NPLW WA Round 14 Review

The final round of the first-ever NPLW competition in WA saw MUM FC collect their trophy, a worldwide viral goal and heartbreak for the youngsters of the Hyundai NTC.

FREMANTLE CITY 1 – 1 MUM FC

Fremantle went into the game knowing that they were still in with an outside chance of securing a home semi-final if they could beat MUM FC. The visitors were no doubt looking forward to receiving the Championship trophy at the end of the game, and indeed the difference in intensity and desire between the two teams was quite marked as Fremantle dominated the opening exchanges.

The wet and windy conditions, as well as the poor condition of the playing surface, meant there was little in the way of any neat passing football that both these teams could play. We had to wait until the 17th minute before the first meaningful chance when Gemma Craine’s shot was comfortably saved by Fremantle keeper Dayle Schroeder.

The game came into life in the 32nd minute when Baxter Thew was judged to have tripped Annabelle Leek in the penalty area. Referee Troy Malatesta pointed to the spot and the kick was duly dispatched by Mikayla Lyons to put Fremantle 1-0 up.

This sparked MUM into action and on 38 minutes Sadie Lawrence was denied an equalising goal when Schroeder produced a fine save to stop the MUM midfielder’s volley. Stacey Learmont then spurned an opportunity from inside the six yard box in the 41st minute when her weak shot was straight at Schroeder.

The second half seemed to be meandering towards a home win when the league’s leading goal scorer produced a moment of pure theatre.

Katarina Jukic had already scored with a rabona earlier this season against Subiaco, but the one she pulled out of her hat in the 77th minute was on another level. Whether Jukic saw Schroeder slightly off her line or not only she can say, but her execution of the skill was outstanding and you sensed Jukic knew it was going in from the moment she hit it.

The ball crept just under the bar, sparking some wild celebrations, and footage has since gone viral with just about every football site in the world showing the goal. It certainly sparked some life into the game as Fremantle now had to score a second to try and earn the home semi-final.

Craine came mighty close for the home team on 78 minutes and then MUM FC substitute Rachel Gillies forced a fine save from Schroeder in the 80th minute. The youngster was then involved in an ugly challenge on the keeper a minute later as she went for the ball late and with her studs raised caught the Fremantle stopper in the stomach. Referee Malatesta consulted with his linesman and produced a straight red card to send her off. Fremantle’s Steffi Nadilo was lucky not to receive similar treatment as her angry push on Gillies sent the MUM player to the ground.

The result means that Fremantle now has to travel to Dorrien Gardens to take on second placed Perth in the top 4 semi-finals, a team who has done the double over Fremantle this season. For MUM, they would have to wait until Sunday to see who they would be entertaining in the other semi-final.

CURTIN UNIVERSITY 1 – 2 NORTHERN REDBACKS

The first of MUM’s potential opponents took to the field on Saturday afternoon, when Northern Redbacks travelled to face a Curtin University team high on confidence and with a three match winning streak under their belt.

Redbacks would also have been feeling a little better with themselves following their 3-0 win last time out, which was only the fourth time this season they had scored more than one goal in a game.

Knowing that they had to win to play in the top four, the Redbacks started the brighter of the two teams and in the seventh minute Lauren Continibali shaved the outside of the post when she found some space inside the Curtin penalty area. Larissa Walsh was then played in on 12 minutes and found herself one on one with Curtin goalkeeper Stacey Cavill, but the stopper was up to the task and pushed the shot away. The rest of the half saw Curtin have more possession but they were unable to really test Morgan Aquino in the Redbacks goal.

The second half saw Redbacks come out with more intensity as they pressed for the win, and the pressure told in the 61st minute when a neat move between captain Shawn Billam and Walsh saw the winger burst clear into the box before squaring the ball to Sarah Carroll for the easiest of tap ins.

The lead was doubled in the 68th minute when Walsh turned goalscorer. A quick ball from just inside the Curtin half allowed Walsh to use her pace and break clear of the last defender, calmly slotting the ball past Cavill. It was all looking good for Redbacks at this point and they nearly scored again on 78 minutes with Walsh just falling to turn the ball in from a neat cross.

