Round 6 Review – NPL 2 NSW Women’s
Round 6 was another action-packed weekend of the National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Womens competition which saw North Shore Mariners, Nepean FC and SD Raiders all register victories whilst our Match of the Round was a pulsating contest at Marconi Stadium between two top four sides.
Marconi Stallions 1 drew with Sutherland Shire FA 1
A late minute stunner from Jordan Baker helped Sutherland Shire FA share the points with Marconi Stallions in a 1-1 draw this afternoon at a windy Marconi Stadium.
The Divinyls once sang there was a fine line between pleasure and pain. Marconi Stallions felt both emotions tonight after they completed their third draw in nine days. Ceyda Cambaz scored a poacher’s finish in the first half and it looked to been enough for the Stallions but they conceded a late goal to miss a chance to gain ground on the top two teams.
Sutherland Shire FA held onto their undefeated streak, just. It took a fabulous solo effort from Jordan Baker who slalomed through three defenders to score her seventh of the season. The visitors showed in the second half they can match it with top sides.
Much of the early part of the contest was the Stallions pressed high into the Sutherland Shire FA half and forced them into turnovers. It led to a pair of early chances which were hit high and wide of the goal.
The first major chance fell to Stallions sharpshooter Ceyda Cambaz, who pounced on an errant pass from the defense to fire into the bottom corner, her third of the season and 1-nil to the Stallions.
That goal tipped the scales towards the Stallions who continued to pile up the attempts. Tania Baban and lively winger Doris Osman combined to send Cambaz on goal but her shot was straight.
Baban almost doubled their advantage headed into the break, as she pounced onto another errant pass from the Sutherland Shire FA defense but dinked the effort wide of the post.
Marconi Stallions were comfortable but took a slender 1-nil advantage into the half-time break, looking to break their recent streak of back-to-back draws.
Substitute Jessica Beale came on just after the restart and had the first shot of the second half when she latched onto a loose ball, thrashed it straight at Sutherland Shire FA custodian Chloe Avgoustou.
Time started to tick away and Sutherland Shire FA found their rhythm to find an equaliser. Jordan Baker burst into the box but her effort was pushed away by Stallions ‘keeper Renee Krstanovska.
Next, Baker combined with substitute Maddison Farmer to prise open the defense. Farmer tried to put her laces through the shot but Krstanovska came up trumps again. Baker then struck the post as the visitors continued to surge home.
Trying to stop their head spinning after a flurry of Sutherland Shire FA chances, Marconi had a pair of chances to put the contest to bed.
Michelle Dalbon who was bright when she subbed in, finessed a pass into the path of Cambaz who couldn’t finish. Beale was similarily played through in the 81st minute but met a similar fate.
It didn’t take the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker for Sutherland Shire FA to equalise. It was just Jordan Baker, who slalomed through a series of Marconi defenders then rolled the ball into the bottom corner for 1-1.
There was late drama when from a corner in added on time, bounced into the path of Lauren Featherstone, who shaped her effort into the frame of the goal before it was cleared for the two sides to share the points.
A frustrated Marconi Stallions coach Andy Severin spoke about the effort of his side and praised their work despite their heavy workload in the last nine days:
“The girls followed the brief and it was two points dropped. Thatwas three times we’ve drawn and all three times we’ve been the better side, just can’t put away the result. I thought tonight was a 1-nil result but you can’t switch off against Jordan Baker.” said Severin.
“I am pleased with the intensity of their work with such a heavy load in the last nine days. Now we’ll look to have some shooting practice and hopefully put away those games.” he finished.
Sutherland Shire FA coach Allen Edmonson was delighted to take a point from this contest and the fact they competed well against one of the top sides in the competition:
“It was a fantastic game from the girls. They created three chances to win the game and I am proud of the girls for that. In the first half, they played well and refused to let us play out. Full credit to our girls for their fight.” said Edmonson.
