2021 SA NPLW Round 9 Wrap

Round Nine kicked off on Friday night at VALO Football Centre with Adelaide Comets taking on Metro United. Both sides were desperate for victory but for different reasons.

Comets were taken apart by Adelaide City last week taking an early lead before crashing 4-1. This left them in seventh with seven points in as many games and having conceded nine times in their last two losses.

Metro finally looked to get their season back on track by defeating the previously unbeaten Salisbury Inter 3-2 to register their third consecutive victory and further entrench themselves in the top half.

For so much of the game, it looked as though Metro’s upward trajectory would continue.  Lauren Steer gave them a ninth-minute lead when she headed home a free-kick that came in from the right.

It was 2-0 on the hour mark when Chantelle Reed turned the ball into her own net. Metro played a long ball through on the ground which Reed looked to have comfortably knocked back towards her own goalkeeper, but as the Comets custodian struggled to sort her feet out to clear, the ball rolled agonizingly over the line.

However, there was drama in the closing period as Valeria Guajardo hit two goals in as many minutes to rescue a draw for the Comets. The first was on 87 minutes, when she ran onto a long ball and calmly placed it under the keeper and into the net, and then at the death, Guajardo took advantage of a pass deflected into her path from a Metro player to slot home from a tight angle.

Following up at VALO was the clash between second and third as Salisbury Inter hosted Football SA NTC – a match with an equally dramatic conclusion.

Fresh off their first defeat of the season to Metro United, Inter had a point to prove against an impressive NTC team who were edged out last round by a single goal against new leaders West Adelaide.

NTC started positively, looking to impose their game on Inter but it was the team in black and blue who had more territory in the opening twenty minutes. Cote Rojas popped up around the penalty box early on, but she was well marshaled by Zoe Tolland who worked exceptionally hard – and mostly succeeded – in pushing the Chilean international away from the central positions.

Inter had the physical advantage, but NTC were showing positional and tactical abilities beyond their years with Tolland continuing to read the game expertly at the back.

NTC began to assert themselves offensively after the half-hour mark with Abby Middleton getting some joy down the left and linking up with Anastasia Willoughby. Just before halftime, Inter were caught trying to play out from the back; Mina Nishitani lost possession to Lily Barber who found Emilia Murray. Her cross-in was swept home by Madeleine Wright.

Four minutes into the re-start, NTC fashioned the first opportunity of the second half when Barber dispossessed Chrissa Pavlomanolakos. She then fired in a shot which forced a save from Zofiro Papaniikitas.

On the hour mark, NTC went 2-0 up when gaining possession from an Inter throw, Barber played a glorious ball across to Murray who calmly slotted home.

It was a lead that the NTC deserved for their sheer hard work and skill, but the two-goal advantage only lasted for six minutes.

Rojas proved that she only needs one opportunity in a game to create a goal. She showed outrageous skill to turn two NTC players in the box and cut the ball back for Emily Condon to fire into the roof of the net from close range.

Inter pushed forward for the remaining twenty minutes or so but were repelled by well-organized defence once more from the teenagers of the NTC.

However, with the very last play of the game, Inter rescued a point. Nishitani played a free-kick high into the box from the right and it was met with a looping header from Chantelle Ryder. It was a harsh result for NTC, but the young team had more than proved that they are a real threat this season and deserve Finals football.

While Salisbury Inter will celebrate earning a point and breathe a sigh of relief, they have now only collected four points from the last nine available and have slipped from first to four points adrift in second place.

West Adelaide hosted Fulham United in a top versus bottom clash at TK Shutter Reserve on Saturday.

Last weekend, West fought hard for the 1-0 victory against NTC for their sixth win of the season. The three points sent them back to the league summit, two points clear of Salisbury Inter. Fulham, meanwhile, picked up their second point of the season in a 0-0 stalemate against Uni to end a run of five consecutive defeats, slightly reducing the gap between them and the rest of the competition to five points.

The game ran out as expected as West took control from the off, scoring four times in a devastating 16-minute spell. Lara Kirkby put them ahead on 20 minutes when she took the ball around the advancing Fulham keeper and then beat two defenders to roll it into an empty net. It was 2-0 just two minutes later thanks to Laura Johns, who hit a low shot home after the ball was crossed in from the left.

Kirkby made it 3-0 on 26 minutes when she bundled in a low ball from Nicole Tilley.  Georgia Macri sent West in at the break 4-0 ahead after sweeping home another Tilley ball in from the left.

Mawa Sumaro grabbed West’s fifth. She took advantage of some poor positioning at the back when a cross bounced past several Fulham’s attempts to clear and enabled Sumaro to shoot into an empty net.

West Adelaide’s win ensured that they took advantage of Salisbury Inter’s dropped points to increase their lead at the top of the table by four points.

The final match of the round saw Adelaide City take on Adelaide University at Adelaide City Park.

The hosts rebounded from a heavy defeat to Metro with a big win over Comets, breaking a three-match stretch without victory. With their second win of the season they remain four points outside the top four.

Uni were only two points and one place behind City but have only picked up four points from their last seven matches, the most recent of which came in a 0-0 draw with rock-bottom Fulham.

In the end, it was City who continued their journey up the table thanks to Caitlin White’s strike at 27 minutes. White was presented with the easiest of opportunities when a cross from the left found her completely unmarked at the back post to score.

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