Macarthur Rams had their title hopes dented by a draw with the Stingrays while Macarthur Bulls Academy stormed home with four second half goals in our Match of the Round.
Match of the Round: Blacktown Spartans 0-4 Bulls FC Academy
Bulls FC Academy have put finals football in their own hands after a 4-0 win over the Blacktown Spartans at Blacktown Football Park.
After a tight first half where neither team could find a goal, the second period exploded.
Two goals from the fantastic Charlotte Lancaster and a goal each for Amy Chessari and Avaani Prakash were enough for a convincing victory.
Football NSW Institute 1-2 NWS Spirit
NWS Spirit recorded a tight 2-1 victory over the Football NSW Institute at Valentine Sports Park on Sunday afternoon.
Spirit took an early lead, three minutes were on the clock when Mary Stanic-Floody found space on the edge of the area and buried the ball into the bottom corner.
With 15 minutes to go, the Institute equalised.
The ball fell into the path of Alice Thompson who let fly, finding the top corner with a well struck effort.
Not long after though, Spirit was back in front as Stanic-Floody got her second with a fantastic penalty to secure the three points.
Bankstown City Lions 1-1 Manly United
In a game with so much on the line, Bankstown City Lions and Manly United shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw at Jensen Park.
Manly took the lead in the match 10 minutes before half time after some individual brilliance by Nicole Stuart saw her beat her marker down the byline before finding the bottom corner at the near post.
Matt Costantini’s team had to react in the second half and they did as Susan Phonsongkham scored a well struck penalty.
The home side was desperate for all three points and pushed hard as the game ticked on.
Nicole Simonsen was in some form as she made a few spectacular saves in the final 10 minutes.
First Skye Casacchia forced the keeper into a finger tip save before Simonsen again saved from the midfielder from point blank range.
Casacchia had a wonderful chance following a corner but her header went over the bar from inside the six-yard box with another chance falling late to Phonsongkham but again the Manly keeper coming out on top.
Emerging Jets 1-1 Gladesville Ravens
The Emerging Jets secured their fourth draw of the season as they held the Gladesville Ravens 1-1 at Lake Macquarie.
Just before the break the Ravens hit the front with a special strike from Lexie Moreno who let fly from more than 20 metres out, finding nothing but the top corner.
The Jets equalised 15 minutes into the second period after a fine run and cross by Claire Adams, Ruby Jones taking advantage of a spill by the Ravens keeper and lobbing the ball home.
Jess Wootton almost won it for the Ravens late on but couldn’t direct her header on target.
Sydney University 1-2 Sydney Olympic
Sydney Olympic’s hopes of finals football remain alive after a hard fought 2-1 victory away at Sydney University.
Olympic opened the scoring in the dying moments of the first half after a powerful strike by Allira Toby inside the box.
Lacie Bowling then took advantage of a goalkeeping howler to double Olympic’s advantage and send them on course for victory.
Uni would make for a nervy finish as Ava Pritchard got on the scoresheet after the ball fell in her path, slotting it home into an empty net.
Illawarra Stingrays 0-0 Macarthur Rams
The Macarthur Rams knew they needed to win to keep the pressure on APIA Leichhardt but could only manage a 0-0 draw with the Illawarra Stingrays.
Michelle Carney had the first real chance of the game but her header was well saved by Sham Khamis after 10 minutes.
Carney again tested Khamis but once more the keeper came out on top shortly after.
Leena Khamis had Macarthur’s first chance but her effort was well saved.
The Rams keeper was getting a workout and made the save of the evening from Chloe Middleton, tipping her effort over the bar at full stretch.
Missing key players Beth Gordon and Alex Huynh, the Rams could not get going and both teams had to settle for a point.
Northern Tigers 0-2 APIA Leichhardt
APIA Leichhardt is only one point away from securing the Premiership for the 2023 season after a 2-0 victory over the Northern Tigers.
A goal in either half was enough for Spencer Prior’s team to record a massive victory at North Turramurra.
Their job was made all the easier as Isabel Gomez was sent off for a tackle from behind in the box on Sophie Hoban.
Ash Crofts stepped up to the spot and slotted the ball beyond Sarah Willacy into the back of the net for a 1-0 win.
Credit to the Tigers, they battled hard with 10 players but conceded for the second time deep in second half stoppage time.
Holly McNamara showed some fine skill to feed Rhianna Pollicina in the box before the midfield struck a fine effort beyond Willacy to secure all three points for APIA.
By Nikola Pozder