Round 20 Preview – PS4 NPL 2 NSW Women’s
The penultimate round of the PlayStation® 4 National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Women’s 2016 is upon us, and it’s really going down to the wire at the top of the table.
Only 4 points separate the top 4 positions, with no certainty whatsoever over the final outcome.
This week Central Coast look to hold back Sutherland Shire, Inter try and solidify their grip on 1st place when they welcome Bankstown, Nepean try and keep the dream alive for one more week when they travel to Olympic, and on the south coast the Tigers aim to deal Southern Branch their second heavy defeat in two weeks.
Central Coast Mariners FC vs Sutherland Shire FA, 2.05pm Sunday August 14th at Pluim Park NO.3
The Mariners will be well and truly up against it when they play host to Sutherland and surviving this one is the order of the day for the home side. Sutherland were looking ominous without being exceedingly dangerous against the Tigers, but that was mainly down to the quality of the opposition. If they can replicate that level they’ll have far too much for a Central Coast team bereft of confidence.
Sutherland should be pleased with their form, but this is the weekend to try and sew up that potentially vital second chance in the finals series. They have Inter in the final round, and you can’t count on points against the league leaders, so this is where they can lay down a marker to put pressure on the sides around them.
Inter Lions SC vs Bankstown City FC, 3pm Sunday August 14th at Fraser Park
Inter have recorded consecutive 3-1 wins over their local rivals this season, and will be very pleased if they can make it a clean sweep. The home side have been the best team all year, but have let the chasing pack back into the premiership race over the last few weeks.
Anything less than a win here may relinquish first place, and while their game in hand may prove to be enough insurance to come out on top, Inter would rather avoid the stress. With so much on the line it’s hard to see them coming up short this weekend.
Bankstown have shown this year they’re capable of pulling a result out of the bag. It would certainly make for an interesting final week of the competition if they were to cause an upset here, but to do so they’ll need to be firing on all cylinders.
If you give Inter an inch they’ll punish you, but if you put everything into it they are beatable – they’ve lost more games than any of the top 4 – so if and when the opportunity presents itself Bankstown must take it.
Sydney Olympic FC vs Nepean FC, 3pm Sunday August 14th at Peter Moore Park
It’s do or die for Nepean when they travel to Belmore this weekend. The side from St Mary’s are gunning for that final place in the post season, and to get there they have to snatch it away from this week’s opponents, so they’ll be leaving everything out on the pitch come full time. Nepean will back their defence to hold up their end of the bargain, but the attack is always the worry.
The 2-1 win over Inter last week proves that they can do it against the best that the competition has to offer, now they have to back it up to keep their season alive going into the final round.
Olympic know they can seal their place in the finals with at least a point on Sunday. They were red hot at the weekend against Southern Branch, and another performance like that will surely be enough to overwhelm Nepean.
The away side will have a gameplan, but it’s likely they’ll need to attack more than usual, and this will play right into the hands Olympic who are outstanding at exploiting space in behind a defence. Madelaine Costanzo bagged a hat trick last weekend, and when you add in the likes of Calvi, Halaska, and Jagelman, it’s easy to see the danger that Olympic pose in the final third.
Southern Branch FC vs Northern Tigers FC, Sunday August 14th at South Nowra Football Complex
The round 6 meeting between these sides really was a turning point for the Tigers. The 4-3 win was their first of the season, and since that afternoon they’ve scored 28 goals while only conceding a measly 8. As a result they’re now breathing down the neck of first placed Inter, and are looking like the team to beat in this year’s finals series.
They were kept quieter than usual against Sutherland last week thanks to a concerted effort by the Shire side to cut down the time and space on the ball for the Tigers forwards. Southern Branch will need to come up with a similar plan to shut them down; otherwise they could be in for a long afternoon.
Olympic took no prisoners against Southern last Sunday, and the Tigers will likely bring that same level of intensity to this one. To Southern’s advantage, the Tigers will be pushing hard for another 3 points and that should leave space that can be exploited by speed. If Southern can break fast and in numbers they’ll cause plenty of trouble for the Tigers and their sometimes high line; it’ll be a matter of picking their moments and ruthless for the home side in this one.
By Eamonn Warner, PS4 National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Women’s Reporter