MATCH STATS
Sunday 23 August 2020
Marconi Stadium, Bossley Park
Referee: S. Allum
Assistant Referees: C. Griffiths & W. Crabb
Marconi Stallions 1 (Cambaz)
Sutherland Shire FA 1 (Baker)
Marconi Stallions: 1. KRSTANOVSKA Renee, 3. BISHOP Danielle (11. DALBON ‘45), 6. MARTINO Joanna (13. BEALE ‘48), 7. TOMKINS Renee, 8. CAMBAZ Ceyda, 10. VOLODER Emma, 16. OSSIO Nicole, 17. FEATHERSTONE Lauren, 20. OSMAN Doris, 36. TAVARES Erin Leah, 40. BABAN Tania
Unused subs: 2. VOLODER Hannah, 18. MANNA Melina, 32. SOLLECITO Isabella
Yellow cards: nil
Red cards: nil
Sutherland Shire FA: 1. AVGOUSTOU Chloe, 3. GEORGIEVSKI Isabella, 4. HUTTON Rebekah, 6. YEATS Zoe, 7. MAXWELL Morgan, 8. BESZ Nicole, 9. BAKER Jordan, 10. BRATJANSCAK Ursula, 11. DALE Kate, 13. CHRISTIE Brittany (5. FARMER ‘63), 32. DONOUGHER Stevie (30. WINSTON ‘87)
Unused subs: 2. NISBET Genevieve, 18. HART Lily, 21. RYAN Hannah
Yellow cards: nil
Red cards: nil
Nepean FC 4 defeated Inter Lions 0
The positive vibes continue for Nepean FC after their 4-nil result against Inter Lions on a crisp afternoon at Cook Park on Sunday.
Coming off their mid-week draw against Marconi Stallions, Nepean FC found some goalscoring form in this contest and propelled themselves into fifth position. Ellen Barios blew the opposition away with her four-goal haul in the one-sided contest.
Talking post-game, Nepean FC coach Alan Tasses was “happy with the result. It could’ve possibly been more but we’ll take three points.” For Inter Lions, they continue to prop up the NPL2 Womens competition and look stuck there for now.
SD Raiders FC 1 defeated Gladesville Ravens 0
SD Raiders FC made it back-to-back victories, defeating Gladesville Ravens 1-nil in a tough contest played out at Ernie Smith Reserve on Sunday afternoon.
These two sides looked to find their form as the season passed the halfway marker. It SD Raiders FC who knocked off the defending Champions. It was a tightly contested game and the only goal was for the home side to register back-to-back wins.
Rebecca Denis opened her account for the season when she finished a slick move started with Isabella Coleman found Sarah Mandile who cushioned the pass for Denis to finish.
SD Raiders FC coach Terry Gray admitted this afternoon wasn’t “their best performance but they stuck to their task against Gladesville.” Gray added that the persistence of the side was important to gain another vital three points.
Gladesville Ravens remain rooted in ninth spot and the chance to repeat as Grand Finalists seems remote with a single win to their name. They have showed the ability in all their games to dig deep and will be a tough out to finish the season.
North Shore Mariners 2 defeated Central Coast Mariners 0
The spoils for the Mariners derby went to the North Shore. The competition leading North Shore Mariners won 2-nil against stablemates Central Coast Mariners at Valentine Sports Park today.
North Shore Mariners went to the summit of the National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Womens competition as the Mariners notched up their fifth win of the season. North Shore scored in either half to down a gallant Central Coast side.
Rita Boateng continued her purple patch of form for North Shore Mariners. The striker opened the scoring to make it 1-nil and made it three straight weeks with goals. Rochelle Johnson doubled the visitor’s advantage to complete the result.
Both coaches were pleased with the effort of the two sides with North Shore coach Grant Lee happy to kick-off the tough final stretch with a win. For Dan Barrett and his Central Coast side, they played well but fell to a rare back-to-back defeat.
Southern Branch FC vs St George FC was postponed.
UNSW FC had the bye
By Justin Davies (@JustDavies90)
