Impetus’ Ryan Miller-Woods reports on three different clubs’ media conferences ahead of Round 17 in the A-League Women (16/2/24).
Canberra United
By Ryan Miller-Woods
The media heard from Canberra United Head Coach Njegosh Popovich and defender Emma Ilijoski ahead of Saturday’s match against Sydney FC.
Canberra were just five minutes away from getting their fourth win of the season against Perth Glory last round. If they had prevailed, they could have gone into this round with the prospect of being just three points off finals (with a game in hand). However, they were denied of that by a truly outstanding goal from Perth’s Isobel Dalton from outside the box.
Canberra will go into the match against Sydney knowing that they can take them on their day. The last time they faced each other, it ended in a 1-1 draw on January 3rd.
With getting a point away from home against Perth Popovich was asked if he was happy to have come away from it with something come the final whistle, to which he said, “without a doubt! It is the hardest trip on the calendar (to Perth) but the way that the girls performed and the resilience they showed was great.”
Club captain and all-time leading goalscorer in the A-League Women Michelle Heyman is having an obviously great season, leading the Golden Boot with 12 goals and second in the assists with five. The way she played last round, immediately after receiving her first call-up for Australia in six years proved exactly why she got that call-up in the first place, with a great game that included a brace, her third since she surpassed 100 goals in the league against Adelaide United in Round 11.
With that said confidence that returning to the national team would have brought Heyman early last match, Popovich was asked about that, “it’s an interesting one, I think all of her hard work is paying off. She’s been working hard all year, and the big difference is that she’s hitting the back of the net now more consistently, but she leads by example.”
When asked what he is expecting from Sydney FC this weekend, Popovich said, “I think much of the same, they’re deadly up top and we’ve got a gameplan going in and hopefully if we can execute, we will get the result.” Furthering on those plans, Popovich said, “I don’t think we individually target any player ever when we play against an opposition. As I’ve said before, and I’ll say it again, I think that they need to be conscious and worried about Michelle Heyman and what she’s going to do. Maybe Vesna Milivojevic and the run of form we’ve got with Nicki Flannery and Deven (Jackson) as well.” Showing massive confidence in his team, he boldly stated, “I think it’s more about them worrying about us than us worrying about them.”
Last round against Perth also saw the return of Emma Ilijoski who had been out for over a month due to injury. Unfortunately, the return of Ilijoski was not under the best circumstances, as teammate Cannon Clough had to be substituted prematurely during the second half due to sustaining a seemingly uncomfortable injury.
When asked how it felt to be back playing, Ilijoski said, “it felt really good to be back on the field, obviously to be back with the team and get some minutes as well was important for me. It was a really good challenge. (The injury was) my kind-of first big setback in the A-League, so it was nice to work through it, and I couldn’t have asked for a better team to support me on that journey.” On the injury itself, she shared, “I did some ligaments in my ankle but feeling good and firing and being back getting into training so that’s been really good.”
Despite Canberra being at the bottom of the ladder after 15 games played, not only have they still played some great football, but finals are still a possibility in this chaotic and extended season if certain results go their way. They have the quality, talent, and attacking prowess that could beat any club in the league.
When asked are finals still in her view, Ilijoski said, “without a doubt! We’re in this competition for a reason and I think it’s one game at a time for us. We’re focusing on three points each week, and the teams that we’re going to be coming up against have to kind of watch out in a way because every week we are really focused and it doesn’t matter who we’re versing, we have our gameplan and we’re focusing on ourselves. So we’re pushing for it.”
Central Coast Mariners
By Ryan Miller-Woods
The media heard from Central Coast Mariners Head Coach Emily Husband and Peta Trimis ahead of their upcoming match against Perth Glory on Saturday.
Central Coast came away with a draw against Melbourne Victory last round, a disappointing result considering the chances they had. If the Mariners want to win on Sunday, they need to be more clinical in front of goal.
They have the players to do that with Rola Badawiya and Wurigumula who have a combined 10 goals for the season, as well as players like Peta Trimis, Bianca Galic, and Isabel Gomez (who unfortunately is unavailable for the match due to suspension) providing that integral pass. If they do that and win this weekend, they’ll move up into finals position, displacing Perth in the process and potentially moving as high as fourth on the A-League Women’s ladder.
When asked how she and the team are feeling ahead of the game against Perth, Husband said, “we’ve had a really good week this week. Obviously gutted not to come off the back of a more positive result but a draw at home against a really strong Victory side, we’ve got to be happy with.”
When asked how the team felt after the match against Victory, Husband said, “it was good! Obviously, again to go in front a little bit earlier, it was something we spoke about from the week before having conceded early in the game against Western (United). That was an area of focus for us, we wanted to make sure we got off on a better front foot. (We) had some really good patches of football and defended well for good parts of the game as well. (But) sometimes you can’t stop quality strikes like (Emily) Gielnik had.”
The last time Perth and the Mariners met, Perth prevailed as 2-1 winners in a match that was eerily similar to last week against Victory, with 22 shots with only half of those on target, and just one converted. Husband commented on that result that “the math doesn’t add.”
