SA NPLW Wrap Round 14

With Round Thirteen postponed due to South Australia’s lockdown, the NPLW returned to action after a two-week break at the weekend.

Match of the Week: SALISBURY INTER v WEST ADELAIDE

The league’s two most dominant forces went head-to-head on Friday night in their second NPLW match of the season.

Inter consolidated their spot in the top two last time out with a remarkable 1-0 victory over Adelaide City, despite having a player sent off early in the second half and skipper Chantelle Ryder playing in goal for over half an hour. 

It was raining goals as West tore Adelaide Comets apart in a 6-1 demolition job, with Laura Johns’ incredible chipped effort in at the near post from a tight angle and a series of fine team goals getting the job done.

A win would see Inter reclaim top spot and keep real breathing distance between them and third, but victory to West would increase their lead at the league summit to five points.

A tight tussle took place in wet conditions at the VALO Football Centre, and it was Inter who started the strongest.

They went ahead after just two minutes when Emily Heazlewood was put through after a typically mazy run by Cote Rojas. Sarah Willacy in West’s goal rushed out to try and block but the ball came out to Anna Pritchard who looped an impressive shot into the net from the left-hand side.

Rojas was popping up on both flanks and storming through the middle in the first half and was at the heart of everything dangerous that Salisbury Inter were producing.

Inter missed an opportunity on the fifteen-minute mark as Rojas danced her way past four players and unleashed a shot that came back off of the left-hand post and into the path of Emily Condon whose follow-up was saved by Willacy.

Inter were not able to produce the final ball consistently enough to come close to giving them a lead on the scoreboard to match the amount of possession and territory they had, and they would soon be punished.

Nicole Tilley won a corner from Mina Nishitani and the ball was played to Maddie DuRieu who looped a shot in from the edge of the 18-yard box which Zafiro Papaniktas in the Inter goal got a hand to but couldn’t prevent the ball falling to Christie Hillyer who smashed home the leveler from close range.

Rojas conjured up two opportunities to put Inter back in front before the break when she saw an effort come back of the right-hand post and then after beating three players she lifted a shot over the bar.

The second half was increasingly cagey with real chances rare. Nicole Tilley hit a 30-yard free-kick for West Adelaide from a central position which Papaniktas held.

With twelve minutes to go, Condon broke through for Salisbury Inter and found Rojas, but Willacy saved.

A minute later, Inter’s Chilean international won a free-kick after being shoved in the back on the right about 25 yards out. Nishitani played a dangerous set-piece into the mix which Willacy did extremely well to punch clear in heavy traffic.

The last opportunity fell Inter’s way once more with Condon breaking through beating three West Adelaide defenders before shooting over the bar.

The draw was much better news for West than it was for Salisbury Inter as it maintains their two-point lead over their closest rivals at the top of the SA NPLW table.

METRO UNITED v ADELAIDE CITY:

There was a rematch of last season’s dramatic Grand Final when these two faced off at TK Shutter Reserve on Friday night.

Metro escaped with a point by the skin of their teeth last time out, with Roxanne Dodd’s 90^th minute headed goal-saving their bushes and rescuing a point against lowly Adelaide University, ceding their spot in the top four to NTC in the process.

City went into the game with a point to prove after losing 1-0 to a Salisbury Inter side reduced to ten players after 55 minutes, a result that saw them slide to six points behind the top two and just four ahead of fifth.

With the hosts now out of the finals positions, and City within their grasp, both sides knew that they need to pick up wins wherever they can to entrench themselves above the rest.

Metro took the lead after 14 minutes when Rochelle Draper played a ball in from the left, two shots were blocked before the ball finally fell to Roxanne Dodd who scored.

City leveled 20 minutes later when Alana Fitzsimmons ran along the left and played a high ball into the box for Chelsie Dawber who hit a shot that came off the bar and into the net.

Adelaide City turned the game on its head with three goals in eight minutes at the start of the second half. First, on 47 minutes, Daniela Di Bartolo forced the ball home from a corner from the right-hand side, and then when Dawber found Fitzsimmons on the left. She continued her run and played a pass back which then found Dawber to fire home for 3-1.

