Competition: Women's NPL SA 2019
Round: 17
Salisbury Inter vs Adelaide City
Venue: VALO Football Centre
Date: 12/07/2019 06:15 PM
Salisbury Inter snapped a three-match winless streak last weekend thanks to a come-from-behind win over Adelaide Comets sealed with a wonder strike by Nicole Calder.
And they needed it. Having looked destined for the top four for most of the season, the northern club still has plenty of work to do in the closing rounds to ensure that it’ll see finals action.
Scoring hasn’t been a problem; Inter have only been held goalless once this season. But they haven’t kept a clean sheet since Round One and now they face the Adelaide City juggernaut which put nine past them in May.
Six of those nine goals were scored by Chelsie Dawber and she helped herself to another six last week. Four WNPL clubs haven’t found the back of the net as many times as she has on her own this season. Let that sink in. City will be hard to stop again in this one.
Fulham United vs Metro United WFC
Venue: West Beach Parks Football Centre
Date: 12/07/2019 06:15 PM
Last season’s premiers are on the mat – a shock for one of the WNPL’s traditional powers. Just one win from their last seven games sees them clinging to a top-four spot by just one point.
Injuries haven’t helped Metro. Any side would miss Lauren Steer, Laura Stockdale, and Ness Read. But there are still some greats of the game in their team and the club will need them firing to get its season back on track.
Fulham continues to struggle to get results despite being competitive most weeks. Last weekend in Renmark encapsulated their season. With a draw against a top side so close to being secured, Fulham conceded needlessly.
When these sides last met, the western suburbs club did come away with all three points thanks to a long-range strike from Jenna McCormick. But they’ve enjoyed just one win since then. The stakes are high in the early match at West Beach.
Adelaide Comets vs West Adelaide
Venue: West Beach Parks Football Centre
Date: 12/07/2019 08:00 PM
If the WNPL has an Arya Stark then it is surely West Adelaide. They’re not the freewheeling Adelaide City who score big bags of goals every week; the blue-and-whites’ matches are usually tight. But they just keep finding ways to get results. You know what they say to the God of Losing? #NotToday
West have won their last five and are undefeated in their last eight. There have been some close shaves like last week’s narrow win against Fulham. And they won’t have it all their own way against Comets who held them to a draw when the teams last met. But if West is going to go into next weekend’s clash with Adelaide City with any chance of staying in the premiership race, they must win again tonight.
Scoring has been a problem for Comets. In the eight matches up to and including Round 14 they found the back of the net just four times. But they have five goals from their last two games which included a shock 3-0 win over Metro. Victoria Mansueto is now up to four for the season; she and Sarah Chappel (who has three) will need to be at their best.
FFSA NTC vs Adelaide University
Venue: VALO Football Centre
Date: 12/07/2019 08:15 PM
Two massive wins in the last two rounds have revived Adelaide University’s season just when they seemed destined to miss the finals for a second consecutive year. And if Metro’s woes continue against Fulham, Uni can burst into the top four with a win tonight.
Uni is another team that has found goals hard to come by but their recent wins have relied on solid defence: 1-0 over Metro last week and 2-1 the week before against Inter.
FFSA NTC has suffered two big defeats in the last fortnight but they have been against the competition’s top two sides. Before that, they were highly competitive and that run included a narrow loss to Uni. They’re another team that has had little luck on the injury front but there is still plenty of talent in the young side. They’ll ensure that Uni won’t have it all their own way in the late game at VALO tonight.