Round 11 Preview – PS4 NPL 2 NSW Women’s
Round 11 of the PlayStation® 4 National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Women’s 2016 sees every team well rested after Mother Nature decided everyone needed a week off and washed out last week’s fixtures.
The top 4 have a chance to open up a ten-point gap between 4th and 5th spot this weekend, and you’d feel that would all but cement the makeup of the finals series for 2016.
This week we have Nepean hosting Central Coast on Saturday evening, before the sides meet again 2 days later in a catch up fixture from Round 4. Elsewhere the games carry on as usual, with Bankstown welcoming Sutherland, Southern Branch play host to Inter Lions, and Sydney Olympic travel to Valentine to face the Northern Tigers.
Nepean FC vs Central Coast Mariners FC, 6.30pm Saturday June 11th at Cook Park, and
Central Coast Mariners FC vs Nepean FC, 2.05pm Monday June 13th at Pluim Park NO.3
Same as always this week for Central Coast; they have to show some fight here and picking up points is a non-negotiable. They can give their season a huge boost if they can somehow find 2 wins from the weekend, giving them something to play for as they go into the second half of the season. Backing up so quickly is always a difficult task, but at this stage of the year they have no choice but to put in 2 big performances.
Nepean will see this as a great opportunity to pick up a couple of wins and cement their place as one of the frontrunners of this competition. Defensively they should have little issue dealing with the Mariners, so the emphasis will be on their attack to get the job done and end these games quickly if at all possible. The Mariners have shown they can be overpowered this season, and Nepean will be looking to continue that trend as they look to brush them aside and get through the weekend unscathed.
Bankstown City FC vs Sutherland Shire FA, 3pm Sunday June 11th at Jensen Park
Bankstown City would have loved to have gone into this clash with the league leaders off the back of a win, but the rain thwarted any chance of that. The positive for them is the week off may have stalled the momentum Sutherland have been building since round 2 when they’re unbeaten run began. The competition leaders still give up chances in games, so there will be occasions for Bankstown to exploit space and find the back of the net. They’ll need a big game from skipper Samantha Muscat here if they’re to come away from this with the 3 points.
Sutherland will hope the week off has done nothing but recharge their batteries as they look to maintain their lead at the top of the table. Southern Branch did run them close in their last match, so perhaps this break has come at the perfect time for them. Jessica Ellis was a real handful coming off the bench against Southern, and injecting someone like that into the game with 15 to go is a luxury few teams possess. Sutherland will want Toni Vukasin on the ball as much as possible so she can dictate the pace of the game and keep things under control for the away side.
Southern Branch FA vs Inter Lions SC, 3pm Sunday June 11th at South Nowra Football Complex
Southern are in desperate need of a home victory in this one. They let it slip in the second half against Sutherland, and another dip in intensity like that will give Inter all the encouragement they need to get the job done on the south coast. Samara Wehmeyer looked a constant threat down both flanks for Southern last start, and the key to success lies through getting her in behind the defence and bearing down upon goal. It won’t be an easy task against one of the toughest defensive lines in the competition, but it’s necessary for Southern to get the points here.
Inter seem to be masters at wearing a side down just enough to walk away with a victory. They wait, and the second you make a mistake they strike knowing that once you have to chase the game it’s all over. With Southern needing the points this game is perfectly set up for Inter to spoil things in midfield before hitting on the break. Sarah Mandile and Freya Hickey don’t need a tonne of chances to rain down goals, so it will only take a couple of moments of quality for Inter to steal this one.
Northern Tigers FC vs Sydney Olympic FC, 3pm Sunday June 11th at Valentine Sports Park
The Tigers will need a big defensive display to keep Olympic at bay in this one. It’s been the main thing holding the Tigers back all season, and it’s paramount that this is the week they stiffen up their defence, taking some of the pressure off their forwards. Goals haven’t been an issue, and they regularly look dangerous going forward, so they will have chances to get on the scoreboard here. But again, if they can’t tighten things up at the back then Olympic’s deadly frontline will take advantage and have the Tigers on the back foot before they realise what’s going on.
Olympic are rightfully in second place on the ladder, and a win here makes it difficult to see them dropping out of a guaranteed finals place. Kata Halaska figures as a real danger here with the way she attacks down the flanks, and if she can find space to cross to Danielle Calvi then Olympic should have little trouble finding the chances they need to leave Valentine with the 3 points. It will come down to the midfield though, and if they allow the Tigers to stroke the ball around like they own the place, life will become very difficult.
By Eamonn Warner, PS4 National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Women’s Reporter
