Words: Matt Dorman
Image: Chris Simpson/UQFC

The inaugural PlayStation® 4 NPL Queensland Women’s Finals Series kicks-off this weekend with a Grand Final qualifier and two knockout clashes in store.

Eastern Suburbs FC Women v Peninsula Power FC Women
Saturday, 22 August / Heath Park / 7:00PM

Finishing just one point shy of top spot and outside the top two on goal difference, Eastern Suburbs will be out to make a statement of intent when they host Peninsula Power in the first of the Elimination Semi-Finals.

Easts led the league after 15 matches and were arguably the most impressive team of the season’s opening third, thanks in no small part to Tegan Riding’s 17 goals in the space of nine games.

The attacker returned to ominous form with a haul of five in their final match of the regular season and, alongside the likes of captain Laura Harris and former Adelaide United Player of the Year Jenna McCormick, will play a key role in their attempt to win through.

Power’s hopes of pulling off an upset are boosted by attacking sparks of their own in Brittany Whitfield, Melissa Limov and Brieanna Watt.

The trio combined for 55 of the Kippa-Ring club’s 67 goals in a clear sign of their threat to the established order.

However, coach Gary Ellis will need improvement in defence if his team is to better the 4-1 and 3-0 losses they suffered to the same opposition during the season.

The Gap FC Women v Palm Beach SC Women
Sunday, 23 August / Walton Bridge Reserve / 4:30PM

Grand Final qualification goes on the line when premiers The Gap host runners-up Palm Beach SC in a Sunday afternoon special.

Only a single point separated the teams at the conclusion of the home-and-away season with the Gators’ 13-match unbeaten run wiping away early stumbles.

A defence breached only three times in that period shined as the cornerstone of the charge to silverware, while a quartet including Westfield W-League winner Gabe Marzano shared the majority of the goals.

While Gators’ form is unmatched, Palm Beach – like Easts – can boast the mental edge of a superior head-to-head record.

Sharks prevailed 2-1 on the Gold Coast in March before netting twice in the final 10 minutes to take a 2-2 draw from the reverse fixture in Round 14.

Also armed with Golden Boot winner Deeanna Thompson and five matches without defeat, Gary French’s outfit will have every confidence of winning through to the decider at the first attempt.

UQFC Women v Sunshine Coast FC Women
Sunday, 23 August / University of Queensland Field 5 / 6:30PM

The second Elimination Semi-Final sees an in-form UQFC welcome the dangerous Sunshine Coast to round out the weekend’s action.

Both teams enter the match without defeat in their past five fixtures; for the visitors, that run extends back to the last time they visited the scene of Sunday’s clash.

Alice Foster’s last-gasp goal decided that 2-1 result in UQFC’s favour and added to the 3-0 win they recorded against Fire on the Sunshine Coast.

Katie Winter and former Brisbane Roar player Georgia Chapman will supply the ammunition for hotshot striker Greta Bodey as the home side aim to make it three from three against the fifth-placed finishers.

Fire will look to skilled duo Samara Christmas and Sofie Persson to lead their assault and can call on the experience of defender Marcena Hunter as a calming influence.

Just a single result divided this pair on the ladder, suggesting little more than fine margins are likely to decide the fate of their first-up Finals Series meeting.