Melbourne City 0-1 Sydney FC
by Ben Gilby (4/5/24)
Above: Sydney FC celebrate Shea Connors’ winning goal at AAMI Park today. Photo: A-League Women.
Shea Connors’ goal just over 20 minutes from the end sealed Sydney FC’s record-breaking fifth A-League Women Grand Final win in a hugely enjoyable tactical battle at AAMI Park today.
Head coaches Dario Vidosic and Ante Juric are renowned as the league’s technical masters, and they gave each other’s teams a series of complex puzzles to solve in a bid to seize the momentum of this season finale.
Throw in the thrilling influence of a young outrageous teen talent on either side – Daniela Galic for Melbourne City and Indiana Dos Santos for Sydney FC, and you have a game for the ages. This pair, aged 17 and 16 respectively are, unless there are a string of unfortunate unforeseen circumstances, going to be big Matildas stars in the near future. This will be the day both can look back on in the decades to come with real pride as their performances were integral to their teams’ threat on the day.
City boss Vidosic was forced to make three changes to his squad from last week’s semi-final second-leg win at home to Newcastle Jets. Melissa Barbieri came in between the sticks for her first Grand Final appearance at the age of 44, replacing quad injury victim Bárbara. Emily Shields had to come out of retirement to take her place on the bench as substitute keeper. Shelby McMahon’s injury ruled her out, with Tijan McKenna coming onto the bench.
Sydney FC were unchanged which ensured that captain Princess Ibini took her place in the starting line-up for a record-breaking eighth A-League Women Grand Final at the age of just 24. The attacker first represented the Harbour City club in the competition’s biggest game back in 2016 when she was 16. Ibini would be going out firing in a bid to secure a third Grand Final win.
Indeed, it was her side who made a rapid start. Cortnee Vine was causing chaos from the opening whistle, and won a free kick inside the opening 20 seconds, on the right, around 15 yards from goal. Mackenzie Hawkesby delivered for Margaux Chauvet to lift a clinical pass for Jordan Thompson who sidefooted a vicious shot goalwards, but Barbieri rolled back the years to deny the American with a brilliant one-handed save down at the left-hand post.
The frantic nature continued and, with five minutes on the clock, Shay Hollman conceded a free-kick. Rhianna Pollicina stepped up to the right of centre, 25 yards out, and curled in a perfectly weighted set-piece just ahead of Hannah Wilkinson which dissected the Sydney defence, but the Football Fern couldn’t quite direct the ball goalwards.
It was a chaotic opening quarter of an hour. Transitions multiplied across the park – all thanks to Juric’s game plan. The Sydney head coach had set his team out to provide the maximum disruption to City’s trademark patient passing build-up. The ultra-high press was preventing the home side’s ability to play out from the back, which had the added consequence of disrupting their connectivity further up the pitch.
In order to calm the waters, City slowed things down, but the real key was the increasing ability of their talented ball players and runners Daniela Galic, Laura Hughes, and Bryleeh Henry to get on the ball.
Galic demonstrated her outrageous ability to get past two defenders tight on the byline with superb footwork before pushing slightly further inside to get a better angle to get a shot away before Whyman denied her.
The 17-year-old was showing her full bag of tricks on this, the league’s biggest stage. Her runs along the right dragged multiple defenders away which provided the double benefit of her either being able to drive forward herself, or thread balls into the spaces created by her displacing Sydney’s defence.
Whilst City weren’t able to transfer their increasing possession to shots on goal, they had worked hard to earn the right to stamp their own style of play on this final after overcoming the initial tactical challenge thrown down by the defending champions. Honours were even at the break.
The second period opened on a continuing cagey note. Sydney were forced more on the back foot as City built the passes patiently. Emina Ekic and Leah Davidson’s time on the ball increased with the pair looking to thread the telling pass through. The Harbour City side were pinned back inside their own final third with their Matildas attacker Vine dropping back to assist her backline. Sydney were clocking up the metres in a bid to press high and fast in a bid to limit City’s options.
Having the possession and the patience is one thing, but the ability to put it in the net is what wins Grand Finals. Where Melbourne City failed to take advantage, Sydney made them pay in some style.
Indiana Dos Santos, playing in her second Grand Final at the age of just 16 showed yet another glance of her supreme ability with just over 20 minutes of the game remaining. Driving through the middle of the park, Dos Santos looked up and saw the run of substitute Shea Connors, and played a sensational long-range pass that arched into the American’s stride. Connors, on the pitch no more than two minutes, confidently slotted past the outrushing Barbieri for her first A-League Women goal in 14 months.
Sydney had not lost a game this season that they had gone ahead in – but Melbourne City had never lost a Grand Final in their four previous appearances – so something was going to have to give.
City began to ratchet up the pressure in their attempted fightback. With eight minutes remaining, Ekic’s free kick on the left curled in. Sydney cleared initially before possession wound back to Ekic who found substitute Leticia McKenna. The Western Australian’s shot was superbly headed over the top by Hollman.
The chances continued to come thick and fast for Melbourne City. Rebekah Stott’s header went wide of the right-hand post before Pollicina had a glorious chance when Whyman’s one-handed save delivered the ball to her feet right out centrally, right in front of goal, but she put her shot way over the top.
City received the bonus of nine additional minutes, but could not take advantage. Sydney had retained their Championship – earning a record-breaking fifth title to boot.
City had the possession, the territory, and the ability to win this game. Sydney had the experience, the nous, and the players to make the breakthrough when it counted – and that’s what matters in Grand Finals.
Teams: MELBOURNE CITY (4-4-2): Barbieri, Grosso, Otto, Stott, Henry, Davidson, Galic, Pollicina, Hughes, Wilkinson, Ekic. Substitutes: Karic, L.McKenna, T.McKenna, Shields (GK), Thomas-Chinnama.
SYDNEY FC (4-3-3): Whyman, Lemon, Thompson, Mclean, Tumeth, Hawkesby, Hollman, Chauvet, Vine, Ibini, I.Dos Santos. Substitutes: Franco (GK), Connors, Johnson, Ray, Tallon-Henniker.
Scorer: Connors 69′
Referee: Casey Reibelt.
Attendance: 7,671.
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