Stallions claim PS4 NPL NSW Women’s 2 Championship

Marconi have had an unbelievable season that has seen them dominate the competition right from the first whistle, but they were up against a young Sutherland side who hit form at the right time and were determined to cause the upset of the season and claim the title for themselves. 

It was not to be the case, however, and the Stallions would walk away Champions of the PS4 National Premier Leagues NSW Women’s 2 for 2015, defeating Sutherland 2-1.

Marconi Stallions FC v Sutherland Shire FA, 4.30pm Sunday 6th of September at Valentine Sports Park Field 2

Sutherland began the game with some good possession, and were moving the ball around quite well in the early stages.

However, it didn’t take long for Marconi to assert themselves on the contest as they took the lead after 6 minutes. Some intricate build up play on the edge of the box created enough space for Laura Nay to be played in behind the defence, and she made no mistake as she calmly placed the ball into the far corner with her left boot.

Marconi were then able to control the game for a period as they slowed the tempo and focused on keeping the ball. They are very confident with the ball at the back, and are more than capable to resetting their attacking moves by just keeping the ball – something that sets them apart from the other sides in this division.

Sutherland’s best chance came in the 17th minute, when Toni Vukasin’s well weighted pass found the feet of Raegan Deeley. Deeley ran in behind the right full back and found herself 1 v 1 with Krystanovska, she looked composed as she went to finish but her shot missed the far post by inches.

Rochelle Borromeo was lively for Sutherland as well despite being forced to defend more than she’s accustomed to. She was able to pick the ball up with space to turn on several occasions, all of which led to at least a half chance for the shire side.

Nay would go close to doubling the lead with a first time strike that just went wide of the post, before Caitlin Jarvie rattled the crossbar from 25 yards after one of several breakneck Marconi counter attacks. The last of these counters was ended when Sutherland captain Kellie Mutch unceremoniously chopped down Jarvie just as she passed halfway, stopping a certain chance for the favourites.

1-0 at half time, and while they are certainly not out of this game, Sutherland have it all to do in the second half if they are to leave the field as champions.

Marconi start the second half all over Sutherland. The opening 10 minutes sees them create chance after chance, with the only thing standing in the way of them being Sutherland goalkeeper Brianna Griffin. She pulls off two outstanding saves to deny the Stallions a second goal, single-handedly keeping Sutherland in the game.

After this initial onslaught from Marconi the game quietened down to a large extent as Sutherland struggled to hold onto any sort of possession, and Marconi looked content for the game to remain at 1-0.

The introduction of Jenna Kingsley would prove to be an inspired one, as she was stretching the Sutherland defence at every opportunity with her pace, and creating havoc everywhere.

It wasn’t until the 70th minute that Sutherland got any kind of foothold in the half, and they made it count just a few minutes later when they levelled the scores.

Some slack marking saw a loose ball fall to Borromeo in space on the penalty spot, and she was able to control the ball on her chest and lash home a left footed volley to put Sutherland right back into the contest.

Marconi had been coasting, and the goal have them the wakeup call that they needed. They resumed their onslaught on Sutherland and began playing with the pace and power that we associate with this side once more.

They kept up the pressure on Sutherland and they were rewarded handsomely in the 89th minute. A flying attack down the left hand side resulted in Kingsley getting in behind the defence once again, and as Griffin attempted to come out to smother the through ball, the pace of Kingsley was far too much and she easily beat her to the ball. The Marconi attacker smartly touched the ball past the onrushing goalkeeper with her first touch, and the ball seemed to take an age to find its way into the far corner.

Kingsley wheeled away in celebration knowing that she had just secured the grand final for the Stallions.

Sutherland couldn’t muster anything more and that’s how the score remained as the referee blew the full time whistle. 2-1, and a well-deserved victory for the Stallions.

Marconi coach Matt Turvey was of course happy with overall result, but he along with most Marconi fans would preferred the game to be over a little sooner.

“It was a little bit too close for comfort there towards the end but I feel like we dominated in large portions of the game, even if we never really capitalised on all the chances we created in the final third.

“If you look at it we finished close to 20 points clear [of the premiership] and now just looking forward to getting back into the NPL 1 next year which was the goal at the start of the season.”

Marconi playmaker Caitlin Jarvie was awarded with the player of the match award for her excellent performance pulling the strings in the final third.

Marconi, rightfully, rewarded with the honour of being crowned Champions for the 2015 season.

Reserve Grade:

Inter Lions SC v Marconi Stallions FC, 2pm Sunday 6th of September at Valentine Sports Park Field 2

Inter defeated Marconi for the second time in succession to claim the reserve grade title. A second half strike from Sarah Mandile secured the victory for the Lions. Marconi created a number of chance sin the second half as they pushed for the result but they couldn’t quite get the ball over the line despite their best efforts.

After dominating the regular season this will be hard to take for Marconi, as they desperately would have love to the double and win both grand finals played this afternoon.

By Eamonn Warner, PS4 National Premier Leagues NSW Women’s 2 Reporter