FFV's Preview of the Womens Premier League - which is kicking off today
Round one of the 2010 Women's Premier League (WPL) season kicks off at the Events Worldwide State Football Centre at Darebin International Sports Centre this Sunday 11th April.
WPL Senior matches will begin from 1pm on Sunday with Heidelberg United taking on the newly promoted Altona City. Heidelberg United are coming off a successful 2009 where they finished second behind Box Hill Inter, and conceded only 17 goals for the season. Heidelberg's Melanie Camilleri won the WPL Best and Fairest award in 2009, and is back for another run at the championship, and Heidelberg United are hoping to improve their overall game this season. Altona City are coming off an excellent year in State League One where they finished top of the ladder with an amazing goal difference of 65. This is sure to be an exciting match to open the WPL Gala Day.
Spectators will be in for a treat on Pitch 3 from 1pm, with South Melbourne playing against the 2009 Premiers Box Hill Inter. Box Hill Inter's aspirations for premiership glory in 2010 are shaping up, with some good preseason form, but South Melbourne will certainly give them a run for their money in Round 1. With South Melbourne Captain Lisa Hodgkin directing traffic out of defence, South Melbourne will be hoping to stem the flow of goals that have come from Box Hill Inter in the past.
Kicking off at 3pm on Pitch 2 will be Sandringham and Bendigo Vipers. The Vipers are hoping for improvements across the board after a disappointing 2009 where they only managed two wins, however with a young and enthusiastic team, they are hoping for finals and to take some points off the top teams in the league. Sandringham are confident of success in 2010, having made finals in Season 2009. With a focus on developing younger players and retaining players for the future, Sandringham will be a force to be reckoned with in Season 2010.
The final WPL game for Round One will see Casey Comets facing off against Preston Lions from 5pm. In what looks to be a close match between last year's fifth and seventh placed teams, both squads will be aiming for maximum points in Round 1. Preston have acquired the services of Spiro Thalassinos as Head Coach, and the "Lionesses" have had a successful pre-season winning the Macedonian Cup against a gallant Noble Park. With Coach Deborah Nichols at the helm once again, Casey Comets will be keen to make finals in a more convincing fashion in Season 2010, after scraping in by one point in 2009.
Ashburton will start Season 2010 with a bye, and will be ready and raring to go in Round 2 when they take on Altona City. Ashburton are hoping for a strong 2010 after missing out on finals for the first time in their history by just one point. While most would be concerned with missing Round One, Coach Chris Mekhail is positive, as the squad will have an uninterrupted start to the season where they will get into a good rhythm and the squad hopes this will grant them a position in the finals for 2010.
For full Women's Premier League fixture information, please see the Competitions section of the FFV website.
