We head into Round 5 of the Umbro Women’s Premier League we see our most exciting round of the competition so far this season with the Grand Final re-match and two local derby matches to be played.
Our Round 5 Match of the Round sees a Grand Final re-match as Birrong Sports host league leaders Georges River Thistle at Jim Ring Reserve.
Elsewhere, it is a Revesby Workers derby as Revesby Workers White take on Revesby Workers Maroon, while we see our second derby of the round as East Bankstown Red play East Bankstown Yellow.
Gear up for the most exciting round of the Women’s Premier League to date!
Match of the Round: Birrong Sports vs Georges River Thistle – Wednesday 10th May, 7:30pm @ Jim Ring Reserve Previous Meeting: Georges River Thistle 3-2 Birrong Sports – AAL1 Grand Final 2022
Birrong Sports will be out for revenge Wednesday night as they take on league leaders Georges River Thistle who will be look for their fourth straight victory.
The last time these two sides met was in the All-Age Ladies Division 1 final in 2022 where Georges River Thistle defeated Birrong Sports 3-2 after a 118th minute goal by their number 9, Candice Prain, to seal the victory.
Birrong Sports have struggled to find points in their first four matches of the season; however, they were able to pick up their first victory with their 4-0 win over East Bankstown Yellow as they will look to pick up back-to-back victories.
Birrong will only have a 3-day rest heading into this match on Wednesday night as they played their re-scheduled round 4 fixture on Sunday afternoon.
Birrong tripled their goal tally with their 4-0 victory on the weekend as they are looking to create more chances in front of goal.
If Birrong can get on top in this match early and score the first goal, they could go a long way to winning this game and getting revenge for their 2022 grand final loss.
Georges River Thistle have made up for their round 1 loss to East Bankstown Red as they have won 3-straight games and have climbed to the top of the table.
Georges River Thistle have scored 16 goals this season with 9 different goal scorers hitting the back of the net. However, their biggest dangers look to be Jade Averillo and Jorja Murray who have combined for 7 goals this season.
Georges River Thistle have only conceded 3 goals this season with two clean sheets in their last 2 games, if they can hold out a dangerous Birrong attack early, they will look to go a long way to winning this match.
With Birrong hoping to show improvement and push away from the bottom places in the league and Thistle looking to retain top spot, key learnings from weeks gone by will be crucial in deciding the outcome.
Revesby Workers White vs Revesby Workers Maroon – Sunday 14th May, 3pm @ Padstow Park Previous Meeting: Revesby Workers White 2-2 Revesby Workers Maroon – AAL R8, 2022
It’s a Revesby Workers derby as Revesby Workers White and Revesby Workers Maroon meet for the first time this season.
The last time these two sides met was in Round 8 of the All-Age Ladies competition in 2022 where the two sides could not be separated as the game ended in a 2-2 draw.
Revesby Workers White face another massive challenge after they were held scoreless against Georges River Thistle in their round four defeat.
Revesby White were the only team to remain undefeated in the first three rounds of the competition and will be confident that they can bounce back from their first loss of the season.
Revesby White’s top goal scorer, Karen Bennett, has been dangerous in the first half of matches as she has netted 4 goals in the first half of their opening matches and the Workers White team will be looking to their number 11 to get them on top early in this game.
Revesby Workers Maroon, know they have the firepower to match any team in the UWPL competition and they will need it if they are to break down a resilient Revesby White defence.
Revesby Maroon have built their success this year off a strong attack having notably scored the most goals in the competition this year.
Revesby Worker’s Mya Donnelly has been influential to their success as she has netted six goals in the competition so far and Workers Maroon will be hoping for their start attacker to get on the scoresheet once again to help them win the club derby.
With both the Worker’s side split by two competition points on the ladder, this match has a lot at stake for both sides as they prepare to do battle.
East Bankstown Red vs East Bankstown Yellow – Sunday 14th May, 3pm @ Playford Park Previous Meeting: East Bankstown Red 7-2 East Bankstown Yellow – AAL R2, 2022
Our second local derby of round 5 sees East Bankstown Red take on East Bankstown Yellow in an East Bankstown derby which could be defined as a battle between experience and youth.
The last time these two sides met was in Round 2 of the All-Age Ladies competition in 2022 when Easts Red comfortably defeated Easts Yellow 7-2.
Easts Red started the competition off in fantastic fashion, however, they have suffered back-to-back losses in their previous two fixtures, and they will be looking to turn around their recent form this weekend.
If they can get confidence up with their goal scorers, they will believe they can grab more victories after their strong performances at the start of the season.
Easts Red will look to get their captain, Chiara Nohra, more involved in their attacks if they are to create more goal scoring opportunities as she looks to be their main danger in front of goal this season with three goals.
Easts Yellow are still without a point this season, however, playing the older and more experience ladies’ players at East Bankstown, they will look to lift their energy for this fixture to try and get a statement victory against Easts Red.
Easts Yellow have proven to be a youthful squad with a lot of energy and determination; however, they will continue to look for a more complete 90-minute performance having struggled to compete in the second half of games.
Easts Yellow have improved massively since last year which more than justified their push into the top grade this season and they will be determined for a better result from last year’s 7-2 loss to East Red.
Their number 1, Ella Mitchell, has proven to be one of the strongest goalkeepers in the competition this season and she will be key to their success in this match.
East Yellow need confidence in front of goal and Easts Red need to ensure two lost matches does not turn into three; this club derby will provide plenty of excitement as both sides chase victory.
