With
the WPL season over now two-thirds complete, every remaining game is
vital as the teams vie for positions. With a weekend’s break on the
horizon, teams can throw everything into their Round 15 matches
knowing they have time to recover. Two teams that produced strong showings in their last matches meet at Olympic Park on Sunday when Heidelberg United hosts Ashburton. Heidelberg had a comfortable 3-0 victory over Eastern Lions last weekend, while Ashburton eased to a 6-1 win against Ballarat. When the sides met in Round 4, they produced one of the most bizarre results of the competition, playing out a 5-5 draw. Just three points separate the teams on the ladder, and with both in good form, this promises to be a tight match.
Keilor Park had a big win against Eastern Lions when the sides met previously, scoring five unanswered goals, and Keilor looks set for a similar result this Sunday when the sides meet again at Keilor Park Reserve. Keilor has suffered from a dip in form of late, winning just once in its last three matches, and losing last weekend to Brimbank, but it would still expect a victory against the Lions. They have struggled for some time now, and are without a win since Round 5.
Cranbourne Comets still lead the way in the WPL and this Sunday host Eltham North at Comets Stadium. Cranbourne had a 3-0 victory when the sides met at Partington Flats earlier in the year, and would expect a similar result this time around. Cranbourne has returned to winning ways after its Round 12 defeat by Box Hill, winning its last two matches, while Eltham narrowly squeezed past the University of Melbourne last weekend in a seven-goal thriller. Eltham goes into the match in ninth place, three points adrift of eighth.
Two sides that have found themselves travelling the wrong way down the ladder in recent weeks meet at Henry Scott Oval on Sunday when South Melbourne hosts Bendigo Vipers. South has lost its last two matches, albeit to the top two sides to slip to eighth. Bendigo has fared even worse, and is without a win in four games, which includes a shock defeat against the University of Melbourne. It currently occupies seventh. The sides are separated only by goal difference, and drew their previous meeting 2-2, so it should be another close game.
Bottom side Ballarat and District faces another massive challenge on Sunday when it welcomes second-placed Box Hill Inter to Trekardo Park. It will have to regroup quickly following its heavy defeat by Ashburton to avoid a repeat of the 8-1 thrashing it suffered in the previous meeting between the sides. Box Hill had a fight on its hands in its last match, coming back from two goals down to defeat South, but it should face less resistance from a side that has only scored five goals for the season.
The University of Melbourne has turned in some increasingly competitive performances of late, defeating Bendigo Vipers and running South Melbourne and Eltham North extremely close. It will need all that form plus a bit more when it takes on Brimbank at Princess Park on Sunday. Brimbank has also found form recently, culminating in a battling 3-2 defeat of Keilor Park last weekend, and climbing to fifth on the ladder. The University is still an outside chance to avoid relegation, but is five points short of safety, whereas Brimbank is pushing for a place in the finals. Both sides need the victory, but the 6-1 result in Brimbank’s favour in the first meeting suggests it may have the edge again.