Round 5 Review – PS4 NPL 2 NSW Women’s
Round 5 of the PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Women’s 2016 delivered a couple of excellent results for clubs looking to prove themselves this year.
The table is also looking very congested at this point, which is surely the way things will stay for the remainder of the regular season.
Bankstown overcame Central Coast at home to pick up another victory, Olympic and Southern couldn’t be separated at Belmore, the Tigers played out a high scoring draw with Sutherland, and Nepean set down a marker by defeating Inter Lions at Cook Park.
Bankstown City FC vs Central Coast Mariners FC, 2.05pm Sunday the 1st of May at Jensen Park
Bankstown City have continued their impressive start to the season with a professional 2-0 victory over fellow newcomers Central Coast. The home side couldn’t repeat the quality of their performance from last weekend against Sutherland, but it’s encouraging that they can still find a way to win when they don’t play at their peak.
Locked 0-0 at the break, it was down to substitute Paulina Labra to break the deadlock and give the home side the advantage. Bankstown wasted several golden opportunities to boost the lead before Vida Opoku-Agyemang doubled the lead and wrapped up the points for the Lions.
The Mariners are still searching for that elusive first victory of the season, and while it’s still early in the year they need to find a way to get it done soon if they are to move up the ladder. What will disappoint them most here is that they created enough chances to take something away from this match, so perhaps all they lack at this moment is the ruthless streak that separates the top sides from the rest.
Nepean FC vs Inter Lions SC, 3pm Sunday the 1st of May at Cook Park
A huge result at home this afternoon for Nepean as they registered a 3-1 victory over the table topping Inter Lions. This was always going to be a tough contest between two sides that have improved greatly from last year, and they didn’t let anyone down.
Nepean were on top in the first half and went into the half time break with a deserved 2-1 lead. Sarah Mandile’s lone strike for Inter wasn’t able to start the procession that the Lions were looking for to get themselves back on top in the match.
The second half was far more contested, but Nepean were able to slot away the third, and ultimately decisive goal, securing the points. The result sees Nepean move to 7 points along with 3 other sides, which just shows how even this competition is at this early stage of the season.
Northern Tigers FC vs Sutherland Shire FA, Sunday the 1st of May at Mills Park
An entertaining match at Mills Park saw the Tigers and Sutherland share the points in a 3-3 draw. Both sides were displeased leaving the ground with only a point, although for differing reasons.
The Tigers again failed to hold on to their advantage in the match after going into the half time break with a 2-1 lead. A point against Sutherland is nothing to be ashamed of, but they’ve really made a habit of not running away with games so far this season. Thanks to Ella Gibson, Carly Ussher, and Emma Watkins getting on the scoresheet, it’s clear the Tigers have bite up front. If they can stiffen up and fight for maximum points they could be near a finals berth at the moment.
Sutherland were not at their best today, and the second half fight back can’t make up for the disappointing afternoon. They would have been eyeing off the 3 points in this one, especially after Rochelle Borromeo, Verity Quartermain, and Toni Vukasin all found their names on the scoresheet. The point takes them to outright second place, but they could so easily have been equal leaders.
Sydney Olympic FC vs Southern Branch FC, Sunday the 1st of May at Peter Moore Park
Southern Branch fought back from 2-0 down to claim a last gasp 2-2 draw with Sydney Olympic. Olympic had the better of the first half and took a 1-0 lead into half time thanks to Kate Halaska. Halaska was able to double the lead with 25 minutes to go before Southern Branch mounted an almighty comeback.
Amanda Carney got them back into the game with 15 minutes remaining, and the comeback was complete when Amanda Stevenson found the equaliser in the 83rd minute. This will certainly feel like a point gained for Southern, and they’ll be pleased to fight their way to a point after their defeat last weekend.
Olympic will be disappointed to let the lead slip that late in the match, as a win here would have put them only a point behind Inter at the top of the table. It’ll now take them a little longer to overhaul their local rivals at the summit.
Reserve Grade:
Nepean set the standard for their first grade side with a 3-1 victory over Inter, Northern Tigers defeated Sutherland Shire 2-0, while Sydney Olympic mirrored that result in their 2-0 win over Southern Branch. Bankstown had the bye this weekend.
-By Eamonn Warner, PS4 National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Women’s Reporter
