Report by Tommy Doleman

Hyundai NTC's Mischa Anderson, front, at the recent Regional Festival of Football in Busselton. Photo by Football West

Round 10 of the NPLWA - Women’s competition begins on Friday with two games, including Hyundai NTC’s trip to Murdoch University Melville.

Defending champions MUM FC closed the gap on fourth-place NTC to one point on Tuesday night as two goals from Andrea Preiato helped Luke Thompson’s side defeat Subiaco 3-0. It was their first win since Round Two and MUM FC also have a game in hand on Ben Anderton’s team.

NTC head into Friday’s fixture in good form too, after Grace Johnston’s 35-yard strike gave the youngsters a 2-1 win away at Perth SC.

That was also NTC’s second win of the season, something defender Mischa Anderson hopes can be a foundation for a positive run of results.

“I think it was our desire to win that little bit more, after not having one for a little while, which stood out after a couple of draws,” Anderson said.

“Perth are a good football side and I think that helped us because they attacked as well, and they weren’t perhaps as physical as RedStar were the week before. We are quite young but when we play our football, we can be good enough to win games.

“I feel like we could have won most of our draws. Obviously, we were 2-0 up against Fremantle City and in the MUM FC game, we drew 1-1 but felt we played pretty well. The two wins have been an okay start, but I think we could have had a couple more results based on our performances so far.”

Anderson has always had football in her blood. Her father played semi-professional football in Scotland and has coached senior and junior age groups as well. Her mother also played school football, while brother Robbie played juniors at State League Division Two side Joondalup City until the age of 18 and has since become the club’s U18 coach.

The 16-year-old also came through the ranks at the northern suburbs club, where she played boys football at Junior NPL level.

She has mainly played defensive midfield over the years but is playing centre-back this season and is enjoying the challenge.

“Winning the tackles, breaking up the play, playing those short midfield passes is what I was doing in the No.6 role for the boys team last season,” she said.

“Georgia Cassidy plays there in our team and Ben (Anderton) needed a centre-back, so I was happy to put my hand up. I’ve really enjoyed going up against the likes of Sarah Carroll and Mikayla Lyons, who are very good players, and getting used to playing against them is a great challenge for me.

“I think the physicality of playing boys football has really helped me a lot as I’ve moved up to first team at NTC. I do like a tackle, and I love getting in there and making sure players don’t get away from me. But I also like reading the game and it’s important, because when you have fast players on the counter like Larissa Walsh, you’ve got to make sure you’re not behind the play.

“I think I can continue to learn both positions because if anyone drops out, I may need to put my hand up to play there. I think it’s good to continue to learn multiple positions, but my focus is on centre-back because it’s still quite new to me.”

The next month provides NTC with a good opportunity to steal a march in their bid to record a first Top Four Cup appearance in the NPL. Their next four matches are against teams currently below them and Anderson says it’s important to maintain efficiency at both ends of the pitch.

“We need to win these games coming up and start converting some of these draws to win. They’re games we need to grab by the neck and that starts this week against MUM FC, who are a pretty young side like us,” she said.

“We’re looking to thrive off that confidence of moving into the top four last week. We’re improving every week and getting stronger with our team bonding, given it’s a new team and a lot of the girls have stepped up from the U23’s last year. I’ve been really impressed with how some of them have stepped up to the challenge this season, too.

“We need to keep our minds straight and try to stay in this top four now. We’d love to be playing those extra games at the end of the season and be a part of those big games as well.”

Also on Friday, Curtin University seek their first win this season when they host Perth SC.

On Sunday, there is a top-of-the-table clash as Perth RedStar travel to Hilton Park to face second-place Fremantle City.

Freo’s only league loss this season came against the unbeaten leaders in Round Three, a 3-2 reverse where Garry Church’s side played for over an hour a player down following a red card.

Carlos Vega Mena’s side are clear at the summit thanks to their 100% start and a win this weekend would give them a 10-point lead over the field.

Sunday’s other fixture sees Balcatta host Subiaco.

Fixtures

Friday (7.30pm unless stated): Curtin University v Perth SC (6.30pm), MUM FC v Hyundai NTC. Sunday (3pm unless stated): Balcatta Etna v Subiaco, Fremantle City v Perth RedStar.