2022 NSW NPL Women’s Wrap – Round 6

NWS Spirit 1 Illawarra Stingrays 2

Early goals from two NPL Women’s veterans helped Illawarra Stingrays pick up their first win in four attempts this season, as the Wollongong side secured a 2-1 victory over North West Sydney Spirit at Christie Park on Sunday night.

First-half strikes from Michelle Carney and Caitlin Cooper were enough for the visitors to take home the three points, even after Morgan Roberts’ late consolation goal made things uncomfortable with 12 minutes to play.

Despite their 0-3 record to open the season, Illawarra got off to the perfect start, with Cooper and Carney combining to run through the Spirit defence before the latter dispatched her effort with only 13 seconds on the clock.

Spirit had not long fished the ball out of their net when Cooper doubled her side’s advantage, making the most of a lethargic North West Sydney set-piece defence to rifle her shot over a backpedalling Isabella Whitton, sending Illawarra two clear inside 10 minutes.

Despite the two-goal deficit Spirit never gave their opponents an inch, no matter the circumstances, so it surprised precisely no-one when Spirit attacker Sunny Franco went into the referee’s book for an accidental hairpull on Michelle Brown as the two tussled on halfway.

North West Sydney continued to impose themselves on the contest throughout the first half, creating chance after chance through Franco, Sophie Harding and Isabella Volkanovski, the latter of whom stung ‘Rays keeper Sian Fryer-McLaren’s palms from distance as the half wound to a close.

Spirit continued to look for a way back into the game throughout the second half and went close to pegging a goal back, first through Franco again before Harding forced an excellent reflex save from Fryer-McLaren inside the six-yard box.

That persistence paid off inside the last 15 minutes, as Roberts latched on to a pinpoint long-range pass from centre-half Erin Pridmore, sliding her shot home before tumbling over Fryer-McLaren like the two were in a Bolshoi ballet.

Try as they might though, North West Sydney couldn’t find an equaliser. With the clock inching closer to full-time Illawarra’s experience told, both in how they controlled the game and in how they deprived their opponents of opportunity – a matter taken to the nth degree by first Erica Halloway and then Carney, as both ended up in the referee’s notebook.

North West Sydney Spirit 1 (Roberts 78′)
Illawarra Stingrays 2 (Carney 1′ Cooper 9′)

NW Sydney: Isabella Whitton; Sasha Grove, Erin Pridmore, Rachel Patterson (Victoria Martin 66′), Mia McGovern; Lucy Johnson, Isabella Volkanovski, Sunny Franco (Keira Bansfair 81′); Sophie Harding, Bianca Radman, Tahlia Macri (Morgan Roberts 61′).
Subs not used: Katie Offer, Ivana Galić
Yellow cards: Sunny Franco 12′

Illawarra: Sian Fryer-McLaren; Alex McKenzie, Mikayla Vidmar, Bronte Pyke, Danika Matos; Michelle Brown, Molly Lawless, Caitlin Cooper; Chloe Middleton (Erica Halloway 66′), Michelle Carney, Tayleah Handcock.
Subs not used: Kaelah Austin, Jade Lockton, Sophie Emery, Alicia Meuronen
Yellow cards: Erica Halloway 89′, Michelle Carney 90’+1

Around the Grounds
Emerging Jets 3 Manly United 4 at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility
Sydney University 1 Bankstown City 1 at Sydney University Football Ground
Macarthur Rams 0 Sydney Olympic 2 at Lynwood Park
APIA Leichhardt vs Football NSW Institute at Lambert Park – postponed
Northern Tigers vs Blacktown Spartans at North Turramurra Rec Area – rescheduled to Tuesday 24 May