South Melbourne's Lisa Hodgkin slides in to take the ball from the Comets' Medina Asanovski in Round 5. Image Courtesy: John Punshon
With only five rounds to play in the 2010 Women's Premier League season, round 14 is make or break for some sides. A Monday night blockbuster awaits Sandringham and Box Hill Inter and if Sandringham can pull off a win, they're in with a shot at the double chance in the finals. Casey and South Melbourne play off, and the winner will be one step closer to finals in 2010.
The first match of round 14 takes place at 3pm at Epsom Huntly Reserve between the Vipers and Heidelberg United. Heidelberg United had a bye last week, and the Vipers went down to Ashburton in Shepparton last weekend, so both sides will be keen to get back on the winners list.
The Vipers will be very happy to be back on the synthetic pitch at Epsom where they can showcase their passing game, and they need a win this week to keep them clear of South Melbourne and in touch with Casey Comets.
Heidelberg United lost their round 12 match to South Melbourne, and top spot, so this week will be very keen to get another win on the board and tighten the gap between them and Box Hill Inter.
Vipers Coach Peter Richardson says he's looking forward to the match.
"We'll have our strongest line-up for the year, we're back on synthetic and we'll go in with confidence. The girls still feel like we're in with a chance of finals and if we can win it, the possibilities are there. Everyone's enjoying the season and feeling like we're playing well."
Heidelberg United Coach John Lioupas says there are still players missing from the side.
"Rita [Mankowska] is out for the week, and we still have a few injuries. Obviously we need a win - we haven't done very well in Bendigo in the past. There's a quiet determination in the side this weekend and we won't be taking the game lightly - we've been guilty of that in the past.
"The synthetic will help our passing game a lot. If it rains, it'll slow down a bit and I think the conditions will suit us. We have five matches left and need to take three points from each one."
Sunday afternoon throws up another crucial match-up between South Melbourne and Casey Comets at McIvor Reserve. Last time these sides met was in the catch up round, where South Melbourne had their second win of 2010, with a 3-2 victory at Comets Stadium.
The Comets are coming off a 5-0 loss to Sandringham and will want to bounce back on Sunday.
South Melbourne Assistant Coach Matthew Shaw says a win could mean South Melbourne is out of the relegation zone.
"We need to refocus on what we were doing well - and focus from the start. We don't want to let them dictate play, and we need to be a bit sharper. If we can do that, we can get out of the relegation battle."
Casey Comets Coach Deb Nichols is wary of South Melbourne.
"South Melbourne will be looking for a win to get their recovery back on track. We missed too many chances in the first half when we played them last time, which cost us the game.
"It's very much a must win game otherwise the task will become impossible, with games against three of the current top four to come. We need to turn our form around and hope Ashburton hit a bad patch if we want to make top four."
Ashburton host Preston Lions on Sunday, kicking off at 3pm at Ashburton Park. Both sides managed wins in round 13, with Ashburton defeating the Vipers 3-1 and Preston overcoming South Melbourne 1-0 at home.
Ashburton's Elly Curo is sneaking up the goal scoring table, and will be looking for a goal or two against Preston. Curo is now only one goal behind last year's WPL Top Goal Scorer, Melanie Camilleri.
Preston Lions Coach Spiro Thalassinos doesn't want a repeat of the 6-0 score-line they were on the end of last time they played Ashburton.
"They put six of the best behind us last time. Their aerial power got them the convincing win. I have a lot of respect for Chris [Michail] - he drills them well.
"We need to play hard football for the full 90 minutes. We are going to have to cut out their aerial prowess from their set plays if we want to win. Every game is important from here."
Ashburton Coach Chris Michail wants his side to be hungry for the three points this week.
"It will be an interesting game. Preston got a win last week and will be full of confidence. We need to apply the required pressure and get the three points. They can be a killer side and you don't know what you'll face when you play Preston. They can do some real damage - South Melbourne are in form at the moment and Preston have beaten them twice."
The final match is between the third placed Sandringham and first placed Box Hill Inter at Kingston Heath.
Sandringham has had indifferent form at home on a Monday night, and will want to win their last three matches at Kingston Heath so they can ensure a finals spot.
Box Hill Inter defeated Altona City 6-1 and have improved their finishing recently with 15 goals scored in the last three weeks, however this match will likely be a close one. Last time Box Hill and Sandringham played it was a one-all draw.
Sandringham Coach Shaun Parton has asked his side to step up this week.
"Last week was a good overall team performance, but now we have an even bigger challenge - trying to compete with last year’s Champions."
Box Hill Inter Coach Jeff Hawkins rates Sandringham highly.
"We don't particularly like going down there. We're not looking forward to it. They are young and disciplined and we'll have to tread carefully on Monday night."
Altona City, after losing 6-1 in round 13, sit out this weekend and will rely on the results of other matches to see if they can get themselves out of ninth place.
For full fixture details please visit the Competitions section of the website.
Last updated: Thursday July 22, 2010 12:33PM
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