Round 6 Review – NPL 2 NSW Women’s
Round 6 might have lost a game through the weather but the action remained thick and fast across the National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Womens competition.
St George FC and SD Raiders FC remain undefeated while Northbridge Bulls and UNSW FC picked up wins. Let’s get onto the review!
Match of the Round: SD Raiders 0 drew with Gladesville Ravens 0
SD Raiders and Gladesville Ravens played out a frantic 0-0 draw on a wet evening down at Ernie Smith Reserve for this weekend’s Match of the Round.
Whilst it wasn’t the result they intended; SD Raiders FC remain undefeated after six weeks alongside league leaders St George FC. Both Sarah Mandile and Ella Abdul Massih had fantastic games at striker despite the latter missing a spot kick, but coach Anthony McFadden remained positive post-match about his side.
For Gladesville Ravens, the second half was much better and the visitors will be annoyed they were unable to turn their domination into three points. The Ravens have started to turn a corner with their recent results and look to soar up the ladder.
On a gloomy afternoon in Sydney’s south-west, both these sides looked to find their feet early in the contest. SD Raiders FC were the brighter side in the opening stages with goal machine Sarah Mandile arrowed wide after her link with Amanda Radmillo.
Much of the first half, was spent in the Ravens defensive half. Mikala Tucker was next to fire one wide of the post then Ella Abdul Massih had a low shot gobbled up by a grateful Ravens shot stopper Grace Watson-Carr.
Both Tucker and Mandile continued to try and open the scoring for SD Raiders FC. Mandile muscled her way past a defender but fired over then Tucker just before the break connected well with a cross from the right side but shaped wide.
The game headed to the break deadlocked at 0-0 with SD Raiders FC the dominant side. The rain started to tumble during the half-time break and both teams hoped that would lead to a deluge of goals in the second half.
Coming out of the break, Gladesville Ravens looked rejuvenated. They started to find themselves on the ball and found themselves in attacking positions. Keiko Tanaka and Lara Brewis did their best to test SD Raiders FC keeper Natasha Pentecost.
Whilst the Ravens were improved, SD Raiders FC almost snatched the opener through Abdul Massih. She found a pocket of space on the left side of the box and thrashed one that Watson-Carr had to tip over the post athletically.
After the hour mark, Eloise Hansen went closest for the Ravens thus far. She turned well inside the box and tried to squeeze the ball inside the left post but it was touched wide by Pentecost.
In a game which looked like it was threatening to open up, SD Raiders FC had the best chance of the second half from the spot. Abdul Massih stepped up to take and was denied by a fantastic save from Ravens keeper Watson-Carr which brought a roar from the visiting fans.
That save brought the Ravens back to life in the late stages of the game. Tanaka was denied again from close range then Ravens coach Claude De Francesco rung the changes bringing on last week’s match winner Lara Halmarick on to save the game.
Halmarick made an instant impact on the right side of the attack. Her pace created some issues which led to an unsuccessful Ravens corner then lifted a shot wide of the post in the 88th minute.
Near the end of normal time, Gladesville Ravens had one final chance through Tanaka. The ball fell kindly to her inside the box but the attacker whizzed it wide of the post. Both teams were forced to share the points in a tense nil-all draw.
SD Raiders FC coach Anthony McFadden remained positive about his side’s play especially in the first half despite having to share the points tonight:
“I think the first half, we did extremely well and controlled the ball well. Second half Ravens came out with more pressure, and we struggled to adapt at points. Being undefeated is nice but the happiest thing for me is the progress the girls have made every week.” said McFadden.
For Gladesville Ravens coach Claude De Francesco was happy with the second half effort from his side and hopes the Ravens have turned the corner over the last fortnight:
“If someone gave you a point pre-match at a tough place like this, you would take it. I thought in the second half we could’ve taken all three points. Winning becomes a habit so hopefully this is the springboard for us to move up the ladder.” said De Francesco.
Match Stats
Sunday May 9th 2021
Ernie Smith Reserve, Moorebank
Referee: Marcel Schletter
Assistant Referees: Jesein Haddad & Daniel Cord
SD Raiders FC 0
Gladesville Ravens 0
SD Raiders FC: 1. PENTECOST Natasha, 5. BAILY Jasmine (19. HERRERA ‘76), 9. BRAKELL Jemma, 10. COSCIA Kiara (2. DENNIS ‘83), 11. COOK Kirilee, 15. PAVLICEVIC Kristi, 20. VOUSDEN Alexandra, 23. ABDUL MASSIH Ella, 26. TUCKER Mikala (18. CARONNA ‘73), 28. RADMILLO Amanda, 34. MANDILE Sarah
Unused subs: 22. MUSCAT Rhianna, 32. POLAT Rojin
Yellow cards: nil
Red cards: nil
Gladesville Ravens: 5. TANAKA Keiko, 7. SEETO Anja, 8. VLANGOS Georgia, 9. ZACZEK Zoe, 11. BREWIS Lara, 12. DENBY Astreia, 15. GILBANE Elizabeth, 20. STEVENS Ashleigh, 23. MIKAELIAN Taylor (4. LIDBETTER ‘70), 24. WATSON-CARR Grace, 25. HANSEN Eloise (32. HALMARICK ‘83)
Unused subs: 3. CROUCH Jasmine, 17. DUMMETT Lillian, 21. MILROY Amelie
Yellow cards: Vlangos
Red cards: nil
Inter Lions 1 defeated by Northbridge Bulls 9
Northbridge Bulls got a richly deserved 9-1 win against the struggling Inter Lions side down at Majors Bay Reserve on Sunday afternoon.
The Bulls showed no mercy in their huge win this afternoon. Livewire striker Rita Boateng took the spotlight in the result with four goals to her name which takes her to six goals for the season and continues her deadly partnership with Evelyn Chronis.
Chronis continued her defense of her Golden Boot with her second hat-trick this season to also be on six goals for the season. Hannah Beard opened up the scoring and bookended the contest with another to round out a sublime performance from Northbridge Bulls.
Inter Lions remain rock bottom on the National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Womens ladder after another huge result. Alina Stojcevski scored in the first half to make it 3-1 at the break but there wasn’t much to roar about for the home side today.
UNSW FC 1 defeated Sutherland Shire FA 0
The Students found the answer to the winning equation with a close 1-nil result against Sutherland Shire FA at ES Marks Field on Sunday afternoon.
That result moves UNSW FC within two points of the top five. Zoe Bartley was the lone goal scorer in the contest in the second half which opened her account for the season. The win will please Guillimero Rubio as the side look to find some consistency over the next few weeks.
For Sutherland Shire FA, they battled hard in the contest but unable to find the back of the net. They had most of the chances in the first half but football is a cruel game when you don’t take your chances and it leaves Sutherland Shire FA stuck in the lower end of the table.
St George FC 1 defeated Nepean FC 0
Undefeated St George FC were slender 1-nil victors against the formerly unbeaten Nepean FC at St George Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Both sides came into this game in red hot form and it didn’t disappoint. The Saints faced their toughest challenge with Nepean FC having a big share of the chances but were unable to find the back of the net this afternoon.
It came down to one moment of magic to decide the match. Jordan Baker fired home her seventh goal of the season before half-time to give St George FC all three points which keeps them at the top of the National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Womens ladder.
For Nepean FC, their undefeated start to the year has come to an end but they will lick their wounds and bounce back next weekend. Coach Alan Tasses will have the side practicing their finishing after a wayward afternoon down by the sea.
Marconi vs Central Coast was washed out
South East Phoenix FC had the bye
By Justin Davies (@JustDavies90)
