NPLW WA Round 14 Wrap

Round 14 of NPLW WA was an absolute goal fest! We saw 30 goals and a hat trick in two minutes, while a second player reached the 300-game milestone.

Despite all the goals, there were no changes in the league table, with RedStar maintaining their two point lead at the top and MUM remaining at the bottom. The winning margin in every game was six goals or more, so there is plenty of work to do by the losing teams’ coaches to improve their players’ defending.

Hyundai NTC 1 – 7 Perth RedStar FC

Perth RedStar earned three points against the Hyundai NTC with a seven goal performance in the opening game of the round on Saturday afternoon, capping off an impressive week that saw them beat Balcatta twice and secure a spot in the State Cup Final in September.  

The league leaders were captained by Carla Bennett, who was making her 300th first-team appearance for the club but were still without leading goalscorer Caitlin Doeglas. NTC welcomed teenage prodigy and Western Sydney Wanderers player, Ischia Brooking, to their squad for the first time this season.

The game plan from Carlos Vega-Mena’s side was clear from the outset, as they pressed their opponents relentlessly to prevent NTC from developing any passing rhythm when in possession, so it was no real surprise when RedStar took the lead in the 16th minute when full-back, Quyen Doan, reacted first to a ball bouncing off the bar following a corner to make it 1-0.

Three minutes later the lead was doubled with a goal of the highest quality. NTC keeper, Megan Phillips, cleared a ball that went straight to RedStar’s Japanese winger Manami Arai. She played it into her countrywoman Reina Kagami, who was in space about 40 metres out. Showing tremendous technique she hit the ball first time and lifted it over Phillips into the net to make it 2-0.

With the clock ticking towards halftime, NTC got a toe hold in the game when they scored from a free kick in the 44th minute. Poor marking allowed Hannah Collins to head home at the far post to make it 2-1. Just one minute later RedStar restored their two-goal advantage when Olivia Wood curled home a delightful shot from just inside the box to make it 3-1.

RedStar sealed the game with a four-goal burst in twelve minutes with Wood, Arai, Renee Leota and Jayna Ridley all getting in on the act. Wood scored her second in the 65th minute, making it 4-1. Seven minutes later Arai was played in by Kagami and finished from a tight angle to make it 5-1 and then Leota scored within a minute of coming on as a substitute for Arai to make it 6-1. Jayna Ridley added the icing on the cake with a header in the 77th minute to make it 7-1 and open up a temporary five-point gap on second-placed Perth.

This was the second 7-1 win by RedStar over the NTC this season, and the fact they achieved it without Bronwyn Studman, Doeglas, and Andreia Teixeira from the first game illustrates the depth in the squad that Carlos Vega Mena has. He also has vast amounts of experience to draw on for the run home with Bennett joining Emily Dunn on 300 games. Leota came off the bench with 280 games under her belt, whilst regular captain, Sarah Carroll has played over 150 games and Ridley has now played over 100 games.

NTC are in a poor run of form and have now lost their last four games. The introduction of Brooking will help a lot but coach Ben Anderton has to try and restore confidence in his young team if they are to try and pressure Fremantle for fourth spot.

Fremantle City FC 9 – 0 MUM FC

Fremantle’s nine-goal mauling of MUM FC was the result of the round as they bounced back from the disappointment of losing their State Cup semi-final match against Perth in the best way possible.

Fremantle were essentially unchanged from their Tuesday night cup match, whilst MUM were without first-choice keeper Manon Gebauer, so Annabel Cook was on duty between the sticks.

Playing in gloomy and wet conditions, Fremantle scored their first goal in the 3rd minute to set the tone for the rest of the afternoon with Erin Siah capitalising on a defensive error to round the keeper and make it 1-0.

The game then turned into the Tanika Lala show as the young Perth Glory striker scored a hat trick in two minutes to put the game to bed.

Her first came in the 24th minute when she was released by a neat through ball from Abbey Green and she made no mistake from close range to make it 2-0. The pair combined again less than a minute later for Lala to head home to make it 3-0, and she completed her hattrick in the 26th minute with a goal that demonstrated her strength and pace as she burst clear of the defence and rifled a shot high into the net to make it 4-0.

The game was all over at this point, but Fremantle kept the foot to the gas pedal and added a 5th in the 29th minute through Janice Kiama. Five became six in the 35th minute with Green’s long-range strike slipping through the goalkeeper’s fingers. The scoring hadn’t finished yet and Lala added her fourth and her side’s seventh in the 38th minute when she burst clear of the defence and slotted the ball past Cook to make it 7-0.

To MUM’s credit, they continued to try and play football in the second half, but they eventually conceded an eighth goal in the 58th minute when Alex Poad guided her shot inside the far post. Mikayla Lyons rounded off the scoring in the 84th minute when she tapped home from close range.

The amazing scoring streak of Lala continues unabated and with 13 goals overall for the season, she is beginning to loom as a real contender for the Golden Boot. Fremantle have now gone six games without defeat and have cemented their place in the top four, as they are four points clear of NTC with a game in hand. A big game looms next week when they take on Perth SC and they will be keen to extract some form of revenge after being knocked out of the cup by the Azzurri last week.

