Report by Tommy Doleman
Round Nine of the NPLWA – Women’s competition is headlined by a clash between leaders Perth RedStar and Hyundai NTC in the Regional Festival of Football clash in Albany.
The fixture, which will be played at Retravision Stadium, returns to the NPLWA - Women’s calendar for the first time since 2021 when NTC were involved in a 1-1 draw with Fremantle City in Geraldton.
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Albany last hosted the NPL double-header in 2020, with this year’s edition preceded by a game involving local sides, while open training sessions, school clinics, referee courses and various workshops a feature of the week.
On the pitch, RedStar are moving in the right direction with a seven-game unbeaten run taking them top of the league. The defending champions opened up a four-point gap with Sunday’s 1-0 win over second-placed Murdoch University Melville and assistant coach Shawn Billam said it was an important three points.
“It was a difficult game. Obviously 1-0 is enough to get you a win, but it was a more formulated performance from us against a team who are a lot stronger now than they were at the start of the season, which was a good challenge for us,” the former Perth Glory midfielder said.
“We obviously lost some players from last season, recruited some new players and that’s taken a bit of time to see what’s working best.
“But to get wins on the board while we’re doing that is good. A lot of the teams have improved and the games we’ve played recently have all been tough.
“We were obviously quite lucky other results went our way at the weekend, so the little buffer is nice, but it’s about keeping it going now. We need to make sure we solidify things for the second round of games and stay organised, because as we’ve seen this season results can come from any which way.”
Having played over 200 games locally with Northern Redbacks/Perth RedStar, Billam retired at the end of 2022 after an undefeated campaign which saw the club complete a clean sweep of silverware.
She joined Carlos Vega Mena’s coaching staff at the beginning of the season and admits there are occasions where she is still kicking every ball on the touchline.
“I barely sit down which probably isn’t the best thing for me. But it’s hard!” Billam joked.
“I don’t have any issues at training but come gameday it can be frustrating being on the sidelines.
“But I’ve actually been enjoying mentoring the players and that personal side of working with the younger ones. I’ve always been a bit of a leader on the pitch, so it’s getting those messages across from the sideline differently. I don’t want to be barking orders at people all the time.”
Saturday’s fixture in the Great Southern is also a repeat of the Round One fixture which saw NTC win 2-0 thanks to goals from Tanika Lala and Georgia Cassidy, which ended RedStar’s long unbeaten league run.
Albany is also the home town of last season’s NPLWA -Women’s Gold Medal winner Larissa Walsh, who left RedStar at the end of 2022 to join Calder United in Victoria.
“Larry’s from Albany and it’s the first year we’ve done the regional game, but she’s not here and is a bit disappointed,” she said.
“But we are excited to head down, hang out and enjoy the time we’ve got together as a squad. The girls were disappointed with the Round One performance, which was our first loss in a long time, so they won’t want that to happen again.”
NTC meanwhile have lost three of their past four games having led the league after five rounds of the competition. Assistant coach Fernando Barreiro is hopeful the challenge against the leaders is the spark to see them return to their early season form.
“When you start losing games it’s easy to just throw your plans out of the window and start all over again, but that’s something myself and Ben (Anderton) will never do,” he said.
“We’re true to the plan, sticking to the process, staying focused and we’re confident the results will come. Yes, we’ve had players missing, but it’s also an opportunity for other players in the squad to step up, show their skills, and remind other players when they come back that they’re going to have to fight to get back into this team.
“RedStar are a quality outfit who are disciplined and well organised and I think it will be a cagey affair and a tactical battle against a team riding high. We want to be playing in these games against the top teams though, because it’s good for our group of girls and we’re absolutely looking forward to it.
“The league is wide open and if you can string two or three wins together it’s a case of ‘look where we are on the table’. We’re only in round eight and there’s still a long way to go.”
Round Nine begins on Friday night with Balcatta Etna looking to build on back-to-back wins when they head to Curtin University.
Tim Cash’s team have defeated Perth SC and Hyundai NTC in the past fortnight and three points would provisionally move Etna into a share of fourth ahead of the weekend’s remaining matches.
Curtin meanwhile put in an improved display at Rosalie Park against Subiaco last week where they won the second half and will hope to lean into that performance in search of their first points this term.
Saturday night sees Murdoch University Melville looking to solidify second place when Fremantle City makes the short trip north to Besteam Stadium.
A win for the visitors would see them leapfrog their opponents and continue a resurgence which has seen them lose only one of their past six games.
On Sunday, Perth SC will be looking to regain momentum into their season when they started a long stretch of away games at Subiaco.
The Azzurri’s place in the top four is suddenly under threat following three losses in four games, while Subiaco will be buoyed by victory over Curtin and can further close the gap to a finals spot with victory.
Round Nine fixtures (3pm unless stated)
Friday
Curtin University v Balcatta etna (6.30pm)
Saturday
Hyundai NTC v Perth RedStar (2pm, Retravision Stadium, Albany)
MUM FC v Fremantle City (5pm)
Sunday
Subiaco v Perth SC (3.45pm)
- Football West would like to thank the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries and the City of Albany for their support for the 2023 Regional Festival of Football.
Football West would like to recognise Hilton Garden Inn Albany as a supporting partner for the 2023 Great Southern Regional Festival of Football.