WOMEN’S PREVIEW: MANLY UNITED v GLADESVILLE RAVENS
On Sunday evening, the Manly United Women’s 1st Grade team will be at home for a meeting with Gladesville Ravens. This will be Manly’s third game against the Ravens in 2023, following on from an early season league fixture and a recent Sapphire Cup match between the two teams.
Manly will be looking to make amends after last week’s defeat in the Sapphire Cup quarter finals, a game in which we created chances but would ultimately lose 1-0, with Lexie Moreno scoring the winner for the Ravens. The NPL NSW Women’s Round 3 game was a similarly tight affair – Nicole Stuart scored Manly’s goal in a 1-1 draw at Christie Park.
Gladesville are coming off a 1-1 draw against Bankstown City and currently occupy seventh place on the table. They have the joint-best defence in the competition, having only conceded 14 goals all season, and former Chile international goalkeeper Romina Parraguirre has been in excellent form for them. As with this year’s previous games against Gladesville, it will be a family affair as Phoebe Gilbane’s twin sister Liz plays for the Ravens.
As we look to return to winning ways, Gema Simon could be an important player on Sunday. Her and 1st Grade captain Ruby Jackson were solid contributors last weekend against Illawarra Stingrays and a large part of the reason Manly kept their fifth clean sheet of the season. Young attacker Sienna Dale will be confident after recent Junior Matildas callups, and she has the kind of speed that causes problems for opposing backlines.
The Manly Women’s Reserve Grade side are in sixth place and only two points off a top four spot, so victory could see our Reserves move into the finals places if other results go our way. Ruby Egan-Brown will be hoping to repeat her heroics from Round 3, when she scored the winner against the Ravens Reserves at Christie Park.
If you can’t get to the ground for our Women’s 1st Grade clash, tune in on NPL.TV .
Manly United v Gladesville Ravens
Sunday 25 June, 5pm (Reserves at 3pm)
Cromer Park
