Round 9 Review – State League Women’s
In another exciting round of football in the Women’s State League UNSW hosted top of the table APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC while SD raiders made the long journey out to take on Western NSW Mariners FC and Mt Druitt Town Rangers FC travelled out to face an improving Parramatta FC.
Western NSW Mariners FC 4 (Jasmin Courtenay, Teegan Courtney, Larissa Kilby, Jessica Salomoni) vs SD Raiders FC 2 ( Nicole Monti, Niqui Caridad), Sunday 4th of June 3pm, Proctor Park
In a high scoring affair, Western NSW Mariners FC claimed all three points against a gallant SD Raiders FC outfit as the home side ran out 4-2 winners.
In an important game for both clubs the Mariners proved more clinical as they punished a sloppy Raiders outfit.
In scrappy game the Mariners took a 1-0 lead to the break but struggled to make real use of their possession.
SD Raiders looked to press the Mariners in possession and were rather successful in forcing errors from the back as the Mariners struggled to retain possession.
This pressure though went unrewarded as the Raiders failed to create any clear chances in a rather forgetful first half from both teams.
The second half provided more excitement though as the Mariners looked to turn their possession into more goal scoring chances.
This eventually did turn out to be the case as they piled on three more goals in the second stanza. The Raiders did grab a couple of goals themselves and did find themselves well in the game at 3-2 but could not find an equaliser.
Jasmin Courtenay again continued her goal scoring form as she grabbed one to continue the Mariners’ push for finals football.
Mariners coach Jason Payne was pleased with the result was unhappy with the overall performance of his team as their inability to retain possession leaves plenty of room for improvement.
Catherine Cannuli the SD Raiders coach again conceded her team was just not good enough and is hopeful of signing a few players as injury replacements to help with the depth of the squad in the coming weeks.
UNSW 1 vs APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC 1, Sunday 4th of July 3pm, David Phillips Complex
In an absorbing contest, UNSW and APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC could not be split as both teams had to settle for a point each.
APIA came into the contest looking to extend their lead at the top and looked like they would be claiming another three points after taking a first half lead.
APIA in truth were unlucky not to be more than 1-0 up in the first half as they dominated
UNSW but could not find a second. UNSW looked to press APIA all over the pitch as they themselves were looking to consolidate themselves in the top four.
This contest though was a true reflection of a game of two halves as UNSW began to dominate the second half as they pressed for an equaliser.
APIA held strong though as they looked to hold UNSW out.
This resistance though eventually was broken as UNSW were awarded an 87th minute penalty which they cooly converted.
APIA coach Matteo Maiorana was disappointed with conceding a late equaliser but also glad to have taken a point from UNSW in what was a tough game for his top of the table team.
Parramatta FC 0 vs Mt Druitt Town Rangers FC 11, Sunday 4th of July 4.30pm, Melita Stadium
In the late kick-off to conclude round nine, Parramatta FC were brought back down to earth against Mt Druitt Town Rangers FC who earned an 11-0 away win.
In a highly one-sided contest, Mt Druitt took a while to find their goal scoring groove but once they did so, the floodgates well and truly opened.
Parramatta simply had no answers and after the joy of picking up their first point in their previous outing against SD Raiders, were once again brought back to reality in what has been a tough season so far for the club.
Mt Druitt on the other hand will take plenty of confidence from this win as the goals were shared around including three different hat-trick scorers.
Mt Druitt coach Danny Abboud will know that there are tougher tests which lie ahead including next weeks away game against APIA. This should give a truer indication of where his team is sitting in regards to being able to compete against the top teams in the league. Parramatta now must go back to the drawing board and draw on that same fighting spirit which earned them their first point as they look to improve through the second half of the season.
-By Sebastian Kalos
