In the latest of our weekly Midweek Dub series of interviews with A-League Women players, Perth Glory’s Ella Mastrantonio(EM) speaks to Ben Gilby (BG) about being back in Western Australia, the priorities to further grow the league and the state of the game in WA(21/12/22).
Above: Ella Mastrantonio pointing the way forward for Perth Glory. Photo: Tom McCarthy.
BG: How are you settling back into life at Perth Glory? How do you assess both yourself and the club’s start to the season?
EM: It is both great and strange being back home. We haven’t had the best start to the season but we have also been there or thereabouts in nearly all of our games. The next few weeks are crucial in defining which way we want our season to go. We are ready for the challenge.
BG: You’ve played under many different head coaches during your career, how does Alex Epakis compare? What are his strengths?
EM: Alex is a breath of fresh air compared to my most recent coaching experiences. He’s young, ambitious and you can see he is really invested in both the project at Perth Glory and the players as individuals. He has great qualities.
Above: Ella Mastrantonio looks to escape from close attention against Melbourne Victory. Photo: Tom McCarthy.
BG: Perth have a mix of experienced players and some exciting young talent – what do you make of the team the club has put together this season?
EM: As you said the mix of young and experience is quite a new experience for me. This is the first time I’ve really been one of the senior players in a team before, so I am hopeful that I can pass on my knowledge and experience to the younger players. We have real potential this season.
BG: After being away from the competition for a few years, what major differences have you noticed already? How has the W/A-League Women improved in that time? What specific areas do you think still need to get better?
Obviously, the addition of extra games and as of next year being a full home and away season has been the main much-welcomed and overdue change to the league.
“I think we still need to get better in marketing the league in a much better and mainstream way, as I’m not entirely sure people outside the football world really know what’s going on with our game and league. If we can add that and make our games much more accessible and attend-able – ie most of our home games this season are 4pm on Sunday afternoons, quite a tough ask for people who have young families and work the next day.”
Ella Mastrantonio on improvements that she believes the A-League Women need to prioritise.
BG: Prior to coming back to Perth Glory, you had a few months at Subiaco in the NPLW. How was that?
EM: It was a good experience getting down and helping out Subiaco back on the NPLWA map. They’re a great club with a huge ambition for women’s football so they deserve to be in the limelight.
Above: Ella Mastrantonio (right) in action for Subiaco against her Perth Glory team-mate Tash Rigby for Fremantle City in the NPLWA. Photo: Denyse McCulloch.
BG: There’s been a lot of talk about WA’s young talent going to the East coast to play their NPL football. What do you think the NPL in WA needs to do to keep the best players in the state to ensure the quality of the local comp keeps growing?
EM: Unfortunately I don’t think the NPLWA stands a chance against the eastern states. There is just far more money, a higher standard of players, and professionalism that will attract the best talent there. How do we improve that over here? More investment.
BG: Having been back in the Matildas camp under Tony Gustavsson, how do you think the team has developed in the build-up to the World Cup?
EM: The team has picked up some really important wins over the last few months so I think that’s important with the World Cup only seven or eight months away.
BG: What would a good season for both yourself and Perth Glory look like this season?
EM: Making finals with Glory is definitely my main goal being back here and then anything is possible. For myself just having a positive impact with the squad to help us achieve our goals and then again anything is possible.
Above: Ella Mastrantonio takes on Adelaide United’s Dylan Holmes at Macedonia Park this season. Photo: Tom McCarthy.
Ahead of tonight’s UEFA Champions League tie at FC Zürich, Impetus’ Nathan Edwards was in Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall‘s media conference and reports on the Swede’s views on the need for player welfare with the women’s calendar looking set to grow further (21/12/22).
Above: Arsenal players come together. Head coach Jonas Eidevall believes that player welfare is more important than ever. Photo: UEFA.
Jonas Eidevall said it is a “human need” to give players time off in the season, as Arsenal travel to Zurich for their Champions League clash, without Vivienne Miedema and Beth Mead, due to ACL injuries.
FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, announced that the women’s game will be given a new Club World Cup tournament, which is set to debut in 2025.
