Report by Tommy Doleman
Women’s NPL and Division One action takes a break this weekend for the quarter-finals of the Hyundai Women’s State Cup across the long weekend.
The only non-NPL side left in the competition are Hamersley Rovers, who lead the Hyundai Women’s League top flight with seven wins from seven games, scoring 26 times and conceding only twice.
On Monday they face their biggest test of the season in the form of two-time NPLWA-Women’s champions Murdoch University Melville at Carine Open Space.
Goals from Royan Norman and Ella Kerman gave United a 2-1 win at Mandurah City last Sunday, which means Betim Ziba’s side are five points clear of UWA Nedlands at the top of the second tier. While the third-year head coach said it was not their best performance of the season, he looked at the bigger picture.
“Getting a win in those games when you’re not playing your best just shows the mentality of the team to keep going and getting result,” he said.
“A few things didn’t go our way with decisions, player availability and such, but we had a game plan and stuck to it. The game gave us a bit we need to work on and it will only help us get even better going forward against other teams.”
Hamersley are playing in the second tier for the first time after previously competing in the Amateur competitions - in 2022 they secured a Hyundai Women's Amateur League and Night Series double.
It is a step up for the club but they have added NPL experience in the form of Christiane Astorp and Nadia Harvey to ease the transition and complement a squad who have played together for several years. While there were some initial reservations about making the move, Ziba says it has been satisfying to watch the team’s growth throughout.
“Winning games breeds confidence and the girls have been so keen to keep learning and improving. They are really close and there’s a real family vibe at the club, which helps with the cohesion on and off the field and I feel we’re just all in sync,” he said.
“Coming up nearly didn’t happen to be honest. Some of the girls were worried they weren’t going to be able to rise up to the level of the league, but I had seen a bit of it and encouraged them to come up. I think the girls are happy we went for it and I’m so proud of what they’ve done so far.
“I’m obviously still learning myself as a coach in terms of the things I need to change, what works for the girls and what doesn’t. Coming up has been a development process for the club, but we’ve now joined with the juniors, which has also given us that pathway upwards.”
In terms of what lies ahead and whether their rise could take them to NPL level, Ziba said the focus is primarily on completing the job in Division One. But he also believes the club would be supportive of any opportunity to grow further in the future.
“There is ambition in the club to progress but we haven’t had a full discussion about it yet and don’t want to jump the gun,” he said.
“We just want to keep improving, keep winning games and try to win the league. There’s obviously a process we would have to go through but we’ve done well so far on our journey and have at least put our name out there.
“When the men were playing in the Amateur leagues, the club had ambitions of playing in the State League and that’s a process we’ll go through with the women’s team in wanting to keep progressing. The club have been supportive and I feel like we would at least sit down and talk about it, even if it is a bit early to speak about it right now.
“I’ve always had a goal to coach in the NPL but I want to earn it by going through the leagues because it would be more satisfying. With the girls playing well and having the belief and the confidence, we can hopefully go to the next level together if we do well.
“That’s why the game against MUM FC is one everyone is excited for, because it shows us where we are in terms of the next level.”
Murdoch University Melville’s young team have impressed many in 2023, having reached second place following a four-game winning streak a few weeks ago.
Back-to-back losses against two of the top three have followed since, but they remain in the top four.
Ziba added: “They started the season a little lower down the league but have done really well to get themselves up there with some good results. We’re coming in as underdogs and on paper many are expecting us to lose, but regardless we’re only going to benefit from these experiences against NPL teams.
“We have been watching their games and we’ll do everything we can to prepare ourselves for their style of football. All we want to do is go out there, try our hardest and be proud of whatever we do on the day.
“There’s always a chance. It’s football. Things can happen, but if we do get to the semi-finals it would obviously be higher than we expected to go in our first season up a level. We would be ecstatic, it would be a great achievement, and we’d probably have to have a night out to celebrate it!”
The three other cup games are on Sunday, including the top two sides in the NPLWA – Women’s competition meeting in a repeat of the 2022 Hyundai Women’s State Cup final.
Jay Coleman’s goal gave Perth RedStar a 2-1 win over Perth SC in last year’s decider, although the Azzurri got past RedStar on penalties in the 2023 Night Series final.
Carlos Vega Mena’s RedStar side extended their unbeaten league run to eight matches with a 2-0 win over Hyundai NTC in Albany on the weekend and they sit six points clear in the table. Perth, meanwhile, got a win at Subiaco last week after back-to-back defeats.
Balcatta Etna and Fremantle City meet at Grindleford Reserve having already shared the points there earlier in the season. Both sides have found their feet in recent weeks with Faye Chambers’ City having lost once in seven games, while Tim Cash has guided Balcatta to three consecutive wins.
Hyundai NTC and Subiaco are also in action at E&D Litis Stadium with the pair currently in the bottom half of the league. They played out a 5-3 thriller back in Round Four of the league with a maiden semi-final berth up for grabs for either team in the NPL era.
Hyundai Women’s State Cup (all 3pm)
Sunday
Hyundai NTC v Subiaco
Balcatta Etna v Fremantle City
Perth SC v Perth RedStar
Monday
Hamersley Rovers v Murdoch University Melville
