Impetus’ Ava-Marianne Elliot, Ben Gilby, and Ryan Miller-Woods report on three different clubs’ pressers ahead of the final round (30/3/24).
Perth Glory
By Ben Gilby
Defender Jessika Cowart believes that Perth Glory owe their fans a performance as they look to end their run of 10 matches without a win and deny Melbourne City a potential Premier’s Plate in the process.
The Western Australian side started 2024 well established in the top two of the ladder, but no victories this calendar year at all sees the Glory enter the final week of the season in the bottom three. The Philippines World Cup player believes the team need to finally put that run to an end to give the club’s supporters some positives at the end of an extremely frustrating season.
“We have everything to play for to prove to ourselves and the fans and the community that we can still play good football. I think it’s been a really positive message – just keep our head in the game mentally and physically.
“Every time we play in front of them (our fans) we owe them a performance, and it’s our last game of the season, last home game, it’s important for us to give them something to take away from the season.”
Despite a long run of poor results, the 24-year-old hails the team ethic established within the Perth squad. “I’m proud of the way we play every week – just how headstrong and resilient we are,” she enthused.
Cowart has been a regular starter for the club and it’s been a season of challenges – being in a new country, a new club and team mates, and a league programme that is busier than anything she has ever experienced.
Looking back on her 2023/24 in the A-League Women season, the defender admitted: “It’s definitely been eye opening. I love Australia and I love the league.”
“I definitely found it very, very more competitive – way than I could have asked for. This is the longest amount of games I’ve played in one season, and I’ve found some good and some bad in it. I’ve had to navigate those challenges that come with 22 games, but, overall it’s been such a positive experience and I’m so glad I got the opportunity to play in this league.”
Such was the amount of strapping used on Cowart in last weekend’s game at Brisbane Roar, she felt it imperative to reassure fans that there are no injury concerns. With a huge grin on her face the Philippines international laughed: “You know what, at the end of the season I think every player is held together by tape anyway!
“As much strapping I can get I will – anything to hold me together! It’s funny to look back at the games and I think ‘Jeez! That was a lot of tape!”
After Sydney FC’s defeat at Canberra United in midweek, Perth’s final day opponents Melbourne City know that if they defeat the Glory then they can still wrestle the Premier’s Plate from the Harbour City club. However, Cowart believes the need for the Western Australian side to put things right in front of their fans is more important that what their Victorian visitors are aiming for.
“I think they (Melbourne City) are really in form right now, they are playing some really good matches and they have some huge firepower on that team. We’ll watch them, we’ll see what they can do. They obviously have a lot to play for, but we have just as much, if not more to prove.”
Sydney FC
By Ava-Marianne Elliot
Ahead of the final game of the regular season, Sydney FC Head Coach Ante Juric addressed the media following a shock 1-0 loss against Canberra United on Wednesday. With the final game of the regular season just around the corner, attention turns to Sydney as they fight to retain their number one spot, which they currently hold onto by a singular point.
The discussion opened with Juric commentating on how the loss felt, particularly when a win could’ve secured the Premiership for Sydney for a record-breaking fourth consecutive year. “It hurts that we lost more than anything. Yeah, the Premiership was nice and it was something, but I don’t like to lose, and we haven’t lost for about ten weeks, so that hurts firstly.”
Ahead of Sunday, the eyes and focus of the team now turn to the home fixture against Victory. Juric noted that the squad are a resilient group, and that the loss was “a downer, but we’re strong mentally and I know we’ll bounce back.”
With an accolade for the club at stake and tension running high in what’s set to be a competitive battle between two sides, Juric further outlined that “we’re focused more on the game, and then obviously from that game we get a Premiership potentially, but we’ll just focus on the game and putting a hundred percent in.”
“We’ve had a history, especially in the last couple of years, but from day one in the A-Leagues with Victory so I’m sure the fans will enjoy it. The two clubs, it’s big, it’s both things on the line, different things, but both on the line and we’re desperately waiting for that game.”
“You never want to lose, but sometimes a loss is good.” Although the loss against Canberra was tough to face, Juric shed light on the positives of it coming at the right time to spur additional motivation heading into a must-win game. Come Sunday, Sydney will be well and truly fuelled up to face Victory and defend their first-place position with the aim to walk away with the Premiership in hand.
Alongside Juric, defender Charlotte Mclean also spoke to the media ahead of a competitive fixture this Sunday. When asked about the loss to Canberra, she said “I think reflecting upon the game, we probably could’ve maintained better possession, especially in that first half.” Further, she added, “it’s that kind of fine line between maybe maintaining a little bit more possession, but still being that aggressive, attacking Sydney FC.”
