2023 NSW NPL Women’s Wrap – Rounds 10-11

It was another absolute passport shredder in the Harbour City, which means perfect conditions for a full weekend of NSW NPL Women’s action. With 11 teams separated by just eight points halfway through the season, no result is a sure thing and no match is over ’til it’s over!

This season Beyond 90 will take a look at the big talking points across the league every week, all the way up to the Big Dance in September.

That’s a tough scene

We wrote last week about the phenomenon of multiple draws across a stretch of games as short as the 2023 NSW NPLW season so far. While we peaked behind the curtain to gaze upon the miracle of parity, the lateness of Macarthur’s equaliser against Sydney Olympic has blinded us beyond even our wildest dreams.

With four minutes of stoppage time played at Peter Moore Field, the St Helens-based side reached deep into their bag of tricks to rob Olympic of all three points with a well-worked equaliser, ensuring the two teams left Belmore as equals despite the preceding 93 minutes of action. 

It’s a jungle out there

While APIA continue to run away with the title despite the league not yet being half-finished, the bulk of the competition remains an absolute dogfight. With teams taking points off each other here and there on a regular basis, just nine points separate teams second to 12th, meaning every club still has a mathematical chance of playing finals this season.

In addition to that congestion, there’s a single match still to be played between second-placed Sydney Olympic hosting Northern Tigers just a point further back to equalise the table across the board. With that match now re-scheduled for 1 June, NSW NPLW will keep its tightly-bunched standings for at least another week, adding even more fuel to the fire of an already crackling season.

An historic meeting

Throughout world football, there are typically three types of rivalries: city derbies pitting neighbours and friends against each other, like Liverpool vs Everton, Milan vs Inter, or Union vs Hertha; local derbies, where regional bragging rights are at stake, such as Dortmund vs Schalke in the Ruhr, Lyon vs St-Etienne in Rhône-Alpes, or Athletic Club vs Real Sociedad in the Basque Country; and historical rivalries, known worldwide and where decades of tension comes out over the 90 minutes – Madrid vs Barcelona in El Clásico, the Derby d’Italia between Juventus and Milan, or Celtic vs Rangers in Glasgow’s Old Firm.

With the recent admission of Campbelltown-based Macarthur FC into the A-League Men’s competition, and their absorption of the club formerly known as Northbridge into their club structure, another bitter rivalry joins that expansive list: the Old Farm Derby. Pitting reigning champions Macarthur Rams against the freshly-assembled Bulls Academy franchise, this rivalry crosses the spectrum of regional, political and personal: the winningest club in NSW NPL Women’s history, based in the traditionally-working class but incredibly talented south-west of Sydney, and the moneyed association from the North Shore with their impressive local facilities, complete with harbour views.

Although the first meeting between these two teams ended in a comprehensive victory for Macarthur, there have been plenty of positives across the park already this season for the North Shore club. But only time will tell how the rivalry will evolve as Bulls Academy continue to recruit players from among their neighbouring associations and NPLW teams such as NWS Spirit, Northern Tigers, and Manly United, and more experienced players from Macarthur move on from the league or are tempted abroad after stints in A-League Women.

Around The Grounds
Sunday 14 May
Bulls Academy 2 Football NSW Institute 3 at Northbridge Oval
Sydney Olympic 2 Macarthur Rams 2 at Peter Moore Field
Blacktown Spartans 0 Northern Tigers 2 at Blacktown Football Park
Sydney University 1 Gladesville Ravens 2 at Sydney University Football Ground 
Bankstown City 3 Emerging Jets 0 at Jensen Park
APIA Leichhardt 1 Illawarra Stingrays 0 at Lambert Park
Sydney Olympic vs Northern Tigers – postponed

Sunday 21 May
Football NSW Institute 2 Sydney University 1 at Valentine Sports Park
Manly United 1 Sydney Olympic 4 at Cromer Park
Illawarra Stingrays 1 NWS Spirit 1 at Macedonia Park
Emerging Jets 1 Blacktown Spartans 3 at Lake Macquarie RFF
Macarthur Rams 4 Bulls Academy 1 at Lynwood Park
Gladesville Ravens 1 APIA Leichhardt 3 at Christie Park
Northern Tigers 1 Bankstown City 3 at North Turramurra Rec Area

Top Scorers
8 – Brinley Gentle (Emerging Jets), Ashlie Crofts (APIA Leichhardt)
7 – Morgan Roberts (NWS Spirit)