Round 1 Preview – PS4 NPL 2 NSW Women’s
The Playstation® 4 National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Women’s 2016 season finally gets underway this weekend.
The first round promises some intriguing match ups as teams with scores to settle from last season clash, and two new faces join the league hoping to start the year with a bang.
Inter Lions SC v Central Coast Mariners FC, 3pm Sunday 3rd April at Concord Oval
The first test for competition newcomers Central Coast is an away trip to the Lions. The Lions will not be an easy proposition having shown last season that on their day they are capable of overcoming anyone they are pitted against. They always make life difficult for the opposition at Concord and will give the Mariners a good indication of what to expect from the rest of the competition.
The Mariners will want to set a marker down in this opening round to make it clear in no uncertain terms that they aim to go straight back up come the end of the season. They’ll be undone if they think automatic promotion is a formality though, so will need to be firing if they are to come away with anything here.
Nepean FC v Northern Tigers FC, 3pm Sunday 3rd April, Cook Park
Nepean will want a strong start to the season this year to give them a base from which to launch a finals push. Their young squad scrapped and fought for points last season, so stepping things up and looking to dominate games is the next step in their evolution.
Like most teams in this league consistency of performance will be the key for the Tigers in 2016. They were capable of tearing right through the opposition last year when it suited them, but would drop points in games they should have been winning. If they can lift the quality of their bad days, the Tigers could be a force throughout the campaign.
There’ll be extra motivation for Nepean as the Tigers crushed them 4-2 in their last meeting of 2015 to end the western Sydney side’s slim finals chances.
Sydney Olympic FC v Sutherland Shire FA, 3pm Sunday 3rd April, Peter Moore Park
Arguably the two best sides to watch last season, Olympic and Sutherland square off in what could shape as an early preview of the finals. Sutherland’s style of play carried them past the majority of their opponents in 2015 and they were able to push heavyweights Marconi all the way in the decider. If they can keep up that kind of intensity of performance for an entire season very few teams will be able to come close to what they can produce.
Olympic are dangerous in that you couldn’t see their goals coming. They just seemed to happen. Their opponents could be on top of them and 2 or 3 passes later find themselves trailing on the scoreboard. When things didn’t click they could be fallible defensively but the danger that they’ll simply score more than you is ever-present.
Olympic had their season ended by a clinical Sutherland in week one of the finals last year, which may put an extra spring in their step come the opening whistle.
Southern Branch FC vs Bankstown City FC, 3pm Sunday 3rd April, South Nowra Football Complex
Southern Branch will be hoping to get the new season off to a much better start than their previous campaign when they take on the other new addition to the league, Bankstown City.
With only 1 win from their first 9 in 2015, this shapes as a perfect opportunity for the side from the south coast to accumulate some points early. They swept all before them in the second half of last season and a strong start will put them in an ideal position to make a finals run once again.
Bankstown come up after two successive grand finals, and now finally get the chance to test themselves at a higher level. This isn’t easing them into the competition, but they’ll know there are no easy games in this league. A strong performance against one of last year’s best outfits will be the main aim here for the promoted side.
-By Eamonn Warner, PS4 National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Women’s Reporter