However, Curtin has been resilient in the last few weeks, and in the 80th minute Rebecca Dudek headed home from a corner to score against her old club and set up a nervy final ten minutes for the visitors. They held firm for the win though and put the pressure back on to the Hyundai NTC, who would now have to win against second placed Perth in their game if they were to claim fourth spot.

HYUNDAI NTC 2 – 2 PERTH SC

Following Saturday’s result, the Hyundai NTC team faced the prospect of slipping out of the finals race if they couldn’t defeat Perth SC. The Azzurri had beaten them earlier this season in Albany and were comfortable in the knowledge that they had a home semi-final regardless of the result of this game.

NTC started off with a very high press and for the first 10 minutes of the game Perth had difficulty getting out of their half, but in the 11th minute skipper Jaime Duncanson served notice that Perth were not there to make up the numbers when she flashed a header just over.

Perth then shook the hosts when they took the lead on 15 minutes. Not for the first time this season, the NTC defence lost the ball as they tried playing out from the back. Abbey Meakins stole possession and took a couple of touches before adding a beautiful finish into the top corner from just outside the box to make it 1-0.

NTC fought back and Abbey Green twice went close, before Perth had a goal rubbed out from a freekick in the 38th minute when Miranda Templeman was adjudged to have been fouled.

The second half saw an increasingly nervous NTC struggle to break Perth down. In the 54th minute their problems doubled when Meakins produced another superb finish from the edge of the box, sending the ball in a deceptive arc up and over Templeman’s head to put the visitors two up and give the youngsters a mountain to climb.

There was no option now but for the NTC to throw caution to the wind, and they clawed one back in the 78th minute when Green found some space on the edge of the box and fired past Rebecca Bennett in the Perth goal.

Their hopes of gaining an unlikely win were raised even further just two minutes later when Taneesha Baker poked the ball home from close range, much to the delight of teammates and fans alike.

Despite some frantic pressure in the last ten minutes, Perth stood firm and when the final whistle blew it was Northern Redbacks, not the Hyundai NTC, who would advance to the semi-finals to take on MUM FC.

BALCATTA FC 4 – 0 SUBIACO AFC

The final game of the round had none of the dramas that were attached to the other three games, with both teams out of finals contention and playing for nothing but pride.

For the home team though, there was some poignancy to the game as news broke that long time coach Lisa Tana was stepping down from the role. Tana has been a stalwart of the women’s game in WA for many years and she has helped lay the foundations of a strong female football presence at Balcatta FC. Her presence will be sorely missed.

Balcatta were determined to send her off in style, taking the lead in the seventh minute when Giorgia Alford pounced on a loose ball in the Subiaco penalty area after the visiting defence had failed to clear.

The game then drifted aimlessly in the spring sunshine until the 52nd minute, when a Balcatta corner caused all sorts of mayhem and was finally bundled over the line by Monique Gooding.

Balcatta then scored a third on 58 minutes, and in keeping with the previous two goals it was another scrappy affair. A hopeful cross into the box resulted in miscommunication amongst the Subiaco defence, and the attempted clearance by goalkeeper Annaleisha Pickering merely cannoned off her defender and back onto the keeper before rolling over the line.

A fourth and final goal was scored by Ashleigh Panaia in injury time. She dribbled into the box and then beat Pickering on her near post from inside the six yard box, marking the end of Tana’s tenure as coach with a comfortable win.

Attention now turns towards tonight’s semi-final matches, both of which are intriguing affairs.

Perth has defeated Fremantle in both games so far this season, but the Port team are on a good run of form and they may well have enough in their locker to reverse that trend this time.

MUM will be red hot favourites to beat Redbacks having done the double on them this season. Both games were tight affairs though, and Redbacks are a vastly experienced side who have key players back from injury so MUM can’t take anything for granted.

FINAL LADDER

TOP 4 Semi-Finals 

MUM FC vs Northern Redbacks (8th Oct)
Perth FC vs Fremantle (8th Oct)