MUM can only dust themselves down and recover after such a big loss. There was little to take away in terms of positives from the result and coach Steve Atkins must hope his senior players can help restore morale in the team ahead of next weeks clash against Balcatta Etna.

Balcatta Etna FC 6 – 0 UWA Nedlands FC

A run of three games without a win, including a loss in the State Cup Semi-Final against RedStar in midweek, has dented the confidence of Balcatta and coach Peter Rakic was looking for a strong response from his team in this game. He was without Lucy Jerram and Jamie-Lee Gale, but welcomed Zoee Spadano to his squad on her return to the NPLW after a year of playing futsal in Italy.

UWA didn’t have a game last week so this was their first time in action since beating MUM FC in Round 12, and coach Lawrence Lewis would be hoping to build some momentum after that win.

UWA kept their opponents at bay with some well-organised defending for the first quarter of an hour but two free kicks in the space of five minutes blew the game open in favour of the home team. The first occurred in the 15th minute when an Abbey Meakins free kick cannoned off the bar. Alyssa van Heurck headed the rebound into the net to make it 1-0. That score was doubled five minutes later when Tia Stonehill scored her first of the season with a super strike direct from a free kick. 

These two quick goals provided a real boost for the home team and they finished the game as a contest in the 34th minute when Kat Jukic headed home from a Liana Cook cross to make it 3-0. Cook herself then got on the score sheet when she was played in by a lovely through ball by Spadano that allowed her to run in behind the defence and her finish matched the pass to make it 4-0.

To their credit, UWA continued to work hard but the game was beyond them and two more goals in the second half put the icing on the cake for Balcatta. Meakins provided another goal for her highlight reel when she struck yet another free kick in the 50th minute to make it 5-0. The scoring was completed in the 51st minute when Jukic produced the goal of the game with a chip of the highest quality from just outside the box to make it 6-0.

Balcatta needed this win to steady the ship and coach Pete Rakic would no doubt be delighted with his teams performance. The introduction of Spadano is a big boost as she has added balance to the midfield and showed some classy moments in her first game back.

For UWA, this will be a game to put behind and move on from. They ran into a team that gradually grew in confidence as the game progressed and they couldn’t compete with the individual skills of players such as Jukic, Stonehill, Meakins, van Heurck and Spadano.

Subiaco AFC 0 – 7 Perth SC

The final game of the round pitched second-placed Perth SC against 6th placed Subiaco. The Azzurri were firm favourites to win this one, having booked their place in the State Cup Final with a win over Fremantle during the week and winning their previous three league games, scoring 16 goals in the process. They were without Georgia Cassidy who was away on Young Matildas duty, but could still call on Melbourne City’s Tijan McKenna to come off the bench.

Subiaco didn’t play last week as their game against NTC was re-scheduled but would have been confident of a good performance after their 3-3 draw against Balcatta in their last game.

A wet and muddy Rosalie Park greeted both teams but the conditions didn’t seem to bother Perth who took an early lead in the 7th minute when a long-range Ella Lincoln effort went underneath the dive of young Subiaco goalkeeper, Isobel Robinson, to make it 1-0.

They doubled their lead 30 minutes later when Baxter Thew headed home from a corner and it was 3-0 in the 41st minute when Epril Nossent benefitted from good work by Lincoln to slot the ball home from inside the six-yard box.

Perth made a substitution by Perth at halftime that demonstrated the strength in depth of their squad when they brought on two ALW players, Tijan McKenna and Anika Stajcic, who joined fellow ALW players Lily Bailey and Grace Johnston on the field.

The Azzurri made it 4-0 in the 56th minute when a Johnston cross from the right picked out an unmarked Charli Wainwright in the box and she made no mistake with her header. It was 5-0 just 6 minutes later and was again from a cross from the right. Only Nossent will know if there was an intentional effort on goal but her cross flew in for her second of the day.

The same familiar route to goal was responsible for the 6th goal in the 82nd minute when Johnstons floated cross eluded Ashleigh Riddle in the Subiaco goal, and the scoring was completed in the 91st minute when Nossent completed her hattrick with yet another strike from the right side of the area.

The win keeps Perth hot on the heels of RedStar and they are scoring goals for fun at the moment with 22 in their last four games. They face Fremantle next week in a clash of two of the most prolific goalscoring teams in the league, with their opponents also scoring 22 in their last four outings.

Subiaco will have to dust themselves down after this one and try to fix some of their defensive failings ahead of the game next week against Perth RedStar.

Click here for the Round 14 goal highlights!

League Standings after NPLW WA Round 14

Round 15 Fixtures

Saturday 20th Jul
HYUNDAI NTC vs UWA NEDLANDS FC – Sam Kerr Football Centre 1:00 pm

Sunday 21st Jul
PERTH REDSTAR FC vs SUBIACO AFC – RedStar Arena 3:00 pm
PERTH SC vs FREMANTLE CITY FC – Dorrien Gardens 3:00 pm
MUM FC vs BALCATTA ETNA FC – Besteam Stadium 3:00 pm

GOLDEN BOOT STANDINGS

17 – Ella Lincoln (Perth SC)
13 – Caitlin Doeglas (Perth RedStar FC)
13 – Reina Kagami (Perth RedStar FC)
13 – Abbey Meakins (Balcatta Etna FC)
12 – Tanika Lala (Fremantle City FC)