Round 4 Review – NPL 2 NSW Women’s
Much like a box of chocolates, in the National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Women’s competition, you never know what you may get week to week. Round 4 saw shock results, clinical striking displays and results that keep the fans engaged until the final minutes. Let’s get onto the review!
Match of the Round: St George FC 0 defeated by Sutherland Shire FA 7
Derby bragging rights head to the shire. Sutherland Shire FA showed a ruthless edge to pound St George FC 7-nil, on a sun-drenched afternoon at historic St George Stadium today.
The contest was in the balance for over an hour, as both sides struggled to find the final pass. Shire FA eventually found their shooting boots. They plundered in six goals in the final 20 minutes of the contest, as they take the emphatic decision in the derby.
Shire FA took time to settle. Once Maddison Farmer curled home right on the edge of the break, they found their rhythm. None more than Brittany Christie, who fired home a superb hat-trick alongside goals from Raegan Deeley, Julia Figueria and Isabella Georgevski in a final fifteen blitz.
It was disappointment for St George FC. After three good performances, the Saints lost their head in the final quarter of the contest. A combination of decisions and injuries helped give Shire FA the advantage. The saints will need to regroup now before they head to Lithgow for next week’s contest.
Both sides remained cagey in the opening, as the tackles flew in early doors. The first chance fell to Emily Upstone for St George, at the box, she ballooned the effort over the bar. Denize Sert curved one over in the same manner two minutes later.
Shire FA worked their way into the contest in the 10th, a wonderful switch found Brittany Christie in space. She drove into the box well before drilling a low effort right at St George keeper, Lani Dodd.
The first half fell into a pattern, as Shire FA kept probing for an opening. They racked up an impressive corner count in the first half, forcing some dangerous scrambles but the Saints defence held firm.
Jordan Baker and Maddison Farmer peppered Dodd with efforts which were bravely kept out. Nicole Besz chimed in with an effort that curved over the bar as the visitors dominated the contest.
It was a dagger to the hearts of the Saints right on the break from Shire FA. Christie roamed free on the left, before she cushioned a perfect ball into the path of Farmer. The striker showed poise to curl her shot inside the right post, making it 1-nil at oranges.
Energised from their goal right before the break, Shire FA almost broke through twice. First a neat interchange from Genevieve Nisbet and Farmer opened the space for Baker to shoot before she was blocked then the follow up was acrobatically tipped away from Saints Dodd.
Next Besz went on a mazy run through the midfield, leaving a few Saints defenders clutching at air before she arrowed an effort over the bar, as Shire FA had a stranglehold on the contest.
A rare opportunity came in the 67th for St George. A defensive mix up left the ball at the feet of Marissa Nicopoulos. The striker scuffed her effort early and it rolled harmlessly to Shire FA’s custodian, Chloe Avgoustou.
That was the last sniff the Saints would get. Shire FA went on a late rampage of goalscoring. Christie helped herself to a hat-trick which included a wonder cross-cum-shot that sailed over the head of Dodd in goal.
Isabella Georgievski took home a memento. The attacker picked her spot from deep, smashing home a long-range effort in the blitz. Substitute Julia Figueria got herself on the scoresheet with the fifth then Raegan Deeley crowned their perfect afternoon with a strike of her own.
A joyous Dragan Blazevic spoke afterwards of the delight of the scoreline after a tough first half and praised his side for their effort until the final whistle:
“The second half was quite good. Once we settled down at half-time, we played well. It was a good lesson for the girls. They didn’t argue or give up, they kept going and got their reward in the second half in a tough contest.”
“In the first half, we played well but the shots didn’t come off. We had composure in the second half and once they stopped rushing the attack, we saw which can happen with that second half blitz.” finished Blazevic.
St George FC boss Carlo Tini lamented a series of errors and injuries that cruelled his side’s chances today after what was an even first half.
“I thought we went well until the 75th minute. Suffered an injury, conceded then couldn’t compete for the final quarter of the contest. We showed we can compete but have to focus for the full contest to do so.” said Tini.
