We’re into the second half of the NSW NPL campaign! Time flies when you’re having fun, and the weekend rain certainly didn’t dampen our spirits.
This week’s featured game took us to Sydney’s beautiful northern suburbs for a showdown between two high flying teams, Northern Tigers and APIA Leichhardt.
Northern Tigers v APIA Leichhardt
Tigers and APIA couldn’t be separated on a wet and cold afternoon at North Turramurra Recreation Area. For a long time, it seemed like Claudia Cicco’s first APIA goal would be enough for the Inner West side to take all three points, but a late equaliser from Tigers stalwart Hannah McNulty meant 1-1 was the final score.
APIA threatened first, and Tigers centre back Winonah Heatley made a smart covering tackle – one of many key defensive plays that she made in this game – after Leah Davidson set up Cicco on six minutes.
The same two players would combine for the opening goal in the 19th minute. APIA showed plenty of patience in a passing move that started with goalkeeper Sophie Magus, using the width of the pitch and moving the ball from side to side. Davidson then played the killer pass for Cicco, who hammered a left footed shot into the roof of the net.
Lauren Allan was the main outlet for the Tigers in the first half with her trademark darting runs down the right flank. About half an hour had been played when Allan picked out Ariella Cabezas at the far post, and Magus had to be alert, parrying the header to safety.
On 39 minutes, APIA were close to going 2-0 up, Sophie Hoban hitting the crossbar from an acute angle after beating the defence to Rhianna Pollicina’s lobbed pass. Northern Tigers then had a great chance with the last play of the opening period. Allan cut the ball back for Shadeene Evans, who couldn’t keep her shot down from 12 yards out.
There were decent opportunities at both ends early in the second half. In the 48th minute, APIA forward Susan Phongsongkham beat three defenders during a typically mazy run, but couldn’t get enough power on her shot to beat Morgan Aquino. Two minutes later, Heatley got on the end of an Isabel Gomez corner and her header was blocked by Georgia Yeoman-Dale.
Just past the hour mark, Cicco nearly turned provider as APIA looked to extend their lead, finding Pollicina with a low cross, however the shot was saved by Aquino.
The latter stages of the contest were marked with long range efforts as both teams struggled to break down the opposing defences. In particular, the APIA central defensive trio of Tori Tumeth, Liz Ralston and Yeoman-Dale was excellent, and Yeoman-Dale used her speed on a number of occasions to snuff out Tigers attacks.
However, as is often the case in the NSW NPL competition, there was a late twist. On 88 minutes, Tigers fullback Isabella Foletta overlapped down the right side and crossed for McNulty, who slammed the ball home from close range to ensure a share of the points.
This result means Tigers stay in second and APIA remain in fourth. Both teams have massively important home games next weekend: Tigers host league leaders Sydney Olympic and APIA will face defending Premiers Sydney University at Lambert Park.
Elsewhere, Olympic and Sydney Uni kept clean sheets in home victories, Manly and Illawarra recorded big away wins, while Macarthur and NWS Koalas split the points at Lynwood Park.
Northern Tigers 1 (Hannah McNulty 88’)
APIA Leichhardt 1 (Claudia Cicco 19’)
Northern Tigers: Morgan Aquino, Josie Wilson (Hannah McNulty 55’), Greta Kraszula, Winonah Heatley, Isabella Foletta, Emma Watkins, Malia Steinmetz, Isabel Gomez, Lauren Allan (Aideen Keane 74’), Shadeene Evans, Ariella Cabezas
Unused subs: Brianna Edwards, Emma Bates, Siobhan Edwards
Yellow card: Greta Kraszula 64’
APIA Leichhardt: Sophie Magus, Georgia Yeoman-Dale, Liz Ralston, Tori Tumeth, Claudia Cicco, Leah Davidson, Grace Maher, Deborah-Anne De La Harpe, Rhianna Pollicina, Sophie Hoban, Susan Phonsongkham (Zoe Halpin 67’)
Unused subs: Courtney Halpin, Sophia Konstantinidis, Julia De Angelis, Tamires Souza
Yellow card: Deborah-Anne De La Harpe 79’
Around the Grounds
Bankstown City 1 Manly United 4
Emerging Jets 1 Illawarra Stingrays 5
Macarthur Rams 0 NWS Koalas 0
Sydney Olympic 5 FNSW Institute 0
Sydney University 2 Blacktown Spartans 0
Table
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Sydney Olympic | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 30 | 13 | 17 | 26 |
| 2 | Northern Tigers | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 27 | 16 | 11 | 23 |
| 3 | Macarthur Rams | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 23 |
| 4 | APIA Leichhardt | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 16 | 7 | 22 |
| 5 | Sydney University | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 14 | 6 | 20 |
| 6 | Illawarra Stingrays | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 25 | 21 | 4 | 20 |
| 7 | FNSW Institute | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17 | 16 | 1 | 19 |
| 8 | Blacktown Spartans | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 21 | 20 | 1 | 18 |
| 9 | Manly United | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 24 | 21 | 3 | 16 |
| 10 | NWS Koalas | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 16 | 22 | -6 | 10 |
| 11 | Bankstown City | 12 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 8 | 31 | -23 | 7 |
| 12 | Emerging Jets | 12 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 36 | -30 | 0 |
Read more Beyond 90 NSW NPL articles here.
