NSW NPL Women’s Wrap – Round 6

Winter finally arrived across much of New South Wales this week, and with Antarctic winds blowing across Sydney, fans could be forgiven for indulging in that extra hot chocolate on match day! Beyond 90 looks out into the frozen beyond to bring you the best of the best in this week’s NPLW NSW wrap.

Match of the Round: Blacktown Spartans vs Emerging Jets

A flurry of late goals helped the in-form Blacktown Spartans to a convincing 4-0 win over the Emerging Jets at a windswept Blacktown Football Park on Sunday afternoon.

A brace from midfielder Rosie Galea, along with a goal-of-the-season candidate from defender Annabelle Daczko and a late effort from Ashlie Crofts, helped Blacktown demolish a Jets side returning to the pitch for the first time in three weeks after an extended break due to COVID-19 quarantine restrictions.

Having claimed the scalps of the much-fancied Manly United and APIA Leichhardt in its last two outings, Brad Attard’s Spartans side had every right to be confident ahead of the match, especially with the Jets missing a host of W-League talent – including Tessa Tamplin, Renee Pountney, and Paige Kingston-Hogg – for the trip south to Rooty Hill.

However, without their own influential playmaker Kyra Cooney-Cross, Blacktown were forced to move versatile wingback Alix Roberts into an attacking midfield role alongside Galea, while Tiarne Flavin moved into the starting line-up in Roberts’ stead.

Even without their cavalcade of top-tier talent, it was the Jets who started the brighter of the two sides, pressing forward with abandon through wingers Sarah Moore and Lilly-Jane Babić, perhaps taking Blacktown by surprise with their quick forward play in the opening 10 minutes.

By the quarter-hour mark though, Spartans had firmly wrested control of the match back from the Novocastrians, and with Galea and Roberts providing tracer-bullet passes out wide to Candace Sciberras and Crofts, both took turns to feed striker Linda Dudek – each time to no avail.

Blacktown’s – and the game’s – best chance of the opening half came after 25 minutes, when one of Sciberras’ trademark passes found Dudek on the run into the Jets’ penalty area; with goalkeeper Tiahna Robertson advancing at speed, Dudek volleyed the ball softly over the Jets stopper, only to watch it trickle harmlessly wide of the goal.

Sciberras was the next to test Robertson’s resolve, running onto a delightful diagonal pass from Alexia Moreno with 14 minutes of the first half remaining, expertly beating the offside trap only for her touch to fail her at the critical moment.

With the sides scoreless at half-time, and having seen her opponents give up all three points to a meagre Macarthur side less than a month ago, Jets coach Ashley Wilson must have fancied her side’s chances of springing an upset as the match progressed.

Despite having the bulk of possession, Blacktown simply couldn’t convert their numerous opportunities in front of goal, and with the second half dragging on, the Spartans needed a flash of inspiration from among their attacking quintet.

With 20 minutes to play though, the Jets finally cracked: Mona Walker gave up possession near her own 18-yard box to the harrying Galea and the ball found the ever-alert Linda Dudek with her back to goal. Kirsty Fenton instinctively stuck out a leg and brought down the Spartans striker, leaving the referee with no choice but to award a penalty, which Galea coolly slotted moments later.

The deadlock was now broken and Blacktown pushed for a second. It was the influential Galea who provided it in some style; winning the ball from a lofted free kick with her back to goal, Sciberras poked a pass to Galea just outside the area, allowing the midfielder to pick her spot before curling a shot in off the far post and wheeling away in celebration.

With the three points seemingly in the bag, the Spartans continued to press forward in search of a third goal, and they’d find it with seven minutes to play. In somewhat scrappier circumstances after Galea’s sparkling effort, Crofts and Dudek clumsily combined in the Jets penalty area, the latter finding her teammate in space before futsal superstar Crofts thrashed her shot into the bottom corner from 12 yards.

However, if Galea’s goal was a sparkling effort, then Blacktown’s fourth and final goal was surely a tall glass of champagne football. Winning possession in the Jets half, centre-back Daczko strode forward and unleashed an absolute howitzer all of 30 metres from goal, rocketing into the underside of the crossbar and across the line for her first goal at NPLW level – and some goal at that.

https://twitter.com/dale_roots/status/1297758733141864449

Blacktown Spartans 4 (Rosie Galea 71’p 80′, Ashlie Crofts 83′, Annabelle Daczko 89′)
Emerging Jets 0

Blacktown: Casey Dumont; Tanya Borazio, Annabelle Daczko, Keisha Allen, Tiarne Flavin (Natalie Vuković 68’); Alexia Moreno (Olivia Sloan 86′), Alix Roberts (Ellie Smyth 86′), Rosie Galea (Ashley Calvar 88′); Ashlie Crofts, Linda Dudek, Candace Sciberras.

Jets: Tiahna Robertson; Lara Gooch (Jorja Brown 70’), Kirsty Fenton, Te Reremoana Walker, Leah O’Hagan; Hannah Jones, Josie Morley, Brianna Williams; Sarah Moore, Keea Parrish, Lilly-Jane Babić.

Around the Grounds

Illawarra Stingrays 2 Bankstown City 0
Sydney Olympic 3 Northern Tigers 0
Sydney University 2 Manly United 0
Football NSW Institute 6 Macarthur Rams 1
NW Sydney Koalas 1 APIA Leichhardt 1