Mentality will undoubtedly play a huge role in Sydney walking away with a win on Sunday, and after a tough mid-week fixture, Mclean additionally addressed that she hopes the team “have two really good days of training and recover well and come in on Sunday fiery.”
Reflecting on a relatively turbulent season for the club after injuries and departures, Mclean also noted that “if we do win this Premiership, touch wood, it will definitely be the sweetest or the most hard earned one, we’ve had such a hard year.”
Alongside her praise for her teammates, particularly the young players of the squad who have adapted to the mindset and values of the club so well, Mclean had praise for head coach Juric. “Our defensive record, I think that tells more about a coach than an attacking record. I think defence is all about structure and organisation, and he’s the person that sets that up, and he’s the one that drives that within us. I think that’s such a big reflection on him as a coach.”
Looking ahead to the final series, all six teams will undoubtedly storm into the competition fighting and the tough nature of the challenge is something she looks forwards too, “most teams are going to get that two weeks off, so everyone’s going to be ready and raging.”
To conclude the discussion, the subject fell to what was to come next for the league now a full home and away season is in place, and where the next developments need to lie, “we’re always aiming for full professional. At the moment, we’re part time, and obviously I guess the aim would be to get to that full-time professionalism because hopefully then we’ll have access to those full-time physios, and things like that where our bodies will be able to handle the schedule a bit better.”
Wellington Phoenix
By Ryan Miller-Woods
The media heard from Wellington Phoenix Head Coach Paul Temple and Mackenzie Barry ahead of the team’s final match of the season against Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday.
While the Phoenix are out of contention for the Finals, they can still influence who makes the top six in their match against the Wanderers and end their season on a high. If Wellington wins, then Western Sydney (currently sixth on the ladder) will have to wait on the result in the match between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory for their fate to be decided.
When asked on how he’ll be approaching the final match of Wellington’s season, Temple said, “definitely still want to win. I think it’s that we finish in style (and) give the fans something to cheer about and end our season on a good note. I think that’s important for momentum and for the future. There’s loads of positives you can get out of it, so we’ll be attacking the game the same as we have all season. Everyone’s very determined to finish strongly.”
Overall, there are a lot of positives that can be taken out of this campaign for Wellington, in terms of more goals scored, wins throughout a season, and more points than the previous two seasons combined. As well as those, they have been playing with a style that has brought out the best from the players within the squad, keeping a great home record, and showing that they can take it to any club in the league.
In saying that, Wellington would feel disappointed in some capacity that they aren’t making the finals given how they performed as a whole. Subsequently, there were periods in the season that they would feel that they could have, and probably should have, got more from. Nevertheless, there’s a lot of promise for Wellington going into next season and are more than capable of making the finals.
When asked how he’d assess the season as a whole, Temple said, “I think we fell short of the targets on the table for sure. We all believed and felt that we should be in the (top) six. I don’t feel any differently about that. We’ve only got ourselves to kind of blame. There’s a long period in the season where we had a number of narrow defeats and I think the key learning for this group to go forward, we’ve got to be able to turn those tight games where we’re behind by one into draws or into wins. We haven’t done that enough to kind of build points in that period. But, there’s lots of positives for us in terms of way more points, way more wins and scoring way more goals so we’ve made a lot of progress in those other areas.”
On Saturday, it’ll be a special match for Mackenzie Barry as if should she feature against Western Sydney, she’ll be the first player for Wellington Phoenix to have made 50 appearances in the A-League Women. She has been a massively integral player not only in the squad and within the backline but throughout her time with the club.
When asked on how she reflects on her time with the club, Barry said, “super excited! I’m proud of myself, it’s been a long journey (and) it’s been a long three years. The first couple of years were pretty tricky, finding our feet, but I have developed so much as a player, so I’m so thankful for every game that I’ve ever played. Bring on the 50th.”
Barry has always been an important player for the Phoenix but this season, in particular, with the injuries that have occurred in the squad, especially with defenders, her role within the team has expanded in a wider sense and has been essential for the club this season.
When asked on how she’d assess the club’s season, Barry said, “we’re a bit disappointed we haven’t reached the top six but overall more wins, a lot more goals scored. So I think we can be pretty happy with it. Not every game went our way, bit inconsistent still but definitely a building block and we’re moving in the right direction.”
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