Match Stats
Sunday 31 March 2019
St George Stadium, Rockdale
St George FC 0
Sutherland Shire FA 7 (Christie 3, Deeley, Farmer, Figueria, Georgievski)
St George FC: 1. DODD Lani, 3. PAPADOPOULOS Olga (40. MCKINLEY ‘70), 4. DIAVATIOTIS Jasmine (16. DIMITROPOULOS ‘73), 5. UPSTONE Emily, 8. BENNETT Amy, 9. NICOPOULOS Marissa, 10. RENFIGO Yadira (12. PAPAS ‘64), 11. HOLMES Eden (14. MARJANOVIC ‘75), 15. BROWN Sheldan, 17. SERT Denize (7. SARIKAKIS ‘55), 20. SMITH Claire
Yellow cards: nil
Red cards: nil
Sutherland Shire FA: 1. AVGOUSTOU Chloe, 2. NISBET Genevieve (26. STRETTON ‘83), 3. MANOS Georgia, 4. HUTTON Rebekah, 6. CHRISTIE Brittany, 7. DEELEY Raegan, 8. BESZ Nicole, 9. BAKER Jordan, 11. FARMER Maddison (22. BRATJANSCAK ‘77), 19. YEATS Zoe (15. FIGUEIRA ‘61), 27. GEORGIEVSKI Isabella (28. DENDINES ‘83)
Unused subs: 13. MEADS Jess
Yellow cards: nil
Red cards: nil
Western NSW Mariners 3 defeated Inter Lions 0
The Mariners notched their first win of the campaign. They put in a solid display to sweep aside Inter Lions, 3-nil, on a brisk afternoon at Sid Kallas Oval in Cowra.
After confident displays in the last fortnight, Mariners coach Josh Ward will be glad his side turned that into three points against Inter Lions. Youngster Anna Hunt had them up 1-nil with her second of the season for a single goal lead at the break.
The second half was one-way traffic. Taylah Murphy and Teegan Courtney both got themselves off the mark for the season with a goal as the Mariners shift into the top half of the ladder as they approach the final game of their home run.
UNSW FC 0 defeated by Southern Branch FC 1
It might be Groundhog Day again for UNSW FC. The Students become the first side defeated by Southern Branch FC this season, 1-nil on a beautiful afternoon at Seymour Shaw this Sunday.
Last year, Southern Branch picked up their only win of the season against the Students. Buoyed by that confidence, the Nowra side bounced out of the blocks quickly. Jessie Abbott fired home in the first half to shock the home fans and gave Southern Branch a slim half-time lead.
Now with something to defend, Southern maintained a strong shape and structure to blunt UNSW FC. Luella Boulton key in the centre of defense, with Meredith Cheyne the conductor in midfield as the visitors saw out the contest to move from the bottom of the ladder.
UNSW FC coach Alex Nolan wasn’t a man of many words post the contest as a horror stretch continues for the Students. They continue to find ways to shoot themselves in the foot with a pair of draws in previous weeks.
Nepean FC 1 defeated Central Coast Mariners 0
Nepean FC picked up a huge scalp, defeating last year’s Grand Finalists, Central Coast Mariners 1-nil in an impassioned display this afternoon at Cook Park in St Marys.
On the firm surface of Cook Park, the battle reigned between the two midfields this afternoon. The battle between Emma Wholohan and Mariners’ Jade Mcatamney was key as both sides blunted each other’s attack.
It was Nepean FC’s new signing, Lauren Gaul that settled the contest. Gaul fired home well in the second half with the only goal of a tense contest. Nepean FC rattled the crossbar on several occasions in the first half as chances were at a premium.
For Central Coast, it is their first loss of the season and a blank scoresheet which will annoy coach Dan Barrett but the yellow-and-navy showed at times last season they had a magnificent ability to bounce back the next week.
Gladesville Ravens 5 defeated Marconi Stallions 2
The Ravens continue to soar high, remaining unbeaten after triumphing 5-2 in a classic contest against Marconi Stallions a chilly afternoon at Christie Park.
Marconi proved a stern challenge for the home side. They opened the scoring through an own goal turned home by Ravens Ashleigh Smith. Ravens clawed their way back into the contest with Kasia Wojtowicz equalising before sharpshooter Emily Diaz gave them a 2-1 half-time lead.
Demelza Howard gave the Stallions brief hope when she equalised after the break with a well taken goal. From there, Ravens refused to give them a sniff. Last week’s game winner Annalise Schiraldi slotted home a penalty for the lead again.
Amelia Vitek gave the home side a slight cushion with a late brace of goals for a score line that doesn’t reflect how tight and tense the contest was. Ravens continue their perfect start to 2019 while Stallions take some heart but no points from Christie Park.
APIA Leichhardt Tigers 4 defeated SD Raiders FC 0
APIA were back to their ominous best, thrashing SD Raiders FC 4-nil in the nightcap for Round 4 underneath the bright lights at Lambert Park on Sunday night.
Cassidy Chidgey came back to haunt her old team, as the APIA striker showed her lethal touch with a first half hat-trick. The performance was unlined by the praise from APIA’s coach post-match. “The belief in the team has started to grow and they tore apart their opponents tonight.” said Matt Constantini.
Ash Palombi added a fourth after the break as APIA continued to pile in the efforts which for both the crossbar and the heroics of SD Raiders keeper Natasha Pentecost the game could’ve reached into double figures.
By Justin Davies (@JustDavies90)
