Manly United extended their undefeated start to the NPL Women’s NSW season with a 1-1 draw against Sydney Olympic at Peter Moore Field.
Manly began on the front foot and five minutes in, Lucy Richards played a superb through ball to Emily Minett, bur her shot didn’t have the power to trouble Olympic shot stopper Chloe Tseros.
Instead it was Olympic who struck first in the 11th minute when Helena Malesci threaded a pass through the Manly backline, with Olivia Lysiak thumping a shot into the bottom corner.
The visitors gunned for an equaliser and their next decent chance came on 34 minutes when Phoebe Gilbane found fellow Manly stawart Nicole Stuart, however once again Tseros was equal to the task.
On the hour mark, Olympic’s Tara Baudana embarked on a thrilling run that started inside her own half, beating multiple defenders and setting up a chance for Maxine Peak, who fired straight at Nicole Simonsen.
Less than 60 seconds later, Manly netted an equaliser after Anita Zordan played a brilliant curling through ball into Minett’s path, as Manly’s no. 9 snuck between defenders and slotted the ball past Tseros.
Minett nearly repeated the feat with 11 minutes remaining after reaching Grace Arnold’s long ball, but this time Tseros was equal to the task.
The result keeps Manly in a strong position as we head into the Easter weekend, while Olympic’s wait for a first win of 2025 continues for at least another week.
