Impetus’ Ryan Miller-Woods and Ben Gilby report on three of this week’s media conferences to date ahead of the A-League Women’s return after the international window (7/12/23).
Canberra United
by Ryan Miller-Woods
Canberra United go into the weekend’s match away to Brisbane Roar bottom of the A-League Women’s ladder but do have two games in hand compared to some teams that are ahead of them.
Despite only having one point from their first four matches of the season the capital city club have scored the equal fourth-most goals with 10 but have conceded the second-most goals with 13. The quality they have in attack and midfield with players such as Michelle Heyman, Nicki Flannery and Vesna Milivojevic who have been pivotal in that regard with an average of 2.5 goals scored so far this season, Canberra just need to reduce the amount conceded to stay competitive in games.
Ahead of the game with the Roar, Holly Murray reflected: “(We’re) a new team getting used to each other’s playing styles. It’s going to take time but one thing that we’ve really stuck to as a team is just to know that what we are doing (as a side) is going to help. Just sticking to our own game and hopefully, that will pan out well (by doing that).”
Conversely, Brisbane Roar have had a good start to the season with two wins, two draws and two defeats which has them in fifth position on the A-League Women’s ladder.
When asked what she is expecting from Brisbane on Sunday, Murray said: “Well, we know that it’s going to be hot (temperature-wise), so they’re used to that, we can’t use that as an excuse. I think Brisbane like any other team (in this league) is going to be a difficult one and we’ve just got to stick to what we’re good at and what we know.”
Central Coast Mariners
by Ryan Miller-Woods
The Mariners will be going into tomorrow’s match against Western Sydney Wanderers knowing that a victory will solidify their position within the top six on the A-League Women’s ladder regardless of results elsewhere this round.
Head coach Emily Husband said outlined the threat she believes Wanderers will pose. “They’ve got a far bit of pace up top, so I’ve got no doubt they’ll be looking to play in behind and that’s something we’re preparing for. Obviously, they’ve got their first win (of the season), so they’ll be looking to build on that and that’s something that we want to make sure we don’t allow them to do (against us).”
Central Coast’s last match in the league against Melbourne Victory saw the league’s newest club come close to securing a point after being denied a draw by Victory’s McKenzie Weinert in the 91st minute after the Mariners levelled the scoring 20 minutes prior with a maiden goal in the league for defender Faye Bryson.
When asked about her thoughts on the performance against Victory last round despite the result, Husband said: “Our biggest thing at the moment is just being a little bit more consistent and we didn’t (do that against Victory), we dropped off during certain parts of the game and they managed to capitalise on that. I think one of our strengths is coming into that last 20 minutes and we do sort of put the pressure back onto teams, which is great to see but again we have got to make that more consistent (going forward).”
Fresh from facing her old club Melbourne Victory in that last encounter before the international window, Casey Dumont put in a respectable debut display in between the sticks for the Mariners. Reviewing her performance, the goalkeeper told the media: “Yeah! It was phenomenal to even just get back on the park. It’s been seven months away doing a different code (AFL) and then to come back and get a full 90 was a great feeling within. It’s a shame we (just walked away with the result that we didn’t want.”
When asked how the squad is feeling ahead of the match against the Wanderers, Dumont said: “I think the whole team has a really high vibe, (we’re) ready to take on a Western Sydney team. I think too just with the result from last week, we really want to bounce back and make sure that we get those three points and cement it because last week there was a lot of positives we should have come away with maybe a point. I think the girls are really out there to prove (themselves), so we’re very excited.”
Perth Glory
by Ben Gilby
Perth Glory head coach Alex Epakis is confident that his team will bounce back from their first defeat of the season when they travel to Melbourne City on Saturday in a battle of the teams placed first and second on the ladder.
Glory’s reverse to Wellington Phoenix after making world football’s longest journey for a domestic club match prior to the international window cost them the leadership of the A-League Women, but Epakis believes his team are ready to get back to winning ways.
“We’ve definitely had a lot of time to look at the performance (against Wellington) and it certainly wasn’t one of our best outings. We acknowledge we did a few things well, but, as a whole, there were a number of things that we need to do better.
“It’s important that we do progress after a result like that, and I’m completely confident going forward that is the case on this occasion…the response from the players has been really good.”
After making the 5,346 km to and from New Zealand to face the Nix, Perth benefited from having the international window to help recovery. However, some of the Glory’s stars have been overseas on international duty, notably some of their young guns with the Young Matildas in China. Epakis doesn’t see that as being detrimental to the big test on Saturday.
“The international break after a long trip to Auckland really helped us. The players are fresh mentally and physically…We’ve got a very deep squad and it’s for situations like this. I’m comfortable with however the squad looks, and how it takes shape – we’ll have the quality to compete whatever.”
With Perth about to make the trip to Victoria for the first versus second battle, the Western Australian side’s head coach has a lot of respect for Dario Vidosic’s team. “City have a really good squad, they’re well structured and have a clear playing style with and without the ball. On a personal front, I’m really excited about what that challenge will look like (for us) as a team…credit to City because they are where they are because they have been consistent and it’s a great opportunity for us to test ourselves against a team who are sitting top.”
Epakis has seen so much growth in his charges this season that he knows his side are ready to go toe-to-toe with the Sky Blues and are capable of gaining the result that will see the Glory return to the A-League Women’s summit on Saturday evening.
“Internally, we have so much focus and intent on what we want to do. I’m focused on helping the players to have an improved performance, and if we can do that, then we can go up against anyone.
“We’re in a position now where we are competing with the best teams. Doing it week-in-week-out going in with that confidence that if we’re really focused and committed to our performance, it can excite us. It excites me and that’s what I’m really looking to see at the weekend.”
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