by Alyce Collett (16/5/26)
Above: Michael Matricciani (left) and Bev Priestman (right) are preparing to lead their sides into this afternoon’s A-League Women’s Grand Final. Photo: via A-Leagues.
Today is the day, the biggest day on the A-League Women’s calendar – Grand Final day.
This afternoon we will see a new champion of the A-League Women’s, but will it be perennial title contenders Melbourne City or will it be first time Grand Finalists the Wellington Phoenix?
“I think, you know, this club deserves this moment” Bev Priestman said to the media earlier this week, acknowledging how momentous it is for the Phoenix to have finally made the Grand Final.
“[It’s] five years in the making. I’m really excited to see the club and the players, you someone particularly like a Mac [Mackenzie Barry] who’s been pushing for five years to get to this point.
“I think for us, we have to go in and enjoy the moment, but not enjoy it too much. I think we have to stick to the process, stick to the things that have got us here. But at the same time, I think when we enjoy ourselves, we play our best football.
“So I think it’ll be a case of managing moments, which is what I think finals are about. It’s the team that can manage the moments the best. But I also think let the team take in the moment, enjoy the moment, and hopefully we can deliver on our 100th game something really, really special for this club.”
On the flipside, City have plenty of big game experience, having been perennial title contenders for a few seasons now.
“I think it’s the same, to be honest” City coach Michael Matricciani explained to the media earlier this week about how the past week has gone.
“Obviously there’s a bit more excitement, a bit more media. But otherwise, I think we’re in a situation where we take it one game at a time. There’s been a slightly little distraction of that we need to leave the next morning to go to South Korea [for the Women’s Asian Champions League Semi Final]. So I think that’s been a nice distraction to start planning and getting things ready for that as well.
“But we’ve had four training sessions, and we’ve worked on a lot of things that we still feel we can improve on, and then there’s some things that we think that we can exploit Wellington on.”
It may be Wellington’s first Grand Final but it is certainly not Priestman’s, with the Englishwoman having taken Canada to Olympic gold when she was head coach of their women’s national team.
She explained that “I think belief is a big part” of the secret to winning one-off big games.
“I think the group coming off last week and the season has high confidence.”
Thinking back to the gold medal winning tournament she coached at the Tokyo Olympics five years ago, Priestman said that “a real togetherness was a key part of that gold medal. But I also think you’ve got to get your energy and you’ve got to manage the energy.
“I think a big sort of watch-out for me this week, a little bit like the gold medal where you beat US for the first time in 19 years, it was 19 years in the making the last semifinal [last weekend]. So I think we’ve got to be careful that that wasn’t our final, and that actually get your energy back. We go again. “
“This is why we’re here, and we’re here not just to take part in a Grand Final. I believe, if we show up and we catch ourselves on a good day and we get Melbourne City maybe on a bad day, it’s, it’s there for the taking.”
Meanwhile for the home side, their coach has a clear plan for how to come away with the title this afternoon.
“They’re a very good side” Matricciani said about the Phoenix.
“I think when we played them in round six or round seven when they came to Casey [Fields], I think they were in our face. They went person-on-person pressing on us, and we weren’t expecting that, so I think they were better on that day. They had three or four good moments, and we scored right at the end on a set piece, so they were better on that match.
“Since then, I’ve been putting a lot of things in place to practice and get better when teams play like that. Canberra did that against us, Adelaide and Brisbane a little bit to a degree did that as well.
“So we’ve had a lot of practice on, so if they want to press us again, then I think we’re going to be ready for that.”
Some may paint the Phoenix as the underdogs heading into this afternoon, but Priestman certainly is not complaining.
“I love being the underdog” Priestman said.
“I’ve been the underdog most of my career.
“I think this team have been underdogs, and I think it helps you. I think it lets you come out and swing a little bit.
“So listen, they’re a great side… They’ve got a rich history in this league that I think we definitely respect. I mean yes we brought it to them in the last away game, they brought it to us at home. So I’m sure for anybody watching it’s going to be a really special grand final.”
Meanwhile this painting of the Phoenix as the underdogs does “not really” apply extra pressure to City according to their coach.
“I think when I first stepped foot into this club, we had high expectations” Matricciani said.
“That made it very clear to me from management and from the playing group that we want to win every single match that’s there to be won, and last year we played for three trophies, got one. We’ve won one already [this season], and we’ve got two more to go.”
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