Perth RedStar took a giant stride towards making it three successive NPLWA – Women’s titles on Sunday afternoon as they prevailed 2-1 over closest rivals Perth SC in the Round 16 top-of-the-table clash.
The defending champions made it four wins in a row, which now means they are five points clear of the Azzurri in the standings with five games left.
Perth SC’s loss at RedStar Arena ended their five-game winning streak and they likely need to win all of their remaining matches to stand a chance of catching the leaders.
RedStar opened the scoring after a cagey first 20 minutes, as Georgia Cassidy turned into trouble and allowed Jayna Ridley to run in and slot home her 10th goal of the season.
Ridley had a chance to add to her account but was denied by a good save from Lilly Bailey, before Reina Kagami fired over the bar from just outside the box.
Perth’s best chance came late in the half as Ella Lincoln’s curler flew just wide of the upright. But they did equalise on the hour mark after excellent play down the left led to Charli Wainwright being fouled by Andrea Teixeira in the box.
Tijan McKenna dispatched the spot-kick for her first league goal of this season with Perth.
Lincoln then fired wide of the post again on her non-preferred right, before crossing for Ruby Marshall who brought a smart save out of Gabby Dal Busco.
However, just as Perth were having a good spell, RedStar found what proved to be the match-winning moment 17 minutes from time.
Olivia Wood played a give-and-go with Ridley who supplied a stunning return pass for the forward to lash home and make it goals in four successive games.
Perth almost pulled a point out of the bag with basically the last kick of the match but Cassidy’s 30-yard piledriver whistled past the post. Instead, RedStar reigned supreme again and are now the overwhelming title favourites in 2024.
Fremantle City reclaimed fourth spot in the standings with a 4-2 win away at Balcatta Etna.
Freo found the front on seven minutes when Abbey Green fired low across the six-yard box for Janice Kiama to arrive and score.
The lead was doubled just before half-time as Alex Poad took control of matters on the edge of the box and fired an unstoppable finish into the top corner.
Balcatta gave themselves hope of launching a fightback in the second half, as Liana Cook stepped past a challenge and rifled high into the roof of the net.
But two goals in the final 11 minutes put the game to bed for Faye Chambers’ side. Green raced clear before setting up Anna Powell for a simple finish, then Tanika Lala stayed onside from a free-kick and struck with aplomb for 4-1.
A late Abbey Meakins penalty made it 15 goals for the midfielder this season, but it proved only to be a consolation for third-place Balcatta who have won just once in their past five games.
Sunday’s other fixture saw Subiaco enjoy a second win in five days as they came from behind to defeat UWA Nedlands 4-1 at UWA Sports Park.
Windy conditions made it tough going for both sides in the first half as UWA struck first with 21 minutes played after a nice team move. Michaela Thawley and Andrea Preiato were involved in the build-up before Emily Dinsdale’s cross was met by a cushioned volley from Erin Armstrong.
Subiaco levelled after half-an-hour as Cass Harvey and Marianna Tabain played a slick one-two before Harvey dinked exquisitely past Morgan Springer for 1-1.
That made it level at the break, but Greg Farrell’s side struck three second-half goals to keep their Top Four Cup hopes alive.
They led two minutes after the restart when Stella Zampogna, who scored Wednesday’s match-winner against Hyundai NTC, sprung the offside trap to finish at the second time of asking.
It was 3-1 when Tabain showed poise just inside the area to bring the ball down and fire low past the goalkeeper. Tayna Campos then brought a cross down for Shelby Cochran to poke into the corner and confirm back-to-back Subi wins, which leaves them four points off fourth place. UWA, meanwhile, dropped to the bottom of the league on goals scored.
Finally, NTC briefly moved into the top four on Saturday with their 2-1 win over Murdoch University Melville at the Sam Kerr Football Centre.
NTC came close inside quarter-of-an-hour when Angelique Clayton’s shot was blocked on the line by Thia Eastman.
Klaudia Houlis’ long-range curler was pushed around the post by Annabel Cook as the hosts continued to press. And they opened the scoring just past the half-hour when Theodora Mouithys’ picked out the top corner from the edge of the box.
MUM FC thought they had an equaliser on the stroke of half-time, only for Isabella Baldin’s effort to be ruled offside after Ella Mastrantonio turned Ellis Glanfield’s cross toward goal.
However, the visitors did equalise midway through the second half as Mastrantonio’s long free-kick was headed in by Baldin, the forward’s first goal for the club.
Five minutes later NTC were back in front as Houlis pulled across goal for Ischia Brooking who took a touch firing low and hard for her first goal since returning to NTC from Western Sydney Wanderers.
NTC remain a point behind fourth-placed Fremantle having played two games more than their finals rivals ahead of the next week’s meeting between the pair. The loss wasn’t all bad news for Murdoch though as they moved up a spot in the league to seventh after UWA’s three-goal loss to Subiaco.