As W-League players return to their respective clubs, the intensity in the NSW NPL competition is set to rise even higher. Our featured game for Round 5 saw 2020 Premiers Sydney University host North West Sydney Koalas.
Sydney University v North West Sydney Koalas
Sydney University earned their first point of the 2021 campaign with a hard-fought 0-0 draw against NWS Koalas at Sydney University Football Ground.
Uni were able to give a number of W-League players their first appearances of the season. Bianca Galic, Rachel Lowe and Laura Hughes started, while Emma Ilijoski and Kaitlyn Torpey would come off the bench in the second half.
Koalas had plenty of speed at their disposal as Sophie Harding and Morgan Roberts lined up on the flanks, and former Uni player Rachael Soutar operated as a centre forward.
The first opportunity of note came in the eighth minute after Sarah Morgan’s corner was half-cleared, but Lowe’s volley was blocked by a Koalas defender.
It took a while for both teams to find their flow, and the bumpy surface did not seem to help either side. On 25 minutes, Lowe forced a turnover, then Morgan, Galic and Maxine Peak combined to set up Lowe, who forced a good save from Katie Offer, although it wouldn’t have counted due to offside. Maxine Peak would be denied by Offer a minute later after Brianna Oliverio picked her out with a cross from the left.
Koalas finally started to threaten just before the half hour. Nat Tobin pounced on a loose pass and might have troubled Uni keeper Danielle Bartels, however her shot was deflected wide by Gabrielle Peak. Then on 33 minutes, a Soutar corner found its way to Isabella Volkanovski – this time it was Hannah Jones who got in the way of the shot. This was Koalas’ best spell of the game so far, and three minutes later Rachel Perrins took advantage of another errant pass, shooting across the face of goal.
Uni had a great chance in the 39th minute after Offer cleared the ball straight to Lowe, but she was unable to hit the target with Offer out of position.
The opening 15 minutes of the second period were marked with shots from distance, none of which seriously tested the goalkeepers. Hughes could have broken the deadlock on 54 minutes after Morgan’s free kick fell her way, however a combination of Offer and the Koalas defenders kept the ball out.
Uni coach Em Husband introduced Holly Caspers with just over half an hour remaining, and the lightning quick winger would have an almost immediate impact. In the 64th minute, her cross from the left found its way to Lowe, who pulled the trigger but was denied by an excellent block from Ellie Howard.
Three minutes later, Maxine Peak went even closer, intercepting a loose ball and rattling the crossbar from 30 yards out.
That was as close as either side would get to scoring. In the final ten minutes, long range efforts from Tobin and Uni defender Taren King weren’t enough to trouble the opposition goal. The final real chance came with four minutes left in normal time – Soutar showed great skill to flick the ball past a defender, but her 20 yard strike was off target.
Although Uni are yet to score in 2021, Lowe looked dangerous thanks to her passing and vision, especially in the second half, and they will be pleased with their first clean sheet of the season. Meanwhile, Koalas are now on a mini unbeaten run which stands at three games.
Uni’s next assignment is an away game against Football NSW Institute, while Koalas host Blacktown Spartans on Sunday evening.
In the day’s other games, home field advantage counted for nothing as all five away teams recorded victories. Teigan Collister scored four times as Sydney Olympic defeated Spartans 5-0, Macarthur Rams defeated Illawarra Stingrays 3-2 in a top-of-the-table clash, and there were also single goal wins for Northern Tigers, APIA Leichhardt and Institute.
Sydney University 0
NWS Koalas 0
Sydney University: Danielle Bartels, Gabrielle Peak (Emma Ilijoski 65’), Taren King, Ashley Irwin, Brianna Oliverio, Hannah Jones, Bianca Galic, Rachel Lowe, Laura Hughes (Kaitlyn Torpey 59’), Maxine Peak, Sarah Morgan (Holly Caspers 59’)
NWS Koalas: Katie Offer, Rachel Perrins (Tahlia Macri 77’), Erin Pridmore, Ellie Howard, Jayme Millard, Alisha Bass, Nat Tobin (Victoria Martin 84’), Isabella Volkanovski, Sophie Harding (Kimberley Davey 46’), Rachael Soutar, Morgan Roberts
Yellow cards: Kimberley Davey 53’, Alisha Bass 89’
Around the Grounds
Illawarra Stingrays 3 Emerging Jets 0 (midweek catchup game)
Bankstown City 0 Football NSW Institute 1
Blacktown Spartans 0 Sydney Olympic 5
Emerging Jets 0 APIA Leichhardt 1
Illawarra Stingrays 2 Macarthur Rams 3
Manly United 2 Northern Tigers 3
Table
| POS | TEAM | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Macarthur Rams | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 13 |
| 2 | Illawarra Stingrays | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 10 |
| 3 | FNSW Institute | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 9 |
| 4 | APIA Leichhardt | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| 5 | Manly United | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 7 |
| 6 | Northern Tigers | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 6 |
| 7 | North West Sydney Koalas | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | -2 | 5 |
| 8 | Sydney Olympic | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| 9 | Blacktown Spartans | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | -5 | 4 |
| 10 | Sydney University | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 1 |
| 11 | Bankstown City | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 10 | -8 | 1 |
| 12 | Emerging Jets | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 12 | -11 | 0 |
