Let’s check out the previews for Round 7 of the National Premier Leagues Northern NSW Women’s competition.
Check out all the action below.
Match of the Round - Charlestown Azzurri v Newcastle Olympic
Lisle Carr Oval, Sunday 4pm
Newcastle Olympic coach Neil Owens believes the pressure is on Charlestown Azzurri to prove whether they are contenders or pretenders when they meet on Sunday.
Top of the table Azzurri welcome second-placed Olympic to Lisle Carr Oval two points clear of the visitors having lost their first match of the season to Broadmeadow last weekend.
Charlestown failed to overcome a poor first half, with Azzurri coach Niko Papaspiropoulos disappointed with his players’ mentality and attitude as they fell in their biggest test of the season so far against Magic.
Azzurri face another tough test on Sunday as they look to inflict Olympic’s first defeat of the campaign.
But Olympic boss Owens believes the pressure will be on Azzurri not to lose a second match in a row having won their first five.
“They won’t want a second loss in a row. They played Magic and lost and now they’ve got to play us,” Owens said.
“We’re all top teams. It’s a matter of them trying to get some points off us to see if they’re the real deal or not.
“They got done by Magic and if we knock them over that could start to doubt themselves a bit.
“I’m really looking forward to the game. It will be another good challenge for us.”
Owens was pleased with the way his side was tracking following a pair of big wins over Adamstown in the league and cup last week.
“[Tuesday night] was one of the best training sessions we’ve done all year actually,” Owens said.
“We’ve got a lot of girls in form. We’re looking good. We spoke about a few things [before training] but then the girls went out and actioned it. We played a reserve grade verse first grade game and they just did everything so well.
“We’ve spoken about the areas we want to improve on and the challenge there. And they went out and did it. Their actions showed me everything.
“We probably need to start a bit better. A couple of times we’ve started a bit slack. Against better teams you can’t be doing that obviously so that’s a focus area for us, to get into the groove of a game as quick as we can.
“I want us to be on top of our game and compete straight away and roll on from there. Obviously Azzurri [are a good side] with where they sit on the ladder but I’m more worried about what we want to do.”
Papaspiropoulos has identified a similar area for improvement in his Azzurri side after their first loss of the season to Broadmeadow.
The Charlestown coach was bitterly disappointed with his side’s first 45 minutes at Magic Park, which he believed cost them a chance of winning the game.
“Obviously we want to leave that behind us and turn it around. We want a good response,” Papaspiropoulos said.
“We had a chat about that during the week at training and what we need to do to change. The only thing that let us down was the first half.
“First half we didn’t show up at all. There was a lack of desire to be on the pitch let alone compete, wanting to go there and win the game. It was our attitude, the basic things we didn’t do like track players and work hard. It’s not anything ground-breaking that we need to adjust other than our attitude because it was very lacklustre.
“Second half we came out and played quite well but didn’t take our chances. We created enough to get something out of the game. But that’s what happens when you have a poor half. We probably got what we deserved.”
Papaspiropoulos was confident his side would provide a strong response against Olympic on Sunday.
“There’s not too much for us to fix to have a good response,” Papaspiropoulos said.
“It’s sort of our second top of the table match in a row so it should be another good game and a great challenge.
“We’ve played plenty of matches against [Olympic] in recent seasons and had some good games against them last season. We’re aware of what they offer in terms of quality. But it’s more important that we focus on ourselves and start the game correctly with the right mentality and desire to want to win rather than what we did in our previous game.
“I think to instil belief it’s something you do over time. As coaches we know we have a good quality side but it’s about the girls having faith game in, game out. Sometimes the occasion can get to players or nerves or panic can kick in.
“We had a good discussion on Tuesday about truly backing ourselves as individuals and as a team that every time we step onto the pitch and every game we go into we can be the better side.
“It’s something we’ve addressed and I’m expecting a good response [against Olympic]. It was a good conversation and I’m expecting a good reaction.”
Olympic will be almost at full strength, with only experienced former W-League defender Alesha Clifford unavailable (overseas).
Azzurri’s versatile attacker or midfielder Jess Dominello remains sidelined with the concussion she suffered against Adamstown, with Indianna Asimus a chance to return after training for the first time since the win over Rosebud having suffered a lower leg injury.
New Lambton FC v Mid Coast FC
Alder Park, Sunday 4pm
New Lambton waited 634 days for their win over Warners Bay last weekend but they will hope they only have to wait seven days for their next.
The Golden Eagles welcome Mid Coast FC to Alder Park on Sunday fresh from their drought-breaking 5-0 victory over the Panthers last weekend.
Ameera Makunja celebrated her return from injury with a second half brace after coming on as a substitute to secure the result with Tara Pender, Airlie Davis and Taleah Mountford also on the scoresheet.
The win saw New Lambton climb to sixth, with a second victory in a row on Sunday potentially enough to see them overhaul Adamstown into fifth on goal difference.
Mid Coast will be desperate to bounce back from their surprise 10-0 thrashing at the hands of Maitland last weekend.
