Round 21 Preview – PS4 NPL 2 NSW Women’s
The final round is here, and with the top 4 already decided in the PlayStation® 4 National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Women’s 2016 attention now turns to who will claim the premiership come Sunday evening.
Three of the four matches this weekend have an influence on who will top the table, and before that, we have a huge catch up match on Friday night that will also have a bearing on the final standings.
Friday night sees Sydney Olympic do battle at Valentine Park in a rescheduled fixture from Round 17, with the winner keeping their hopes of first place alive going into Sunday afternoon.
Round 21 itself gives us Sutherland travelling to Inter, in a match that could be a straight shoot out for the premiership, while Sydney Olympic will hope a win over Bankstown will be enough to see them claim the first major honour of the year. Elsewhere, the Tigers will play for a win, and hope results go their way if they are to finish the season at the summit. And out at Cook Park, Nepean host Southern Branch with nothing but pride on the line.
Round 17:
Sydney Olympic FC vs Inter Lions SC, 7.45pm Friday August 19th Valentine Park
This fixture has been cursed by the weather in 2016, and it is somewhat of a shame that a match of this magnitude will be affected so much by the truncated schedule at the end of the season.
Olympic know that a win here and Sunday hands them the premiership for 2016, so you can’t imagine they’ll be holding anything back – especially when you consider Inter’s drop off towards the end of the year. Olympic have looked deadly going forward in the last couple of rounds, and they have more options in attack now than just about anyone in the league. If they click on Friday night, things will be very difficult for Inter.
The Lions were not themselves on the weekend against Bankstown. They were understrength at the back, with Danielle Watson out, and playing attacking winger Rhonda Succar – who has been one of their best in the final third this year – as a right full back is something they’d prefer to avoid in future.
They need a win to keep their premiership destiny in their own hands, but the question is can they do it and still have enough in the tank for Sutherland less than 48 hours later? If they sit back and absorb pressure they could achieve their aims, but with the strike power of Olympic that could be asking for trouble.
Round 21:
Inter Lions SC vs Sutherland Shire FA, 3pm Sunday August 21st at Fraser Park
This could very well be the match if the final round, with Inter and Sutherland potentially battling it out for the minor premiership. These two sides have traded first place between themselves all season, so it would be fitting that they meet here to settle things before we head into the finals series.
The true surface at Fraser Park will suit Sutherland’s game to a tee, and they will look to use that to their advantage by moving the ball quickly to unsettle the Inter midfield. This is a huge opportunity for Sutherland with Inter having to back up from Friday night, and with their poorer form of late, the shire side can put themselves in a great position to top the table. The ball behind the fullbacks carved Inter open on Sunday, and Sutherland execute that move better than anyone, so we may see it a few times here.
It’s a huge ask for Inter to pick themselves up after the defeat to Bankstown and claim the premiership now. Olympic we know will be tough, but then facing Sutherland in the same weekend is almost a cruel joke. Inter are where they are though because they can overcome adversity. They’ve suffered through injuries, key players missing important matches, an unsettled squad, and player departures; yet they are still right up there as the season comes to a close. It is a testament to the character of the group that regardless of the results this weekend they’ll fight to the last to regain that hard fought for top spot.
Bankstown City FC vs Sydney Olympic FC, 3pm Sunday August 21st at Jensen Park
If all goes to plan, Olympic should be playing for the premiership on Sunday afternoon. They’ll be raring to go if that is the case, but regardless of Friday’s result the main danger for this match will be the fatigue factor. You’d expect that Olympic will be running out of gas by full time, so they’ll need a strong start to try and get some advantage to take into the back half of the game.
Any side with as many weapons as Olympic are capable at any time though, so they’ll be confident they can get the win at Jensen.
Bankstown were outstanding last weekend, and if they can bring that intensity and hunger to this match they’re a huge chance to ruin Olympic’s title dreams. They won’t get anywhere near as many chances this Sunday – they probably could have had 8 goals against Inter – but that won’t deter them.
If Olympic give Bankstown a sniff they could have a mountain to climb before they know it; and not a lot of energy to climb it.
Northern Tigers FC vs Central Coast Mariners FC, 2.05pm Sunday August 21st at Mills Park
Once can’t see the Mariners getting out of this one on the right side of the result. They’ll be up against a Tigers side who know they need to win to have a chance at the premiership, so it’s going to be a tough ask. The Mariners have a motivation of their own though – not going the entire campaign winless. However, it really does seem like this one will be beyond the visitors.
Nothing less than a win will do for the Tigers. With things so tight at the top, the dropped points over the past two weekends could prove pivotal regarding where they finish, and they’ll do everything they can to make up for those disappointments here. The attacking threat of the Tigers just looks far too potent for anything other than win to be the end result, and they’ll want their final game at Mills for the season to end on a positive note after such a strong year.
Nepean FC vs Southern Branch Fc, 3pm Sunday August 21st at Cook Park
This is the only match in the final round without any bearing on the final’s places, but there’s no need to worry about desire for the contest when it comes to these two sides.
Nepean haven’t quite hit the heights that they seemed to promise early in the season, but they kept themselves right in the hunt for a finals place up until last week. It proved a step too far for them in the end, with Olympic ending their hopes. They have a lot to build off though, chief of which is their outstanding defence, which was only breached significantly in their last outing when they were chasing hard for the victory. If they bring their usual level of solidity to this one, they should come out on top.
Southern never really got going this season. That will be especially disappointing after their stellar 2015 which really should have served as a base from which to build upon. Losing several key players hasn’t aided them at all, but there is still plenty of talent in a squad which should be at least challenging for a finals place.
By Eamonn Warner, PS4 National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Women’s Reporter
