There’s only two more weeks of the regular season in NSW NPL Women’s, and still up to six clubs can feature in the top-four finals this season.
With Sydney’s winter thaw in full force, Beyond90 keenly watched on to see which clubs would bloom under the spring sun and who would wilt away until next season.
Sydney University v Macarthur Rams
Macarthur Rams secured its first NPL Women’s finals berth since winning the Championship in 2018 with a 1-0 upset win over newly-crowned Premiers Sydney University in Camperdown on Sunday evening.
Missing captain and taliswoman Taren King with a long-term knee injury, the home side shuffled the deck, with Ash Irwin and Gabby Peak combing at the heart of defence, while youngster Jaime Beaufils was given her second senior start after impressing with a goal against Bankstown City last month.
Spectators had barely taken their seats when Macarthur opened the scoring, and what a team goal with which to do so; found by Rams right-back Isabella Foletta’s first-time diagonal cross, NPLW stalwart Leena Khamis chested the ball into the path of Melissa Cáceres, who lobbed keeper Courtney Newbon with a first-touch finish on the edge of the University penalty area after just seven minutes.
Macarthur could have had a second goal 10 minutes later, again through a sweeping team move but this time from the left flank, as wingback Patty Charalambous found Khamis among a sea of Students, only for the striker to swivel on her shot and send it sailing towards Parramatta Road.
The Rams fashioned chance number three just shy of the half-hour mark, again down the left wing, as Cáceres left Peak grasping at shadows like a child in a haunted house, only to see her close-range toe-poke kicked away by Newbon once again.
Only moments later the Uni stopper would truly earn her keep for the evening as Bethany Gordon unleashed a fearsome first-time shot from distance, wriggling its way between blue-and-gold shirts en route to the bottom corner, only for the Uni glovewoman to paw it wide for yet another corner.
The Students should have squared the ledger 10 minutes from the break as the more positionally-advanced of the Peak sisters Maxine threaded a brilliant through-ball to Holly Caspers, only for her to collect nothing but the cool evening air with her effort on goal, much to the gratitude of the younger Khamis in goal.
Moments later Khamis was the one working for her match fee as Badawiya took a quick touch and fired on goal from 25 yards, watching on as her tracer bullet was deflected away for a corner by the Rams keeper.
Even after the break, University couldn’t break their duck despite a cornucopia of opportunities, the first from Badawiya, whose hip-height effort inside the Rams six-yard box was the subject of several hands-on-heads across the pitch, fizzing wide from only metres away.
The Students had one final chance to equalise eight minutes from the end of regulation time, again through Badawiya, who drew Foletta away from goal only to cut back on her right foot and fizz a shot goalwards, expertly watched on its journey towards the heavens by Khamis, Jr.
Sydney University 0
Macarthur Rams 1 (Caceres 7′)
Sydney University: Courtney Newbon; Emma Ilijoski, Ashley Irwin, Gabrielle Peak, Annabel Martin; Maxine Peak (Holly Duncan 76′), Brianna Oliverio (Frances Lechner 66′), Tara Baudana (Sarah Morgan 46′ (Ashley Dribbus 83′)); Jaime Beaufils, Holly Caspers, Rola Badawiya.
Unused subs: Nadine Knight.
Yellow cards: Nil
Macarthur Rams: Sham Khamis; Patty Charalambous, Alex Huynh, Madison McComaskey, Isabella Foletta; Bethany Gordon, Darcey Malone, Miku Sunaga (Kylie Ledbrook 73′); Melissa Cáceres (Jasmine Limon 86′), Leena Khamis (Chloe Gordon 77′), Laura Murtagh.
Unused subs: Danielle Bishop, Chloe Carmichael.
Yellow cards: Foletta 45′
Around the Grounds
Football NSW Institute 0 – 1 Sydney Olympic
Bankstown City Lions 3 – 2 Manly United
Emerging Jets 0 – 6 APIA Leichhardt
Blacktown Spartans 0 – 2 NWS Spirit
Illawarra Stingrays 0 – 2 Northern Tigers
Illawarra Stingrays 3 – 1 Sydney Olympic – Wednesday night
| Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney University | 21 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 33 | 12 | +21 | 48 |
| Macarthur Rams | 21 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 41 | 23 | +18 | 40 |
| Northern Tigers | 21 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 45 | 24 | +21 | 38 |
| APIA Leichhardt | 21 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 46 | 25 | +21 | 37 |
| Sydney Olympic | 21 | 11 | 3 | 7 | 42 | 25 | +17 | 36 |
| Bankstown City | 21 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 34 | 31 | +3 | 34 |
| Manly United | 21 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 40 | 31 | +9 | 31 |
| Illawarra Stingrays | 21 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 33 | 37 | -4 | 26 |
| NWS Spirit | 21 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 30 | 42 | -12 | 22 |
| Blacktown Spartans | 21 | 6 | 3 | 12 | 22 | 35 | -13 | 21 |
| Football NSW Institute | 21 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 17 | 37 | -20 | 14 |
| Emerging Jets | 21 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 16 | 77 | -61 | 4 |
Teams guaranteed finals
Teams in contention for finals
