It's all about the here and now for MUM FC
The second round of the NPLWA - Women’s competition begins on Friday night as Murdoch University Melville look to build on an excellent opening victory when they host defending champions Perth RedStar at Besteam Stadium.
MUM FC registered an eye-catching 2-1 win at Fremantle City last Sunday, with Sophie Meaden scoring twice on her league debut having joined in the off-season from Hyundai NTC.
The two-time champions lost several senior players a year ago which derailed any hopes of recording a third straight NPLWA – Women’s title in as many seasons. But the silver lining of the turnover was the first-team minutes provided to a core group of young players coming through the female program at the club.
Head coach David Biancuzzo said those opportunities last year may prove valuable physically and mentally for his playing group.
“With everything the team went through last season, to only miss out (on a top-four finish) on the Top Four Cup final day against Perth really built resilience and getting to the position they did speaks volumes of their character,” he said.
“A lot of our young players played 15-20 NPLW games last season and no one can take that away from them. That’s experience they can lean on when times get tough, like it was against Freo in the last 10-15 minutes.
“Fortunately, we’ve been able to keep the majority of the players and strengthen our squad as well. I’m at the stage now where I’m sick of people talking about the players who have left. We’re not concerned about who’s not here, we’re concerned about the group that is here now.”
Biancuzzo has been involved with MUM FC at various levels for over a decade, having started with the Under-9s academy. He transitioned to coaching at U13 level in the Junior NPL, while also assisting in the NPLWA - Women’s U21 set-up.
Following discussions with Technical Director Mark Jones in the off-season, Biancuzzo replaced Luke Thompson as head coach of the first team for the 2023 campaign. The Night Series saw them collect a win, a loss and a draw from their three matches, and the positive signs carried into the league season with Sunday’s result against Fremantle City.
“In the Night Series when we drew 1-1 (against Fremantle), I thought we were perhaps a little unlucky in that game, but obviously Freo were a different team at the weekend with their experienced players,” Biancuzzo said.
“I was really happy with our start and how we got the goal in the first half. Fremantle came out in the second half looking to equalise and we possibly got the second a little bit against the run of play, but it was a fantastic goal from Sophie to take the ball from halfway and score.
“That lifted us again and in the last 15 minutes we really had to dig deep, especially when they scored with five minutes left. But I was just so happy for the players. They’ve really put the effort in and it gives them belief now.”
MUM FC face another tough test on Friday in defending champions RedStar, who won all three league meetings between the pair last year.
Carlos Vega Mena’s side lost in the league for the first time since September 2021 against Hyundai NTC last week and Biancuzzo says his team need to be wary of a response from the holders.
“RedStar didn’t win all those games last year for no reason. They’ve got a very good coach and very good players, but we won’t go into the game with fear,” he said.
“We will go into the game confident. And the players and I believe that if we can put in our best performance then we can get a result, but it’s going to be a tough game for sure.
“They’re going to be coming out with something to prove and we’re going to be the ones who cop that. I suppose if you look at NTC, they’re a fantastic team and a young, hungry group. But if you look at our team that’s what we are too and we also want to have success.”
Elsewhere on Friday, Curtin University and Subiaco will aim to kickstart their respective seasons when the pair meet at Edinburgh Oval.
Both teams had opening day defeats, but the opportunity for last year’s bottom two to put three points on the board provides additional incentive.
On Sunday, Hyundai NTC and Balcatta meet at E&D Litis Stadium with the pair coming off good wins last week.
An impressive 2-0 win for Ben Anderton’s team ended RedStar’s long unbeaten league run, while Balcatta hope to record back-to-back league wins for the first time since rounds 11 and 12 last year following their 9-0 success over Curtin. The fixture kicks off at 3pm and is the first game of a doubleheader, which precedes the Hyundai Women’s League Night Series final between Hyundai NTC U21s and UWA Nedlands.
The final match-up sees Perth SC host Fremantle City at Dorrien Gardens (4pm) in a battle between two of last season’s top four. The Azzurri look in good nick early doors adding an opening round win to their Night Series triumph, but Faye Chambers’ City will want to hit back after their loss to MUM FC.
All NPLWA - Women’s fixtures are live and free on Streamer: https://streamer.com.au/league/nplwawomens
Fixtures
Friday (7.30pm unless stated)
Curtin University v Subiaco
MUM FC v Perth RedStar
Sunday (3pm unless stated)
Hyundai NTC v Balcatta Etna
Perth Sc v Fremantle City (4pm)