10/1/23
Above: Teigan Collister (left) and Rola Badawiya – newly unveiled by Sydney FC today. Artwork supplied to Impetus by: Sydney FC.
Sydney FC have swooped to land two major mid-season signings to bolster their attempt at achieving a record-breaking third consecutive Premiership and record equaling fourth Championship.
Versatile forwards Teigan Collister and Rola Badawiya will join the Sky Blues for the remainder of the Liberty A-League 2022-23 season.
22-year-old Collister and 24-year-old Badawiya will add further strength to the forward line who have already notched 17 goals in just seven matches this season.
Badawiya won the NPL New South Wales Women’s Player of the Year last season while playing for Sydney University.
She was awarded the honour at the NPL’s Gold Medal Dinner alongside fellow Sydney FC striker Jaiden Kucharski who took out the Men’s version.
The US-born striker goes straight into the squad to face second-place Western United in tomorrow night’s top-of-the-table clash in Melbourne.
“Excited doesn’t even begin to describe how I am feeling right now,” she said. “I am so grateful for this opportunity, there are a lot of people who would like to be in my position right now and it’s a massive achievement for me.
“I’m so excited to be playing alongside all of these fantastic players and the Matildas in this Sydney FC squad. I don’t think it has hit me how big this game is on Wednesday. It’s not only my first game with Sydney FC, but it’s a massive game for the whole club. It will be an amazing game to be a part of and hopefully I can get on and do some great things.”
It is Badawiya’s first professional contract in the A-League Women’s competition having previously played for Roma in Italy’s Serie B and California Baptist University in the United States.
Teigan Collister has previously played for Newcastle Jets and Western Sydney Wanderers in the Liberty A-League. She flies in from Copenhagen this week where she has been completing a University exchange and believes Sydney FC can further advance her development.
“Sydney FC has had the best women’s team in the country consistently over the course of the Liberty A-League, so it is an honour to be joining this club. I’m looking forward to how I can develop my game, especially under Ante Juric and his coaching staff, as well as working with these top-quality players. I want to win trophies and Sydney FC is the club and squad who have the best chance of doing this.”
Sydney FC Head Coach Ante Juric is confident both players will give him extra options in the forward line. “Teigan is strong and has pace and power and she’s a great addition to this squad.
“She can play anywhere across the front three which gives me great options from an attacking sense. “She will work hard for the team, she gets on with the job, and is an excellent fit for our team culture.
“Rola is also a solid performer having won the NPL Player of the Year and she has a lot of attributes which suit us in the attacking third. She will also fit in with our great culture as she has been training with us for around two months and is comfortable with what we do.”
Collister will wear the number 7 shirt and Badawiya will take the number 25 jersey.
Brisbane Roar today announced the return of forward Indiah-Paige Riley for the remainder of the 2022/23 Liberty A-League season.
The 21-year-old made her debut for the Roar in November 2018 against the Western Sydney Wanderers, coming on as a substitute, before scoring her first professional goal a month later against the same club.
Riley would go on to be nominated for a Young Player of the Year award the following season as she become a regular in the Roar’s forward pack at just 18 years old. Then after making 20 appearances across two seasons, she joined Fortuna Hjørring, playing in Denmark’s top women’s league – Elitedvisionen, in 2020.
The former Moreton Bay United product said she is excited to be back playing in Brisbane after spending the last two seasons abroad.
“I’m very excited to be back playing in Brisbane, I can’t wait to put on the orange jersey again and play in the warm weather in front of the roar supporters,” said Riley, who comes in as an injury replacement for Mariel Hecher.
“It was quite a quick decision for me personally after talking to influential people in my life. However, it was from unfortunate circumstances that I have been given the opportunity to play here again. Mariel’s injury is a huge loss to the team; she has a massive impact on and off the field so joining as her injury replacement is no easy task,” she added.
Since making a move to Europe, Riley has reached new heights in her professional career including playing against Barcelona FC in the Round 16 of the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
She has also gone on to make her international debut for her birth country – New Zealand in September 2022. Riley believes that the move abroad helped her become a better player.
“My move overseas I think was one of the best decisions I could have made in order to grow and mature as a player and a person,” she said. “I’m constantly learning new styles of play and learning new things from my teammates every day at training really helped me develop. On my return to Roar, I hope I can continue building on the success they have had this season so far and do everything I can to help the team to win.”
Head Coach Garrath McPherson is excited to see the return of Riley, another former BRFC/NCT squad member, to the Liberty A-League squad.
“Indi is another former pathways player from Queensland who has played at the highest levels of the women’s game,” he said. “She made her debut at a young age and has spent the last two- and a bit years in Denmark. During that time, she has also been selected for national teams.
“Indi is a wide striker of great quality; she loves to take on defenders one-v-one and has an eye for goal. She aspires to be involved in a World Cup in six months’ time and we are excited that she has decided to return home to Brisbane,” McPherson added.
Brisbane Roar will face Adelaide United at AJ Kelly Park on Sunday 15 January.
Melbourne City head coach Dario Vidosic is not too disheartened by his team’s defeat at Western Sydney Wanderers at the weekend and backs his players to get back to winning ways tomorrow at Adelaide United, writes Ben Gilby.
For Vidosic, it was simply one of those days. “It can happen. It was a day where nothing goes right. The goal – the ball was going wide it caught a gust of wind and went in. The ladder – it’s not the depiction of where they (actually) are (based on performances). They are a better team than one that only had one point. When you go to Western Sydney, it’s a tough game. It was a free shot for them. Once they got ahead, we forced the issue.”
The quick turnaround, just three days after going down to Kat Smith’s side is not ideal in terms of physicality, but in terms of getting back on the saddle, Vidosic believes it’s a positive situation.
“It’s great that we have a chance to respond quickly now. It was a one-off. There are days when nothing goes your way. Sometimes, with the youthfulness of the squad, we needed someone to calm it down and not force it. We were a lot less patient (than we usually are.)
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in the squad. I’m still learning, I’m still in my first year (as a head coach), and having this three games in six days is difficult…it’s actually a good preparation for those who want to play at a higher level – like a Champions League week, having a league game, then flying abroad in midweek and back again.”
Tomorrow’s game takes on added importance with both sides going into it on the back of recent defeats – but the City boss knows that Adelaide will be just as keen to end their run of two losses without scoring.
“Adelaide are a dangerous team, particularly in Adelaide. They lift at home. They are coming off two losses, so they want to be positive and discover their form as do we. It’s two teams that want to play football, so it should be a great game.”
City have no additional injury concerns going into the match.
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