defensive units, with Ashleigh Smith in particular standing out, marshalling the team from behind.

Western NSW Mariners FC vs Bankstown City FC – Sunday 6 September, 3:45 at Valentine Sports Park
Sunday’s Major Semi Final will see the first placed Western NSW Mariners FC take on second placed Bankstown City FC, for a spot in the Grand Final.
The Western NSW Mariners FC claimed the Premiership in Round 21, but their eyes will be set firmly on the Championship this weekend.
They have been the competitions best side for the majority of the year. However, their imperfections were highlighted on the weekend of Round 20, where they lost twice.
Some would say that this speedbump came at the perfect time, allowing them to cleanse themselves of complacency and refocus as they claimed the Premiership and now head into the Finals.
Certainly, they showed no signs of slowing down in Round 21, with a big 6-2 victory against Southern Districts.
Their success this season has been built on the back of the league’s best defence, conceding only twenty one goals. That isn’t to say they haven’t scored regularly as well, as Jessica Salamoni and Meg Embleton have been a deadly duo in front of goal, netting a combined twenty five goals between them.
With their defensive unit so important, they will harbour some concerns about their two concessions against last placed Southern Districts. In fact, they have let in just under a third of their total concessions this season in just their past three games.
They will be determined to return to their very best this weekend, with no room for poor concentration in their own half.
Bankstown City FC have had a very successful season, but will be undoubtedly frustrated with their second placed finish. They, no doubt, believe that they can do better, and will be looking to prove this in the Finals.
At season’s start, they promised to score goals regularly, and did not disappoint. They finished with the league’s best attack, scoring sixty five over twenty one rounds.
Samantha Muscat finished the regular season as top-scorer, with an incredible twenty six goals to her name. She was supported superbly by wingers Tania Baban and Melissah Parlato, who scored ten and eleven goals respectively.
In Round 21, they were frustrated by a determined St. George defence; a good warmup for what should be an even more challenging effort this Sunday.
This weekend’s major semifinal should be an intriguing battle, between the league’s best defence and the league’s best offence.
-by Daniel Palmer, Women’s State League Reporter