Round 7 Preview – PS4 NPL 2 NSW Women’s
Round 7 of the PlayStation® 4 National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Women’s 2016 provides us with arguably one of the matches of the season so far, as well as several other intriguing contests.
The table could end up with a very interesting look to it come Sunday evening.
Northern Tigers look to add another win against the Mariners, Southern Branch make the trip to western Sydney to take on Nepean, Sutherland Shire will be trying to bring Inter back to the pack, and Bankstown City host an Olympic side searching for peak form.
Northern Tigers FC VS Central Coast Mariners FC, 2pm, Sunday 15th of May at Mills Park
The Tigers will be buoyed by their first win of the year, and have a great opportunity to make it two in a row when they host the winless Mariners. The one thing the Tigers can’t do here is relax, while the Mariners might be on the bottom of the table they’ve shown enough fight to worry teams, and the first side to let their guard down will pay the price.
For the Mariners they key is defence this weekend. Keep the Tigers quiet and the opportunity to snatch a goal or two will present itself – the start to the season the Tigers have had makes that clear. If they are to succeed though, they’ll have to stop Northern’s Molly Woods whose hat-trick inspired the Tigers last weekend.
Nepean FC vs Southern Branch FC, 3pm Sunday 15th of May at Cook Park
Nepean head into this on the back of a hard fought draw with Olympic, and another performance with that steel should see them take something from a currently stuttering Southern Branch.
The home side are a dangerous proposition, but they couldn’t create enough clear chances in their last start to cause any real damage. Their high sitting wingers will look to burn Southern with pace out wide to set up opportunities for the likes of Connell and Wilson breaking from the centre of the park.
Southern haven’t won since round three and are in need of a huge response here to reorient their season. Anything less than a win could see them fall away from the top four, and leave them with a decent gap to make up if they have hopes of challenging come season’s end.
Sutherland Shire FA vs Inter Lions SC, 3pm Sunday 15th of May at Harrie Denning Centre
Sutherland may have finally clicked into high gear thanks to their stunning 5-0 win over the Mariners at the weekend. That can only mean dangerous times ahead for the rest of the league, as the clinical edge is the piece missing from the Sutherland puzzle; even dating back to last year. They’ll need that ruthless streak this week too as they host the table topping Lions.
Inter have surprised a few with their ladder position at this stage of the season, but make no mistake about their credentials. They are a very difficult side to play through, and they are strong all over the park. Up front is where they may hold the ability to overpower and to bully the Sutherland defence into submission.
A win for the Lions puts them a long way clear at the top, so they’ll be gunning for the three points.
Bankstown City FC vs Sydney Olympic FC, 3pm Sunday 15th of May at Jensen Park
Olympic weren’t at their best last start and will be after something of a higher calibre when they make the short trip to Jensen Park this Sunday. Spearhead Danielle Calvi in particular couldn’t find the aura she so often has in front of goal, although as a unit Olympic often chose the wrong final option against Nepean.
Bankstown have the players to make them pay if they should choose to be profligate once more. If they can frustrate Olympic for long periods here than they give themselves a real shot at maximum points. The home side will need to be exceptionally disciplined in midfield to achieve this as Olympic will run over the top of them if given half a chance, no easy task considering the technical quality in the Olympic midfield.
A win could see Bankstown jump to third place, which would be an outstanding result for them at this point of the season.
-By Eamonn Warner, PS4 National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Women’s Reporter
