Two postponed fixtures could not prevent Round 18 of the National Premier Leagues NSW Women’s competition from delivering the goods, with some impressive football and significant results coming out of the weekend.
Have a read of our full weekend review below.
Match of the Round – Macarthur Rams 2-1 Bankstown City Lions at Lynwood Park
The Macarthur Rams made it eight straight victories on Sunday night when they came away with a tight 2-1 win over Bankstown City Lions.
Set pieces were essentially the undoing of the visitors as Macarthur first took the lead via veteran Leena Khamis, who rose highest following a corner.
Bankstown equalised in the second period through on-fire star Alexia Karrys- Stahl with a header of her own, before Miku Sunaga reacted quickest in the box at the other end after another corner to win it for the Rams.
NWS Spirit 3-0 Sydney University at Christie Park
NWS Spirit put on a show for the home fans at Christie Park on Saturday as they overcame Sydney University three goals to nil.
Spirit’s opener arrived in the 40th minute courtesy of a pinpoint corner delivery from Ella Abdul Massih and a volleyed finish by an onrushing Rola Badawiya, with the shot subsequently tucked away by a cheeky Rachel Perrins flick-on just in front of the goalkeeper.
After Erin Leah Tavares was denied by some brave goalkeeping from Sophia Varley a few moments beforehand, Spirit would quickly extend the scoreline in the 60th minute after they launched a counter through Badawiya who spotted Morgan Roberts on the right wing and proceeded to lay on a perfectly-weighted pass for the No. 13 to powerfully bury it home.
Although Sydney Uni did their best to prevent the home side from earning a third goal, Spirit were able to best the Uni defence late on in the 88th minute when Badawiya’s exquisite ball control and resulting shot was saved by Varley and put away on the follow-up by Sarah Morgan. 3-0 the final score.
The result sees Spirit emphatically bouncing back from defeat against APIA Leichardt in the previous round, whilst Sydney Uni was unfortunately unable to back up their huge win over the Emerging Jets the week prior.
Critically, with finals football approaching, the match saw the impressive trifecta of Badawiya, Roberts, and Morgan delivering the goals for their side after being held scoreless by APIA Leichardt last week.
Bulls FC Academy 3-0 Sydney Olympic at Northbridge Oval
Bulls FC Academy prevailed in a 3-0 win over Sydney Olympic at Northbridge Oval on Sunday evening.
With a spot in the finals on the line, this match shaped up to be one of the most important fixtures of the round.
As has been a consistent theme of their season, the Bulls took an early lead after Aideen Keane picked up the ball on the left edge and proceeded to shimmy and skill her way past three Olympic defenders and place the ball on a platter for Claudia Valletta to put the ball into the back of the net. 1-0 to the Bulls.
The Bulls’ second of the day was prompted by an exhilarating counterattack from their own half, with Tamires Souza smartly dummying to allow a Keane pass to go through to Avaani Prakash, who advanced forward and found Valletta overlapping for a low shot that was well-saved by Courtney Newbon. Prakash quickly pounced on the saved shot, only to be prevented by the leg of Newbon, who was then unable to stop Souza from smashing it into the roof of the net for 2-0.
The Bulls continued to look dangerous on the counter and would see off the match in the 60th minute when Keane – who was well and truly making the left wing her own in place of star winger Peta Trimis – held off her defender on her way to setting up Bryleeh Henry for her first goal in Bulls colours.
The results confirms the three points for the unbeaten Bulls team against an Olympic side who have been uncharacteristically inconsistent of late.
Illawarra Stingrays 1-2 Gladesville Ravens at Macedonia Park
The Gladesville Ravens came to Macedonia Park and conquered, leaving with a 2-1 win over the Illawarra Stingrays on Sunday afternoon.
The fixture presented itself as a competitive matchup between two teams vying for a spot in the top half of the table come the end of the regular season, and was therefore bound to provide definite entertainment.
And it would be the Ravens who would strike first when they secured a penalty off the back of Bronte Pyke’s clearance unwittingly hitting the arm of Alex McKenzie. Jess Wootton would then step up to take the resulting attempt from 12 yards away and wrongfoot the keeper with an assured finish.
Another penalty would bring the match to 1-1 in the 56th minute when Michelle Carney looked to chase down a classy flicked pass from Sakura Nojima behind the Ravens defence and was brought down. The No. 10 then left Ravens goalkeeper Romina Parraguirre stranded after she made her move early and smashed it into the bottom left-hand corner.
Keiko Tanaka’s excellent corner in the 79th minute led to the Ravens taking the lead as Eleanor Lidbetter rushed into the Stingrays defence and thumped it in for 2-1.
The away victory ensures that the Ravens completed the double over the Stingrays this season after previously securing 2-0 win in Round 5. Moreover, it hands the in-form Stingrays with their first loss in some time.
Manly United 1-2 APIA Leichhardt at Cromer Park
APIA Leichhardt were able to hold on and see out a 2-1 away win against Manly United in an entertaining matchup at Cromer Park.
Heading into this fixture was an in-form Manly team facing up against an APIA side looking to maintain their momentum at the top of the ladder after a few hiccups and a win last week against NWS Spirit.
A frenetic 20-minute opening period well and truly set the fans at Cromer Park up for an exciting ninety minutes, which was accentuated by Manly taking the lead with an awe-inspiring long-range strike by Kahli Johnson after cutting in from the left wing.
Unfortunately for Manly, the football gods seemed intent on fulfilling the age-old prophecy of teams being most vulnerable after scoring a goal as they gave a penalty away soon after their opener when Natasha Prior was brought down by goalkeeper Nicole Simonsen. Taking on the responsibility of bringing her side an equaliser, Ashlie Crofts showed no fear in planting the ball into the bottom right-hand corner. 1-1.
APIA would instantly add a second goal and gain the ascendancy in the 16th minute as Claudia Cicco raced onto a wonderful Holly McNamara pass and squared the ball to Crofts for a strong finish beyond Simonsen.
Both Manly and APIA continued to showcase their attacking flair throughout the match, with neither set of players showing any signs of wanting to go home empty-handed. However, the result would ultimately finish 2-1 in favour of the away side, who remain on top of the ladder at the end of Round 18.
Emerging Jets v Northern Tigers – Postponed
Blacktown Spartans v Football NSW Institute – Postponed
-By Matthew Badrov