Middies have been much improved this season under former W-League player Emma Stanbury, with the 31-year-old taking on a player-coach role this campaign.
Mid Coast trailed at half-time before being blown away at Cooks Square Park. But the result was an outlier compared to what Middies have done so far this season, having beaten Warners Bay 8-1 and scored three times against leaders Charlestown in the previous fortnight.
Warners Bay FC v Broadmeadow Magic
John Street Oval, Sunday 4pm
Broadmeadow Magic will be eyeing the competition lead when they travel to John Street Oval to face Warners Bay on Sunday.
Magic are third, two points behind leaders Charlestown who host second-placed Newcastle Olympic.
A draw in that match would allow Broadmeadow the opportunity to climb to the summit on goal difference should Magic run up a heavy score against the Panthers.
Warners Bay have already conceded 71 goals in their opening six matches and suffered 19-0, 16-0 and 15-0 defeats to Maitland, Olympic and Azzurri respectively.
The Panthers will now host a Magic side, that many consider to be premiership favourites, hungry to build on their impressive 3-1 victory over previously unbeaten league leaders Charlestown last weekend.
Adamstown Rosebud JFC v Maitland FC
Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility, Sunday 7pm
Maitland coach Keelan Hamilton will challenge his players to secure a fifth win in a row when they take on Adamstown Rosebud on Sunday night.
The Magpies travel to Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility in scintillating form, having won their last four matches including a 10-0 thrashing of Mid Coast last weekend and an impressive 5-2 demolition of competition heavyweights Broadmeadow.
They have scored an incredible 36 goals in that four-match run and conceded just twice to sit fourth, three points behind leaders Charlestown.
The Magpies are five points clear of Adamstown in fifth and, with a win on Sunday night, could open up an eight-point gap to the chasing pack after just seven rounds.
While that could go a long way to helping secure a first finals appearance for Maitland even at this early stage of the competition, Hamilton is not looking down the table. Rather, the Maitland coach is eager for the Magpies to score a fifth consecutive victory because of what that would say about his side.
“The good thing I’ve noticed about our group is that the girls really want to achieve something and be a team that is talked about as one of the top teams,” Hamilton said.
“We’re looking forward to those games against the other top teams now. This week is another challenge and a chance to improve.
“It would be a really good thing for us to win five in a row because it’s not an easy thing to do. It’s what the best teams do. I think it says a lot about a team’s consistency and that’s the kind of team we want to be.
“So I’m much more interested in winning five in a row rather than looking at the table. Honestly it’s not a focus for me. The reality for me is to try and challenge the other top teams.
“There is still a lot of football to go. We didn’t have ideal results to start with but they were ok performances against Charlestown and Olympic then obviously it was a good result against Magic. But the reality is you’ve got to play each team three times so there is a lot of water to go under the bridge yet.
“We’re not counting our chickens yet. I’m happy we’ve won four games in a row after a slow start results wise. I’m happy that we’ve had mostly decent performances. But I think there is still significant improvement in us and that’s where our focus is because against the top teams they are all tough fixtures and results can go either way.”
Hamilton has been delighted with the contribution of four new faces at Maitland this season, with Sophia Laurie (Warners Bay), Lucy Kell (Broadmeadow), Amy Parkinson (Charlestown) and Keely Gawthrop (Olympic) adding much needed depth and quality to the Magpies squad.
The quartet have all hit the ground running since their arrivals at Cooks Square Park, with Hamilton believing it is further proof that the club is on an exciting trajectory.
“I’m really happy with them. I think it shows the football club is heading in the right direction when players of that calibre want to come and play at the football club,” Hamilton said.
“The contribution of those players has been really good on and off the field. Keely has only been with us a short time but you can see the qualities she has. Amy, Sophia and Lucy on and off the field those three have been really positive for us.
“We haven’t seen anywhere near the best of Lucy yet. She had a few injury problems at the back end of pre-season which stalled her progress but she’s playing a lot more minutes which is exciting because there is plenty of growth for her.
“Sophia is very underrated in the competition. She has been really good for us. And Amy coming in has given us more options in the defensive department. Her composure and calmness make her a valuable addition for us.
“I’m really pleased that it says more about the football club that those players look to us and hopefully see that we’re building something here and want to be part of it.”
Adamstown suffered a deflating week last week, going down 6-1 and 5-1 to Newcastle Olympic in the Women’s League Cup and NPLW NNSW competitions respectively.
But Hamilton said Adamstown would present a unique challenge.
“Our focus will be to concentrate on our own performance and what we bring to the table,” Hamilton said.
“The last month of football has been good in terms of converting performances into results. I’m not someone that focuses too much on the opposition. I think the main controllable thing we have is ourselves and what we do.
“But definitely like we do all the time we’ve done our homework on Adamstown and what they bring. They have some good players and good structures so we’ll be prepared for that. But I think what we do is more important to the result and the outcome rather than looking to exploit anything they do specifically.”