The Western Sydney Wanderers NPL Women’s side pushed the Northern Tigers all the way in a tightly contested 1-0 match, with a late corner proving the only difference on the day.
The Western Sydney Wanderers NPL Women’s side showed plenty of fight in a narrow 1-0 loss to the Northern Tigers at Wanderers Football Park, with both teams determined to turn a challenging second half of the season into a strong finish in the final weeks of the competition.
The Wanderers welcomed Jade O’Brien into the starting side as they searched for their first win since Round 13.
Mischa Anderson opened proceedings inside ten minutes as Aimee Hall failed to gather the corner, to which the Wanderers failed to clear, leading to a tap in centimeters off the line.
The Tigers almost replicated their opener, driving another looping corner, this time it would be Lauren Nada who would produce a 37th minute goal line clearance to deny the visitors a second.
The Wanderers first big chance would not be presented to them until the 48th minute as Isabella Sultan would see her strike hit the post following a Nikkita Fazzari run into the box.
Another corner would cause issues as a failure to clear would see the Tigers’ strike roll across the front of goal before being cleared by the Wanderers once again.
Lily McMahon tested the Wanderers from distance, with Hall unable to hold the initial effort before quickly recovering to block the follow-up shot. The Wanderers goalkeeper stood tall again in the dying moments, pulling off a crucial one-on-one save to deny Jade McTamaney with an outstretched leg.
This would conclude what was a Tigers’ possession heavy game, where the Wanderers were forced to defend for most of the 90 minutes, leading to very little chances created compared to the visitors.
The Wanderers will be proud of their defensive efforts against one of the competition’s premier attacking sides, although they will need to ensure they do not afford the Jets as much time on the ball, as the relegation battling side will be vying to finish the season on a strong note.
The result sets up a decisive final day clash with the Jets, where the Wanderers will look to end their twelve-game winless run against the very side they last celebrated victory over.
