Impetus’ Ben Gilby and Ryan Miller Woods report on two of this week’s media conferences from A-League Women clubs ahead of Round 11 (5/1/24).
Central Coast Mariners
By Ryan Miller-Woods
Central Coast Mariners’ Bianca Galic and Head Coach Emily Husband are looking to build on the positives from their New Year’s Eve defeat to Perth Glory when they face Sydney FC on Sunday.
Central Coast is coming off the back of an unlucky 2-1 defeat to Perth Glory on New Year’s Eve – a game in which despite failing to convert chances they did play well nonetheless.
When asked about the team’s performance against Perth, Galic said, “I think in the New Year’s Eve match, there were definitely things we took away that were good and also things that we needed to work on coming into (this match) against Sydney this weekend. We definitely had good numbers coming forward and we had lots of shots on goal but I think at the end of the day, we need to be more clinical and that was the major decider on whether we won or lost the match, unfortunately.”
The match against Sydney provides a real opportunity for the Mariners against a Sydney side who were in action on Wednesday. Should the Central Coast win, it
will not only see them go to just one point behind their opponents on the table but potentially back into the top six come the end of the round.
When asked how she views Sydney FC as an opponent, Galic said, “I think Sydney FC have always been one of the higher teams in the competition, they’ve always had a target on their back (with) the last few years winning Championships, Premierships, and Grand Finals. But, to be honest, this year with the league it’s whoever shows up on the day and wants it more.”
When asked how she views Sydney FC, head coach Emily Husband said, “Yeah, I think obviously Sydney have had the same style of play since Ante (Juric) has been there. So, you know what you are going to get with them, it’s just about being the best quality you can be on the day.”
Reflecting on the match against Perth in terms of the overall performance and result, Husband said, “We’re really pleased in terms of the overall performance, I think we’re just missing that cherry on top of the cake. Football comes down to moments and finishing those moments. I think you know when you have 22 shots on goal, you’ve got to be scoring more than one goal and that’s something we have looked to work really hard on in training this week.”
Newcastle Jets
by Ben Gilby
Newcastle Jets legend Gema Simon reflected with the media yesterday on her pride at making her 150th appearance for the club, and how she sees the team’s prospects for the second half of the season.
Simon revealed that the milestone was one of the key deciding factors in her deciding to keep playing this season. “It was pretty special. I’ve been chasing it (the 150-game mark) for a couple of years, it’s been a tough couple of years, even this season with a few injuries, so was pretty relieving to get it out of the way. It was pretty awesome to do it at home as well, to do it in front of friends and family and the crowd’s been awesome.
“The crowd are here the whole time. It’s like having an extra player. It’s great having all of Newcastle behind us…I’ll look back on it more at the end of the season and just appreciate it more then.
“I’ve had a long career, it’s been 16 years. I played in the first game for Newcastle when we started back in 2008, so it’s been a very long time. When I was tossing things up before the season started (whether to play on) that played a part in it.”
The Jets go into Saturday’s home game with Canberra United on a run of two wins in their last three games, and only three points adrift of third-placed Wellington Phoenix. Belief is high in the Newcastle camp that Finals football is achievable.
“Everyone is positive,” said Simon. “We’ve been building momentum through the whole season in our games, and if we can put another 90-minute performance together, we’ll be pretty good against Canberra. Canberra are an exciting team, it will be end-to-end.
“It’s pretty important, especially at this point of the season…The league is all over the place, everyone is beating everyone. It’s important for us to build on what we’ve done over the last couple of weeks and try to get on a winning streak of our own.”
Libby Copus-Brown is determined that Newcastle Jets can win back-to-back games this week – an outcome that could propel them towards Finals football.
The midfielder emphasised how important their 3-1 win over Adelaide United was last Sunday in the grand scheme of things. “We were looking for the three points after a disappointing weekend in Wellington, and I think it was really important that we got back on track, and we did that.”
However, with Newcastle now in seventh spot, just a point outside the Finals places Copus-Brown wants her team to push on, with a specific focus this week on getting a run of results put together.
“Someone said our stat for back-to-back (wins) is not more than two. We want to get two (this week against Canberra). It’s massive. Obviously, they’re coming from having played a game against Sydney (on Wednesday)…so it’s important to get the three points and put us in a good position in the league.
“We’ve learned that you don’t have to play pretty football to win. It’s really important we get the three points and keep climbing the ladder.”
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