Round 1 Review – PS4 NPL 2 NSW Women’s
Season 2016 finally began this afternoon with a number of excellent matches right across the division.
Nepean and the Northern Tigers couldn’t be separated in a tough contest in St Marys, and Olympic got their season off to a great starts against Sutherland Shire.
Southern Branch got home against Bankstown in an entertaining encounter, while in the match of the round Inter Lions put in an excellent display to defeat Central Coast 3-0 at Concord Oval.
Match of the Round:
Inter Lions SC v Central Coast Mariners FC, 2pm Sunday 3rd April at Concord Oval
Inter ran out convincing winners in their 3-0 defeat of Central Coast. A dominant and thoroughly professional performance from Inter will be pleasing to everyone involved, and their link play in attack will have teams worried for the rest of the year. The Mariners will need to show a little more composure in midfield if they want to be a challenger, but there were encouraging signs for the Gosford outfit.
The Mariners began the match on the front foot before the game settled into a scrappy affair early on. Both sides were looking to find a way through the opposition and couldn’t quite find the poise in midfield to open each other up.
The first real chance came for the Mariners after 5 minutes. Jessica Terry chased down a hopeful long punt which had evaded the Inter defence, she placed her shot for the bottom corner but got her angles slightly wrong and the ball rebounded of the upright into the arms of Inter goalie Natasha Pentecost. Inter immediately countered with their own long ball, but Freya Hickey could only push her volley over the crossbar from 12 yards.
Inter would strike first however, taking the lead in the 12th minute. A dangerous free kick from Alisha Dudman was met on the volley by Hickey. The initial shot was blocked, but she was the first to the loose ball and hammered her follow up which was saved wonderfully by Rhiannon Hines in goal. Unluckily for the Mariners the ball ricocheted into a defender and trickled into the net to make it 1-0 to the home side.
Central Coast were forced into an early change after Oriana Keane went down with a leg injury sustained in a tough challenge. She tried to soldier on but succumbed fully to the knock in the 26th minute, and was replaced by Courtney Gardiner.
The best move of the half came late on, as the Lions combined well down the left to open up the Mariners’ defence. Hickey held up the ball on the touchline, then Dudman played a lovely through ball for Erica Toscano down the left, and her squared pass was met by Natalie Difrancesco on the edge of the box but she pushed her well connected shot wide.
Inter would again be denied before the break by Hines after she made a stunning one handed save in the dying moments of the half to deny Difrancesco.
Inter grew into the game in the opening minutes of the second half. They squeezed the Central Coast midfield and prevented them from stringing together any periods of sustained possession. As a result, Inter were soon able to take a stranglehold of the game.
Attacking in waves, they were unlucky not to increase their lead after second half substitute Maria Kalogeropoulos was controversially called offside despite looking to have been in her own half when the ball was played.
Inter would find their second goal in the 62st minute thanks to a penalty from workhorse forward Sarah Mindile. The penalty was awarded in slighty controversial circumstances, as it looked – certainly to the Central Coast players – that Mandile was clipped a fraction outside the box, before her momentum took her down inside the box. After consulting with the linesman the referee awarded the penalty, which was clinically finished by Mandile.
Inter’s second half domination continued, and if It wasn’t for the efforts of Hines in goal the score line could have blown out. She denied Hickey on multiple occasions in the second half, including a fantastic double save in the 67th minute to keep the Mariners’ hopes alive.
Hickey would have the final say though, as she finally got the goal her efforts had deserved 70 minutes in. A neat turn 25 yards from goal set her away before she stroked the ball into the bottom corner across Hines to seal the game for Inter.
Pressure continued to be piled onto the Mariners defence, but going 3-0 up took the sting out of the Lions. The Mariners had a few half chances in the dying stages but they were never able to seriously trouble Pentecost in the Inter goal.
Nepean FC v Northern Tigers FC, 3pm Sunday 3rd April, Cook Park
Nepean has been held to a 1-1 draw at home by Northern Tigers in a tight contest. Alycia Macqueen put the tigers in front in the first half to have them 1-0 going into the break. The tigers held the lead until deep into the match before Nepean were able to claw back an equaliser and share the points.
Arguably a disappointing result for both sides, Nepean would have wanted a strong start at home, and conceding so late will take some of the gloss off a hard fought point away from home for the Tigers.
Sydney Olympic FC v Sutherland Shire FA, 3pm Sunday 3rd April, Peter Moore Park
Sydney Olympic defeated Sutherland 2-1 in their opening match of the season at Peter Moore Park. Locked at 1-1 at half-time, Olympic were able to bag the solitary goal of the second half to seal the points and get themselves off to the ideal start to 2016. Now it’s about keeping that good form going over the coming weeks.
Southern Branch FC vs Bankstown City FC, 3pm Sunday 3rd April, South Nowra Football Complex
Southern Branch came out on top against competition newcomers Bankstown with a 3-2 victory down the south coast. Goals to Amy-Louise Clayton, Amanda Stevenson, and Melissa Swinfield were enough to see Southern home and bag their first win of the season.
Bankstown gave them a scare though, with Liana Babic and Samantha Muscat getting on the scoresheet. Bankstown will be especially encouraged that Muscat had gotten off the mark. Their captain has been a goal machine in the state league, and they’ll need her firing if they are to make a significant impression on the league here.
Reserve Grade:
Nepean were held 0-0 at home by Northern Tigers. Sutherland overcame Sydney Olympic thanks 3-1 thanks to a goal from Maddison Farmer and a brace from Emily Wyer, while Taylah Alho found the back of the net for Olympic. Bankstown claimed the points at Southern Branch after 2 goals from Vanessa Patrulovski, and one from Maddi Finch, with Peta Cottington scoring for Southern Branch. Inter Lions had the bye.
-By Eamonn Warner, PS4 National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Women’s Reporter
