Newcastle Olympic will play Maitland in the first ever Northern NSW Football (NNSWF) Women's League Cup final after beating Charlestown 4-2 in their semi-final at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility on Wednesday night.
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Azzurri took an early 1-0 lead through Jess Dominello but Olympic then scored four goals in a devastating period to hold a 4-1 advantage at half-time.
Olympic striker Sophie McDonald produced a first-half hat-trick and midfielder Rosie Copus also scored.
Dominello scored again in the second half for Azzurri, who were missing several starting players through injury.
The Women's League Cup has been introduced this year for NPLW clubs and the final is set to be played on the weekend of August 5-6.
NNSWF NNSWF general manager football operations Liam Bentley said a review of the Women's League Cup would be conducted at the end of this season to ensure its long-term viability.
"From our point of view, more football and more match minutes for girls and women, especially this year, is a massive priority for us," he said.
"But that does come at the cost of time and energy so I definitely understand it can take a bit of getting used to from a club point of view in terms of running that.
"We will absolutely talk to the clubs and ask what worked well and what didn't."
** Bentley hopes a record number of teams will enter the Women's State Cup this year.
Entries are open for the tournament, which was introduced in 2017 and is open to any club in Northern NSW Football. A NNSWF Indigenous representative team was also included for the first time last year.
It will be staged at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility from July 7 to 9. A Community Shield winner is also determined.
Azzurri are the NNSWF Women's State Cup defending champions.
Entries close on June 9.
"Last year we had around 16 teams enter," Bentley said.
"We'd love to have the biggest Women's State Cup ever in the year of a FIFA Women's World Cup."
** This weekend is Mental Health Round for Northern NSW Football. Clubs can find out more about supporting the round at northernnswfootball.com.au.
** The round-12 NPLW NNSW fixture between Maitland and Broadmeadow that was set down for last Friday night at Magic Park but was washed out has not yet been rescheduled.
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Renee Valentine
Renee Valentine is a sports journalist with more than 20 years of experience in Newcastle. She is passionate about increasing the visibility of sportswomen in the media. Got a sports story, email Renee at r.valentine@newcastleherald.com.au
Renee Valentine is a sports journalist with more than 20 years of experience in Newcastle. She is passionate about increasing the visibility of sportswomen in the media. Got a sports story, email Renee at r.valentine@newcastleherald.com.au