As aforementioned, one vital player won’t be making the trip to Perth. Isabel Gomez has a one-game suspension for receiving five yellow cards during the season. Gomez has shone very brightly in the midfield, played some quality football well beyond her years. From an outside perspective, this loss looks as though it would negatively affect the Mariners, but Husband shared her confidence in her squad depth.
When asked who the replacement for Gomez will be, Husband said, “we’ve got a good squad, a really competitive squad. There’s players coming in and out of it all the time, so we’re always prepared for these situations where certain players are unavailable. I’ll always back my team and I know we’ll still come out strong regardless. Every player plays a vital part to our season.”
Another pivotal player for the Mariners this season is Peta Trimis, having had a great debut A-League Women’s season with Central Coast which has seen her play every match bar one and score three times this campaign, including last round against Victory. As recognition of her talent and efforts, Trimis was deservedly called up into the most recent Young Matildas squad for the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup in Uzbekistan.
On her thoughts from the match against Victory, Trimis said, “that was a really tough game, but a really good feeling getting on the scoresheet.”
When asked what she’s expecting from Perth this weekend, Trimis said, “it’s going to be a tough game against Perth and a real decider leading towards finals but we’re going to give our all and hopefully come away with the win.”
Wellington Phoenix
By Ryan Miller-Woods
The media heard from the Wellington Phoenix’s Manaia Elliott and Zoe McMeeken ahead of the team’s upcoming match against Western United on Sunday.
Wellington didn’t play last weekend due to a rescheduling of their home match against Adelaide United, which will now be contested on March 20th. Western, on the other hand, pulled off a come-from-behind 3-2 win last round against Brisbane Roar which currently puts them just a point behind the league leaders Melbourne City.
Having spoken to the media on Wednesday, there was the announcement of Elliott onto a full-time contract from the scholarship contract she’d signed before the start of the season. Elliott has so far, played in 12 of the Phoenix’s 15 matches at this point of the campaign and has played a very important role throughout the season for Wellington.
When asked about her thoughts on how she has found her first season in the A-League Women, she said, “it’s been so great, so far. (I’ve) been lucky to have opportunities to get minutes, not what I had expected from the start of the season but (I) put in a lot of work and that’s been good to get some minutes in the A-League .”
Having started the season on a three-year deal that included two years as a scholarship player, the fact that she’s now on a full-time contract proves her worth within the Wellington squad and what she brings to the first team.
When asked what she had hoped for going into this season as a scholarship player, Elliot said, “the good thing with coming in on (a) scholarship (contract) is that you don’t have too many expectations but as soon as you surpass what you think you could have done that’s just (an) extra benefit. I was always pushing to get some minutes this season and to start in the first game (of the season) was a bit of a shock but just took that in my stride and am happy with how I’m going so far.”
The match against Western this round will be an important one for the Phoenix as it potentially could be the difference between making the finals or not. What is in the favour of Wellington is that the last time the two sides met in Round Four, the Phoenix prevailed with a 3-1 victory which included ‘that free kick’ by Macey Fraser.
When asked what the team thinks they can achieve against Western United, Elliot said, “no doubt, Western United are a good team. We obviously have a lot of players away with the (New Zealand) Ferns but we have depth in our squad and the whole squad is going to be ready for the weekend to show. We might be the underdogs but we’re ready to take them on.”
A player who has not only had a breakout season for the Phoenix but is currently playing some of her best football is none other than Zoe McMeeken, in her third season with the club. Her role on the pitch has proved integral towards Wellington’s season with a never-say-die attitude, pace on the field and most importantly versatility when needed.
Essentially, McMeeken has now taken over the role that ex-Wellington and current Central Coast Mariners player Isabel Gomez had in the club’s first season in the A-League Women.
When asked how she has found this season to be with the Phoenix, McMeeken said, “I’m getting more game time so there’s not much to complain about. I think the team has been building, getting better each season. So, definitely enjoying this season a lot.”
What has been one of the biggest benefits for McMeeken is that she has creative freedom on the pitch wherever she plays. This, allows her to be what she may want for a period of time during a match and be what she needs to be when called upon. One can really see the difference with McMeeken from last season to this season.
On being asked whether she feels has improved defensively in the last couple of seasons, McMeeken said, “yeah! Personally, that’s definitely been my weak point, so it’s been something that I’ve been focusing on a lot but there’s still so much to improve on.”
This weekend’s match against Western United will see Wellington without four of their players: Brianna Edwards, Kate Taylor, Mackenzie Barry and Michaela Foster. The depth of the squad will be tested but will allow the opportunity for a fringe player to stake their claim for more first-team football.
When asked about the importance of the younger players to step up this weekend, McMeeken said, “I guess it’s more of an underdog mentality, kind of how we went into (the game) against Melbourne Victory with some Ferns being out. We really gave it to them. Hopefully, it is kind of a similar thing going into this game.”
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