Insight Body & Mind Women’s Match Preview: Saturday Is the Line in the Sand.
Our Women’s Match Preview are presented by Insight Body & Mind.
Three losses on the bounce. No goals from open play in the last two matches before Ava Groba’s late consolation at the Veneto Club. A red card that left the Royals playing 30 minutes with ten players. The early-season form that produced a stunning 3-1 win at reigning champions Box Hill in Round 1 feels a long time ago.
Saturday at Ironbark Fields is not about fixing everything. It is about stopping the slide.
Before the football, the venue deserves a mention. Two Moonee Valley clubs meeting in Tarneit. The Royals regret that a match against a fellow local club has to be played so far from home, but Cross Keys Reserve remains unavailable and despite numerous enquiries about a number of local grounds that will sit empty on Saturday, Moonee Valley City Council has proven incapable of providing a ground for this fixture.
It is a frustrating situation, and one the club continues to work on resolving.
The Royals sit 9th on six points after five rounds, two wins and three losses. The goal difference has slipped to minus two. The Round 4 defeat to Alamein was the most frustrating of the three. Anna Liacopoulos lobbed Zara Board from distance inside 40 seconds, and 89 minutes of probing possession could not find a way through. Against Bulleen, Maja Markovski’s double and Tiffany Eliadis’ opener had the Royals chasing from the 16th minute, and Akeisha Sandhu’s red card in the 63rd sealed it.
The silver lining is the likely return of Kelli McGroarty. Suspended for the Bulleen trip after a second yellow against Alamein, the Royals’ leading scorer with three goals in four rounds was the most obvious absence last weekend. Her directness and movement were missed. Getting her back changes the shape of the attack.
Avondale will not make this straightforward. They arrive sitting 5th on nine points and riding a three-match winning streak. The 3-1 win at Keilor Park in Round 4 was efficient. The 5-0 demolition of Melbourne City last Saturday was emphatic. Sloane Young has been one of the most dangerous forwards in the division, her hat-trick against Bulleen in Round 2 announcing her quality. Hannah Wilkinson, with 125 caps for New Zealand, adds international pedigree to an attack that has scored consistently all season.
The tactical challenge is clear. Avondale score from transitions. They counter with pace through Young and create overloads through Wilkinson’s intelligence. The Royals cannot afford the kind of early goals that have plagued the last three matches.
Board’s composure in goal will be needed again. Koizumi’s set-piece delivery remains the Royals’ most reliable creative outlet, her curling free kick the difference in the Round 3 win over Spring Hills. Sewards’ work through the middle will need to limit Avondale’s supply lines.
The quality is there. Round 1 proved that. Saturday is about finding it again.
Round 6 | Saturday 21 March | 5:00 PM | Ironbark Fields, Tarneit (Home)
Around the Grounds – NPLW Victoria Round 6
Friday Night
Preston Lions FC vs Alamein FC Genis Steel Stadium | 6:15pm
Preston (11th, 4pts) host an Alamein side (4th, 10pts) that has been one of the most disciplined defensive outfits in the competition. Preston showed fight with a wild 3-4 loss at Spring Hills last round, scoring three but unable to hold on. Alamein’s structure should be too well-organised for a Preston side that has lost three of five.
Box Hill United Pythagoras FC vs Melbourne Victory FC Wembley Park | 7:30pm
The headline fixture of the round. Box Hill (2nd, 12pts) have the most prolific attack in the division. Their 1-0 win over South Melbourne last round was a statement of intent from a side that can grind results as well as score freely. Melbourne Victory (8th, 7pts) suffered a shock 1-2 home defeat to Keilor Park last round and will need a response.
Saturday
South Melbourne FC vs Boroondara Eagles FC Lakeside Stadium | 2:30pm
The match of the round. South Melbourne (7th, 8pts) host league leaders Boroondara (1st, 13pts). Boroondara’s unbeaten start hit a speed bump with a 2-2 draw at Heidelberg in Round 5, their first dropped points. South Melbourne’s 1-0 loss to Box Hill last round was their second defeat. Lakeside Stadium under lights is a proper setting for it.
Melbourne City NPL vs Keilor Park SC Casey Fields | 3:00pm
Two sides at the wrong end of the table trending in opposite directions. Keilor Park (10th, 5pts) pulled off the upset of the season with a 2-1 win at Melbourne Victory last round. Melbourne City (13th, 0pts) are still searching for their first point after five rounds.
Heidelberg United FC vs Spring Hills FC Home of the Matildas | 4:20pm
Heidelberg (12th, 3pts) earned a creditable 2-2 draw at Boroondara last round, their best result of the season. Spring Hills (3rd, 10pts) bounced back from their Round 4 loss at Alamein with a 4-3 thriller against Preston. Heidelberg will take confidence from the Boroondara result but face a side with more quality across the park.
Monday
FC Bulleen Lions vs Bentleigh Greens SC Veneto Club | 8:30pm
Bulleen (6th, 9pts) have won three of their last four and Maja Markovski has been in superb form. Bentleigh Greens (14th, 0pts) are still without a point in their debut NPLW season. The Veneto Club has been a fortress for Bulleen.