Dawber completed her hat-trick when another flowing City attack ended with Di Bartolo squaring the ball to the striker who has just re-signed with Adelaide United for next season’s W-League, to roll in her 15^th goal in 13 SA NPLW matches this season.

Metro got a goal back five minutes from time when they were awarded a penalty in the box after the ball came off of the elbow of Alanah Ursino and Millie Scott fired home from the spot. It ended 4-2 to Adelaide City, who are now only four points adrift of second-placed Salisbury Inter after their tough start to the season.

FOOTBALL SA NTC v ADELAIDE UNIVERSITY:

Later on Friday night, Football SA NTC faced Adelaide University at the VALO Football Centre.

With NTC snapping their winless streak in their last match before the break and Uni picking up a hard-earned point, both sides enter this week off the back of positive performances.

Erin Kontoutsikos’ first-time shot from a loose ball in the area was enough to get NTC over the line against Fulham United last time out and reclaim their position in the league’s top four by a solitary point.

Uni were denied victory on their last outing by a stoppage-time equalizer and were determined to do better this time.

It was Adelaide University who took the lead on 25 minutes with a rather soft goal from NTC’s perspective. A corner was played back to Stella Rigon on the left-hand side of the 18-yard box and she hit a shot that rolled in at the far post.

They doubled their advantage seven minutes from half-time when Sasha Coorey stole possession from NTC on the right-hand side and advanced to fire the ball into the net.

Four minutes into the second half, NTC grabbed a lifeline with a superb goal from Madeleine Wright. The ball came to her on the edge of the box and she lofted a wonderful effort over Uni keeper Aimee Benton and into the net.

Uni regained their two-goal lead on 53 minutes thanks to a sensational free-kick by Coorey which flew into the bottom right-hand corner from around 25 yards. It became 4-1 with five minutes remaining when Alysia Panagakos looked up and saw NTC keeper Libby Davy off her line and hit a glorious shot from over 30 yards into the net.

ADELAIDE COMETS v FULHAM UNITED:

The final match of the round took place at the SA Athletics Stadium on Saturday between two out of sorts sides who battled it out for a shot at a much-needed victory.

Comets have had a lot of time to stew on their second consecutive disappointing 6-1 thrashing, this time at the hands of West, now boasting the unenviable record of the most goals conceded so far this season.

Fulham’s 1-0 defeat to NTC represented an improvement on their recent form but still wasn’t enough to bring their nearest rivals any closer, with the result marking their fifth consecutive match without finding the back of the net.

Despite their recent results, Comets went into the game only seven points behind fourth spot and can’t count themselves out just yet, while Fulham still have plenty of time to make moves up the table by picking up some positive results.

Fulham took the lead after 23 minutes scoring only their sixth goal of the season in the process when Mia Lundquist shot across Comets keeper Inana Toovey and into the bottom left-hand corner.

Comets only took two minutes to level when Esther Haywood-Smith broke through the middle and shot into the bottom left corner from 20 yards.

But back came Fulham to clinch their first SA WNPL victory of the season at their 13^th attempt amidst delirious scenes as the clock ticked onto the 90^th minute. Fiona Worts hit the ball into the far side of the net and was joyously mobbed by her teammates.

MIDWEEK SPECIAL – SA WNPL & WSL CUP SEMI-FINALS:

Salisbury Inter claimed their place in the 2021 Final with a comprehensive 4-0 win over Adelaide City on 10^th August. Three goals in 20 minutes before half-time settled matters with Dragana Kljajic, Emily Condon, and Cote Rojas on target. Anna Pritchard added the fourth just after the hour mark.

They will face Metro United in the Final (date to be confirmed) after they saw off Adelaide Comets 2-1 on the same night. Victoria Mansueto (two minutes) and Lauren Steer (20) put Metro in the box seat with Comets gaining late hope when Joanna Katsabis got a goal back with three minutes to spare.

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