The Western Sydney Wanderers NPL Women’s side showed great resilience, fighting until the final stages to secure a 2-2 draw against Mount Druitt Town Rangers.
The Western Sydney Wanderers NPL Women’s returned home to face Mount Druitt Town Rangers in an entertaining contest. With finals hopes on the line after a setback against fifth-placed UNSW, Mount Druitt entered the clash under pressure, needing a win to keep their top-four ambitions alive.
The Wanderers welcomed back Alyssa McKenzie and Miriam Zumaya to the starting side, in what was a largely unchanged lineup from their draw against NWS Spirit last weekend.
The Rangers would dominate the first half proceedings, as the Wanderers would fail to land a shot on target in the opening stanza. They would ultimately be rewarded as a familiar face, Ena Harada would open the scoring in added time, slotting her free kick into the bottom right corner of the goal to send the visitors in with the lead.
The Wanderers came out with renewed intent after the break, taking control and dominating the opening 20 minutes of the second half. Their persistence was rewarded in the 67th minute when Nikkita Fazzari, replicating her goalscoring form from last week, pounced on a rebounded save to level the scores following a well-delivered cross into the box.
Rosaria Galea would put the visitors back in front following an awarded penalty. Aimee Hall went the right way but her fingertip touch was not enough to prevent the visitors from taking the lead.
The Wanderers would look to increase the intensity in the closing twenty minutes, that saw the Red and Black side trouble the Rangers’ defence for the best part of twenty minutes. That was until they were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box.
Isabella Sultan would step up to take the set piece, her strike would hit the frame and fall into the path of Olivia Vanderlaan who would put the ball into the roof of the net to equalise the game in added time.
The result showcased the team’s growing resilience and ‘never say never’ mentality, proving their determination to play until the final whistle. It also confirms their position above last-placed Newcastle Jets as they head into the final two weeks of the competition, beginning with Sunday’s clash against the Northern Tigers.
