Round 11 marks the halfway point of the NSW NPL season. It’s been a typically eventful campaign, and the race for the top four finals series looks like it won’t be decided until the final day – only two points separate third-placed Sydney Olympic and seventh-placed Manly United.
This week’s featured game saw NWS Spirit travel up the freeway for a game against Emerging Jets at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility.
Emerging Jets v NWS Spirit
Spirit ensured that their road trip to the Hunter Valley was a successful one, defeating the Jets 5-1 on Sunday afternoon. Doubles from Tahlia Macri and Rachael Patterson, plus a goal from Sunny Franco, meant that a second goal of the season for Jets forward Brinley Gentle would only be consolation for the hosts.
The visitors sprinted out of the blocks and could have opened the scoring after barely 60 seconds. Macri’s brilliant reverse pass released Sophie Harding and she unselfishly played the ball across the face of goal, but Franco couldn’t apply the finishing touch. It was all Spirit in the early stages and Morgan Roberts headed against the crossbar a couple of minutes later. Macri then stole possession from Evie Horgan in the seventh minute, however Jets goalkeeper Susanna Behne-Smith was alert and cleared the danger.
Jets had to wait 14 minutes for their first attempt on goal. It came after Gentle turned past a defender beautifully and struck from long range, testing Spirit shotstopper Katie Offer’s handling.
At the other end, Spirit nearly took the lead on 24 minutes when Patterson breezed past two defenders and found Harding on the right flank. Her cross picked out Franco in plenty of space, only for Behne-Smith to show off her reflexes by making a point blank save.
However, Spirit didn’t have to wait much longer, and two goals in quick succession put them firmly in control. The opener came in the 26th minute when Kirsty Fenton won possession and confidently strode out of central defence. Fenton left an opponent in her wake and crossed from the left wing, setting up Tahlia Macri for a simple finish.
Spirit doubled their lead two minutes later. Macri and Harding were involved in the buildup, before Natalie Tobin split the Jets backline with a perfect through ball. Behne-Smith was left with little chance as Franco blasted the ball into the net for her second goal of 2022.
The Jets did their best to play out from the back, but Spirit’s high pressing led to multiple turnovers and Behne-Smith was kept busy in the final 15 minutes of the first half – the best of her saves coming when she tipped Tobin’s fizzing 25 yard strike over the crossbar.
Then some pressing from the Jets led to a goal in the 43rd minute, very much against the run of play. Gentle’s defensive work was rewarded when she blocked Offer’s clearance, and Spirit’s lead was halved as the ball rebounded into the net.
Spirit’s response to this setback was immediate and impressive. In the final minute of the opening period, Patterson’s sensational pass found Macri racing towards goal, and a deft touch with the outside of the boot led to Macri’s second and Spirit’s third of the afternoon.
Macri could have completed her hat trick ten minutes into the second stanza when she was played through on goal by Harding’s sharp first time pass. Behne-Smith made another good save, and Harding was unlucky not to have the rebound fall her way.
That Behne-Smith save would however provide only the most temporary of reprieves for the Jets. Spirit made it 4-1 a minute later in spectacular fashion, with Patterson sending the ball high into the roof of the net from 30 yards out.
Spirit weren’t satisfied with a three goal cushion and continued to push for more. Even their defenders were looking to join the attack, and this was best illustrated midway through the second half by a thrilling Fenton run. The 18 year old shrugged off a tackle and – unbothered by losing a shinpad – played a one-two with Macri to find space on the right wing, advancing all the way into the area before Horgan intervened.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the away side scored a fifth goal with just over a quarter of an hour remaining. Macri was clattered in the area by Zoe Karipidis and Patterson stepped up, dispatching the spot kick straight down the middle.
Gentle’s ambitious attempt from near the right touchline with 13 minutes left was the closest the Jets would come to troubling Offer in the closing stages. The final five minutes saw good chances fall to Macri and Roberts, but neither of them were converted.
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Spirit didn’t have much time to rest on their laurels after this match, and three days later they played a home game at Christie Park, defeating Blacktown Spartans 2-1 with goals from Harding and Macri.
On Sunday, Spirit return to Christie Park for a meeting with APIA Leichhardt, while the Jets face league-leading Northern Tigers at North Turramurra Recreation Area.
In last weekend’s other games, Sydney University became the first team to defeat the Tigers and Sydney Olympic were undone by a late Spartans comeback. Illawarra enjoyed a successful return to JJ Kelly Park and APIA won big away from home, while there was a stalemate between Bankstown City and Football NSW Institute.
Emerging Jets 1 (Gentle 43’)
NWS Spirit 5 (Macri 26’ 45’, Franco 28’, Patterson 56’ 74’)
Emerging Jets: Susanna Behne-Smith, Emma O’Hagan (Alisha Ingrey 71’), Evie Horgan, Zoe Karipidis, Chloe Walandouw (c), Saffron Grass, Claire Adams, Yasmin Popovic, Alice Webster, Brinley Gentle (Emma Dundas 79’), Molly Salvador (Zoe Daly 76’)
Unused subs: Annabella Thornton, Sara Knowles, Keira Knipe
Yellow cards: Emma O’Hagan 35’
NWS Spirit: Katie Offer, Morgan Roberts, Kirsty Fenton, Erin Pridmore (Zoe Murdoch 81’), Sasha Grove, Rachael Patterson (Clare Holder 81’), Natalie Tobin (c), Lucy Johnson (Victoria Martin 71’), Sunny Franco (Bianca Radman 59’), Tahlia Macri, Sophie Harding
Unused subs: Isabella Whitton
Around the Grounds
Bankstown City 0-0 FNSW Institute
Blacktown Spartans 2-1 Sydney Olympic
Illawarra Stingrays 2-1 Manly United
Macarthur Rams 0-3 APIA Leichhardt
Sydney University 1-0 Northern Tigers
(Wednesday) NWS Spirit 2-1 Blacktown Spartans
Table
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Northern Tigers | 11 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 22 | 12 | 10 | 22 |
| 2 | Sydney University | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 21 |
| 3 | Sydney Olympic | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 23 | 11 | 12 | 17 |
| 4 | APIA Leichhardt | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 17 |
| 5 | Macarthur Rams | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 17 |
| 6 | Blacktown Spartans | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 17 |
| 7 | Manly United | 11 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 21 | 16 | 5 | 15 |
| 8 | Bankstown City | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 17 | 18 | -1 | 12 |
| 9 | Illawarra Stingrays | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 16 | -4 | 11 |
| 10 | NWS Spirit | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 17 | 28 | -11 | 10 |
| 11 | FNSW Institute | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 11 | -6 | 7 |
| 12 | Emerging Jets | 10 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 8 | 37 | -29 | 1 |
