NPLW Round 11 Preview
Canberra United Academy v Canberra Olympic | Saturday, 5pm @ Hawker
The Canberra United Academy will look to further solidify their top four spot when they take on Canberra Olympic at Hawker on Saturday. A 7-3 win against Monaro last week gave them strong momentum through the break and they will now take on a side they beat by nine goals earlier in the season. Isobel Davy returned as a substitute against Woden-Weston a couple of weeks ago before starting against Monaro and is a big addition to this side through the back half of the season. Bella Barac netted a hat-trick against the Panthers while Hayley Taylor-Young scored twice and they will be a tough force for Olympic to stop here.
Olympic had back to back wins against Monaro and Wagga City before shipping five goals to the Panthers in their last outing, and will be keen to rebound here. Andrew Woodman’s team will know the size of the challenge given their experience against the Academy last time but have also had some success at Hawker this season, thrashing Tuggeranong United there in the Federation Cup quarter-finals. They have lost gun forward Natinah Skinner to Monaro but have found other avenues to goal in recent weeks after struggling through the initial portion of the season. With Monaro and Wagga taking each other on Olympic’s position on the table could potentially change if they do not pick up points here.
Canberra FC v Woden-Weston | Sunday, 2pm @ Deakin
Canberra FC begin the process of making up ground on Belconnen United when they host Woden-Weston on Sunday afternoon. The Blue Devils have the bye this week meaning that Nik Brozinic’s side can pull to within five points and will be keen to bounce back after a disappointing 1-0 loss to the reigning Champions in their last match. Nat Vasta is in doubt after she suffered a very heavy cork to her leg in that game but the side should otherwise be close to full strength. Before the result was overturned the last time these two met Canberra FC put Woden-Weston to the sword with Rachael Goldstein netting six times, and Brozinic will want another pedal to the metal display here.
Woden come in off the back of a loss to Belconnen United in the Federation Cup where they performed strongly before late goals pushed out the scoreline. They now sit just on the cusp of the top four, and will want to pick up points here with the three sides above them all in action, including Canberra FC against themselves. If all was to go wrong for Mark Boyd’s side then they could find themselves as far as five points off the pace before taking the week off with a bye next weekend. This is a different team to the one that struggled to deal with Goldstein and Canberra FC’s forwards in round two, and will challenge the hosts on a surface they played on only last week.
Wagga City Wanderers v Monaro Panthers | Sunday, 2pm @ Gissing Oval
Monaro travel to Wagga Wagga this weekend to take on the Wanderers and aim for their third win of the season to move up to nine points. They sit three ahead of this weekend’s opponents but have a vastly superior goal difference, and can pull further ahead. Skinner could be in line for a debut with her new club this weekend, and will provide some welcome firepower for Ian Worthington’s side here. Against the Wanderers was when Monaro registered their first win of the campaign, but they will be a tough nut to crack at home.
Outside of a clash with the Canberra United Academy and the loss to Tuggeranong in round 10, the second half of the season is one big home stand for Wagga City and they will be keen to get that off on the right foot here. They missed key figures against Tuggeranong, and it remains to be seen if the likes of Rachel Lyons and Tess Viccari are available this weekend. Piper Lockley was excellent in the loss and will prove a key figure here, but will be matched up against some experienced figures in the middle of the park for Monaro. A win here would provide excellent momentum for Mick Godbier’s side moving into the closing stretch of the season and they may fancy themselves at Gissing Oval.
Gungahlin United v Tuggeranong United | Sunday, 3pm @ Gungahlin Enclosed
A third win on the bounce is the goal for Tuggeranong United as they head to Gungahlin Enclosed on Sunday afternoon to take on Gungahlin United. Michael Aldred’s side scored twice in the second half at Greenway in Round 10 to see off Wagga City but know they will be up against a very different opponent this weekend. They were beaten 6-0 by Diego Iglesias’ team at Kambah early in the season but have improved and sit in sixth now with three wins under their belt since that match. Steph Coates and Kristy Helmers scored in the win against Wagga City and while the goal was a nice touch on Coates’ performance, Aldred will be hoping for a similarly stoic performance at the back in this match against a dangerous forward line for the hosts.
Gungahlin sat out the round before cup weekend with the bye, and before that lost to Canberra FC at Deakin. They now reside in third on the table, three points ahead of fifth spot but will be wanting to pick up points as early as possible to reduce pressure down the stretch. This represents one of those chances and with big matches to come against Belconnen and Woden-Weston the importance is heightened. They will benefit though from having had their second bye already though, and with two games in hand on the second-placed Academy and one on third-placed Canberra FC, United are in a strong spot at this point in time.
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