Report by Tommy Doleman

Balcatta head coach Tim Cash. Photo by Football West/FotoEnzo

There is everything still to play for as the penultimate weekend of the NPLWA – Women’s season rolls around on Saturday with the title and finals still on the agenda.

Wednesday’s catch-up games failed to provide clarity on the destiny of the season leading into the nine days of the campaign. A thrilling 3-3 draw between Fremantle and Hyundai NTC meant the former edged closer towards locking away their Top Four Cup place, while the latter moved level on points with fourth-place Perth SC.

The other fixture saw Northern Redbacks return to the top thanks to a 1-0 defeat of Balcatta thanks to Larissa Walsh’s early goal. Redbacks are again a point clear of Murdoch University Melville and unless MUM FC lose at Curtin University this Saturday, we are guaranteed a title decider between the top two next Friday.

As for Balcatta, they sit sixth and are a point behind Perth and NTC. Tim Cash’s side play the Azzurri in their next two fixtures, with the second of those a midweek catch-up game from Round 14. He said there was plenty of positives to take from Wednesday’s defeat to Redbacks.

“We showed good tenacity, spirit and chemistry and tried hard from start to finish, so the girls can be buoyed by the performance. They just couldn’t get the goal which they deserved in my opinion as it was a close game,” Cash said.

“Really, you’re playing finals football now because every game is so important. You need that dogged determination, but also that extra little bit of quality and we couldn’t quite find it on the night.

“So, it was a little disappointing and I felt for the girls to be honest, because I thought they deserved more, but credit to Redbacks who are a very good team who are well organised and well coached.”

This season Cash guided Balcatta to the Night Series success in March, as well as the State Cup final. Consistency has eluded the team in the league but former Floreat Athena men’s assistant coach Cash remains positive they can still land a couple of blows in the final week of the regular season.

“If you’d asked me at the start of the season whether I’d take the position we’re in now, I would have had to say yes,” he said.

“I’m happy we’re in a position where we can go for it. I think I said I wanted us to be in the running for the Top Four Cup in the last few games, so we’ve achieved that. Whether we can go on and get there now, we have a real chance and we’ll give it our fighting best.

“We want to play good football, but we just haven’t had that cutting edge against the top sides to make moments count when they matter. We probably have to stay true to what we’ve done all season, but a lot of coaching is fine-tuning and refinement with the principles remaining the same.

“I’m really proud overall. From my point of view, there’s plenty of lessons to look back and reflect on, but I feel we’ve taken the club forward, the football has gone to a good level and the younger players have developed well. It’s only year one for me, there’s plenty of good things which have occurred, and I’m just delighted to be involved with such a good club and a great group of girls.”

Looking forward to the double-header with Perth, Cash said: “The girls have got great spirit and that’s what we’ll need again. I think the thing you need against Perth is to match their energy and obviously we’ll need to keep an eye on Gemma Craine, who’s an immense talent.

“But they have a number of other threats too, and a defence which is well organised. We just have to execute our game plan and if we achieve that we have a good chance.

“The games we’ve played so far have been close. We were edged out in the last minute earlier in the season, then we beat them in the cup on penalties. But what really matters is the girls know they have a chance and their belief is high, which they showed on Wednesday and I’m sure they’ll show it again in the next three games.”

Elsewhere in Round 20, NTC travel to Rosalie Park to play bottom-of-the-league Subiaco. The youngsters are winless in three, having won their previous three before that, while Iain Jolly’s side could still finish seventh with a five-point gap on Curtin to make up with three games left.

Before all of that, MUM FC go to Curtin on Saturday looking to again put the pressure on Redbacks with three points at Edinburgh Oval. A win will put them two points in front of Redbacks, who will get their chance to respond on Sunday at home to Fremantle City.

Fixtures

Saturday (6pm)
Curtin University v Murdoch University Melville (Edinburgh Oval)

Sunday (3pm)
Balcatta v Perth SC (Grindleford Reserve)
Northern Redbacks v Fremantle City (Celebration Park)
Subiaco v Hyundai NTC (Rosalie Park)