As gallant they were in defeat on Sunday, the Macarthur Rams women’s side looks increasingly unlikely to defend the title it won last year.
The 4-2 loss to Sydney Olympic at Lynwood Park has consigned the National Premier Leagues Women’s NSW competition premiers to second last on the ladder after 13 rounds.
This was their third loss on the trot, with the Rams winning just one from their past five matches.
The visitors took just three minutes to open their account, but the Rams, desperate for points at the halfway mark of the competition, equalised a few minutes later.
Sakura Nojima setup Amelia Cassar via a brilliant cross field ball to deliver an unbeatable strike from range that catapulted into the back of the net.
Twelve minutes later the Rams gave away a penalty from the spot and Olympic obliged to go up 2-1.
It took the visitors barely a minute to increase their lead to 3-1with a clinical finish to a low cross in the box.
Rams showed real grit to score a second a minute from half time and a 3-2 scoreline.
The goal came about when India Breier blocked a clearance and guided the loose ball into the back of the Olympic net.
There was just one goal scored in the second half, and it was to the visitors in the 77th minute.
The 4-2 scoreline remained unchanged to the end despite the Rams going all out in the last quarter hour of play.
The Bulls FC Academy was held to a 1-1 draw by APIA Leichhardt at Northbridge Oval on the weekend.
Academy, which was chasing their fifth win in a row, is running seventh on the table with 21 points.
Indeed some pundits are now describing them as the in-form side in the competition.
The visitors scored first to go up 1-0 after 27 minutes,
Bulls did not waste much time replying: they forced a corner from a throw-in and produced a chaotic moment in the box to earn an equaliser in the 34th minute, courtesy of Tamires Souza.
A tight second half saw focus of both sides shift to defence, meaning the half time score was also the fulltime scoreline.
