Image Courtesy: Anita Milas
With the announcement during the week that the WPL Grand Final will be played at AAMI Park, the fight for a finals berth and a top two spot is very close, with seven teams in with a chance of making finals with six rounds to go.
Box Hill Inter return to the Friday night stage at Wembley Park to take on Altona City. Box Hill Inter won nicely at home in windy conditions against the Vipers, while Altona City lost 6-0 in round 12 to Ashburton and will be keen to make amends this weekend.
Last time these sides met, it was a 4-0 win to Box Hill Inter, however Altona City have put in some good performances since then, and will be hungry for revenge this weekend after conceding six goals last week.
Altona City Coach Paul Kilpatrick says his side is a bit down on form at the moment.
"We're struggling and we've got to play Box Hill! They've been the best side in the WPL since it started - they're an experienced, well coached, strong side. When they beat us 4-0 last time, it was the best team performance I've seen in my years of coaching. They have winners all over the ground."
Box Hill Inter Coach Jeff Hawkins was surprised by Altona's last result.
"They had been travelling well up until then, to cop that [6-0 loss] was strange. Paul [Kilpatrick] has done well. We won't be taking them lightly. We only have two more home games for the season, so we have to make the most of them."
A crucial match between Preston Lions and South Melbourne takes place on Saturday from 1pm at BT Connor Reserve. Both sides really need to win this one, with Preston wanting to get out of ninth place, and South Melbourne trying their hardest to break into the top half.
Preston Lions defeated South Melbourne in their round 4 match, however South Melbourne have picked up new players since then and have scored all their eleven points since June.
South Melbourne Assistant Coach Matthew Shaw says that this is the danger game for his side.
"They beat us last time. This is the one we really need to win, and win well. We get out of relegation if we win, but if we lose here, we're in trouble. We'll be attacking this one. We will need to be clinical in front of goal and defend well."
Preston Lions Coach Spiro Thalassinos says that this weekend will be tough.
"It's been a hard season - sooner or later we're going to have to win a game if we're serious about staying in the league. We'll miss Jess [Cvetkovska], she's one of our main defenders, but you have to move on. We have to hope we can beat a few sides from here on."
The top scorers in round 12, Ashburton, travel to Shepparton to face off against the Vipers in the other Saturday afternoon fixture.
The Vipers have continued their good form at home in recent weeks with a win over Sandringham, but this is their first match for 2010 at Vibert Reserve.
Ashburton have good form against the Vipers, however the Vipers were able to beat Ashburton in round 18, 2009 to keep them out of the finals, so Ashburton will be hoping they can win this time around and hold on to their spot in the top four.
Ashburton Coach Chris Michail thinks that this match will be a close one.
"It's very unpredictable against them, we aren't sure what side we'll face. They're very hard to beat. It's very hard to get one point away against them, let alone three. It'll probably be 1-0 either way."
Vipers Coach Peter Richardson is hoping for a decent pitch in Shepparton.
"We need a better performance this week and a better pitch. Ashburton seem to be up and down a bit. We were very short last time and lost 5-0. The fact that they're getting big scores shows that if they're switched on they'll be very difficult.
"It's great that we can play in Moama, Shepparton, Bendigo, Benalla - it's a bit of an effort to promote the regional development squad to each area."
Sunday's match between Casey Comets and Sandringham will be a real test for both sides and will give the competition a good idea of who will make the top four.
The Comets side rested last week with a bye which they'll be thankful for as they get closer to round 18. The Comets have three more home games after this one so will be hoping they can really play Comets Stadium to their advantage to get three wins. 2009 WPL Coach of the Year Deb Nichols returns this weekend and will be hoping the side can pull off a win.
Sandringham have had mixed results over the last three weeks, with a win over Preston, and two losses to the Vipers and Heidelberg United, but were able to beat the Comets in their last match 2-1 at home.
Sandringham Coach Shaun Parton sees a big challenge ahead for his side.
"We're expecting a very tough match against Casey on Sunday. We're waiting on injury updates at training before we select our team."
Casey Comets Director of Coaching Glen Bristow says that the side is looking for a win.
"We're getting a few players back and we're at our home ground. We're looking to improve on our last game and have had a two week lay-off. The girls are looking forward to it and it'll be a competitive game. Sandringham are in form at the moment, and are difficult to break down."
Heidelberg United sit out round 13 with the bye and return in round 14 to play the Vipers at Epsom.
For full fixture details please visit the Competitions section of the website.
Last updated: Thursday July 15, 2010 9:04AM
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