Round 15 Review – PS4 NPL 2 NSW Women’s
Round 15 of the PlayStation® 4 National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Women’s 2016 gave us some interesting results as the league table is starting to settle into how it may look at the end of the season.
Inter extended their lead at the top with a win over the Mariners at home, and the Tigers and Nepean shared the points out in Western Sydney. The weather also reared it’s unwelcome head again and postponed the Southern Branch and Bankstown City match.
The match of the round saw two of the title favourites battle it out in Belmore, as Sydney Olympic hosted Sutherland as both teams look to chase down first spot.
Match of the round:
Sydney Olympic FC vs Sutherland Shire FA, 3pm Sunday July 10th at Peter Moore Park
The game got off to a blistering start with Sutherland opening the scoring from the first attack of the match.
The same play they used to start the match last week this time paid dividends, with Raegan Deeley giving them the lead. Rochelle Borromeo darted in behind Olympic’s right full back, and she was found with a perfectly weighted pass. She cut towards goal, but the ball just got away from her before she could get her own shot away, but Deeley was there to sweep the ball into the bottom corner to give Sutherland the perfect start.
Both sides really began the game at a blistering pace. Sutherland’s ball movement was clicking right into gear from the outset, and Olympic were looking to counter at every opportunity through Freya Hickey and Danielle Calvi up front. Once or twice early on they nearly carved open Sutherland’s defence, with their neat flicks just missing their mark.
It didn’t take long for the partnership to bear fruit though, as Calvi drew Olympic level on 8 minutes. Hickey ran onto a loose ball and played in Calvi with her first touch, which drew Bianca Alchi out of her goal. Calvi had the presence of mind to flick the ball over the top of the onrushing Alchi, before she smashed home on the volley from 12 yards to level the scores. Brilliant goal all round for Olympic.
Sutherland continued to get joy down Borromeo’s side, and her pace in behind got Olympic defender Hannah Lea Khoury booked for pulling her shirt after 15 minutes; a silly yellow so early in the match that should have come back to bite the Olympic defender.
Freya Hickey then had a golden chance to take the lead with a header direct from a corner. She charged onto the ball from the edge of the box with no one tracking her run, but she powered her header wide of the near post.
The big talking point of the half came with 10 minutes remaining. Jessica Ellis got in down the right wing, skipping past Khoury, but just before she got into the box Khoury swung out a leg and brought her down. A clear as day yellow card, but she somehow escaped with just a talking to from the referee instead of the second yellow everyone expected. Sutherland were miffed, but their complaints fell on deaf ears as Khoury remained on the pitch.
Their frustration was compounded when they thought they should have received a penalty shortly after. Ellis was causing havoc, and she went down in the box under a challenge from Kylie Stabb. Stabb did lunge for the ball, but looked to have gotten the slightest of touches to it before Ellis went over.
Morgan Maxwell then picked a yellow for Sutherland for dissent just before half time; one of a couple that Sutherland would receive as their frustration grew in the second half.
We got a much tighter contest in the second half, with both defences doing a good job of cutting off any clear cut chances for the most part.
Hickey had a snapshot go just wide for Olympic after 65 minutes, before Ellis nearly found the back of the net for Sutherland. A flat cross from Kate Dale at left full back flashed across goal, but Ellis just couldn’t get there before Amanda Seskin in the Olympic goal.
Ellis was Sutherland’s main weapon in the second half, and her determined runs were causing huge headaches for the Olympic defence. She was always in there fighting for the ball as well, and was brought down multiple times by Olympic defenders – without getting a decision her way – but she did commit her fair share of fouls herself, and was eventually carded more for accumulation than anything vicious.
Olympic were scrambling very well at the back as they held back Sutherland as best they could. Several times they blocked goal bound efforts, the most dangerous of which came from goal scorer Deeley. Ellis again cut in from the right, and her square pass sat up nicely for the Sutherland striker to lash a volley on goal, but Madeleine Mirkovic threw herself in front of the shot to keep things all tied up.
Olympic had the last chance of the match in stoppage time through Kate Halaska. Hickey fought for the ball near the edge of the box, and her header fell straight in the path of Halaska, who steadied herself before sweetly strikeing her volley towards goal. Unfortunately for Olympic the placement wasn’t quite there, and Alchi was able to make an easy save in the end.
That was the last meaningful act of the match as these two evenly matched teams shared the points at Peter Moore. Olympic remain in fourth spot for another week, while Sutherland now sit a full six points behind competition leaders Inter.
Nepean FC vs Northern Tigers FC, 3pm Sunday July 10th at Cook Park
Nepean and the Tigers have played out a 0-0 draw out at Cook Park. Going into this one Nepean were going to need to keep the defensive solidity they’ve had all season intact, so job done on that front. Unfortunately for them it’s once again a lack of cutting edge that sees them chalk up their seventh draw of the season. If they can find a solution to their striking problem they could really shake things up over the final rounds.
A good point for the Tigers considering how other results have panned out this weekend, as they remain settled in third place and in a great position to maintain it over the coming weeks. They’ve been potent going forward in the last month, so an off day was bound to occur sooner or later. Clean sheets are excellent for confidence though, and as much as their attack has gotten them to this position, its defence that wins you a championship in the end.
Inter Lions SC vs Central Coast Mariners FC, 2.05pm Sunday July 10th at Fraser Park
Another comfortable victory for Inter as they swept aside Central Coast in a 4-0 victory up at Fraser Park. Inter captain Maria Kalogeropoulos opened the scoring for the home side, and they took that lead into half time. They ran away with the match in the second period thanks to a double from Sarah Mandile, and a goal from Erica Toscano. The win consolidates their position at the top of the table, and gives them a nice boost in goal difference, which should come in handy over the remaining rounds as they chasing pack look to whittle down their now 6 point advantage.
It’s been a long hard season for Central Coast, and this was always going to be a very difficult task against the league leaders. Inter are relentless at wearing sides down over the 90 minutes, so it’s no surprise to see the game get taken away from the Mariners in the second half. Things don’t get any easier next week when they host Olympic.
Southern Branch FC vs Bankstown City FC, 3pm Sunday July 10th at South Nowra Football Complex
Southern’s home fixture against Bankstown was washed out due to tremendous amounts of rain down on the south coast in the lead up to the match.
Reserve Grade
Kristy Kunovski got the only goal as Olympic defeated Sutherland, while a hat trick to Molly Woods gave the Northern Tigers a 3-1 win over Nepean. Erin Connell the goal scorer for the home side. Southern Branch vs Bankstown was washed out, while Inter had the bye.
By Eamonn Warner, PS4 National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Women’s Reporter