This announcement comes following multiple high-level footballers within the women’s game have picked up serious injuries, including Arsenal’s striking duo.
Eidevall said about the fixture schedule, “when you look at a 12-month period you need to give the players a certain amount of time off. It is a human need,
“They need holidays in order to recharge and refresh and I think the scheduling needs to look at that so you can guarantee the players get some time off, and then I think we will be fine.”
Above: Vivianne Miedema lies on the pitch after rupturing her ACL last week. An even more congested calendar could well lead to a further increase in similar injuries. Photo: David Price.
This season has also been sandwiched between two major international competitions, with the European Championship ending in July 2022 and the Women’s World Cup commencing once the season ends.
The Arsenal boss gave a recommendation on how they can tweak the calendar in order to help the players.
He said, “The problem is when you have so many tournaments in a row, the players don’t have anytime off, and why don’t they have any time off?
“Because we finish the season in May and then the competition (World Cup) will start in July or August.
“The national teams say they need to prepare for the tournament and bring the players in after their two-week vacation and have camps that last six weeks leading up to the tournament.
“Once the competition is done, club football needs to come back and play straight away, just look at Manchester City having to play Real Madrid so quickly after the Euros in the Champions League qualifiers.
“The players get no time off. So, either the players get time off before the tournament or schedule the tournament earlier in the summer, allowing players to have a gap after the competition in the summer. I can’t see that being that hard but that is the solution.”
Just over a year ago, a Tweet by a proud mother about her seven-year-old goalkeeping daughter went viral and led to Impetus joining up with SELK Grassroots to supply the then seven-year-old Lexi Haffner with the goalkeeping gloves she dearly wanted. Ben Gilby checks in with Lexi’s father Martin to find out how the youngster’s goalkeeping is progressing(20/12/22).
Above: Lexi Haffner with a trophy after another successful match in goal. Photo: Martin Haffner
It started off as just a normal day on 27th September 2021 when Julie Haffner put out a tweet on social media about her seven-year-old daughter Lexi who was two months into her goalkeeping career in a boy’s team loving every minute and proving with her ability that those boys who commented “Ahh! We’re playing against a girl!” would find out just what a girl can do in goal.
Almost 11,500 “likes”, over 420 re-tweets, and 289 comments later, the Twitter world was celebrating the joy that young Lexi gets from playing in goal every week. Dad Martin told us the story behind the tweet.
“At our match that day, we had one of the children’s parents requesting to take some action photos of the game. My wife decided to put a post-up with a picture of Lexi as she does get some stick playing for a boys’ team especially as she is a goalkeeper.
“I don’t think the boys mean anything by it, I just think they find it strange that they are playing against a girl. Therefore, Lexi’s mum just wanted to put a post on Twitter so men’s Championship side West Bromwich Albion (WBA)’s goalkeeper Sam Johnstone could see it as well as the WBA fans as she has loads on Twitter. We did not expect it to go viral, to be honest, she was just hoping she got a ‘like’ from Sam!
Above: A proud Lexi under the badge of her beloved West Bromwich Albion. Photo: Martin Haffner.
“It was very overwhelming with the kind responses Lexi was getting. Of course, you will always get jealousy and hate, but that is the whole influence of social media platforms.
Lexi, along with her father, is a huge fan of West Bromwich Albion, and the youngster is increasingly inspired by the Midlands’ tier three women’s team and is a regular at their games. “Lexi was mascot at a few WBA Woman’s games including the very first one played at The Hawthorns (the men’s team’s 26,500 capacity stadium) where they created history.”
Unsurprisingly, the young goalkeeper drew further inspiration from this summer’s European Championships, and it should be no surprise who Lexi’s favorite Lioness was: “She is a massive Mary Earps fan!” Martin revealed.
With all those inspirational players for Lexi at both club and country level, it was fantastic to hear that Lexi’s goalkeeping career is going from strength to strength.
“She has joined a girls’ football team and plays both girls’ and boys’ football currently. The first session she went to for Kewford Eagles Under nine girls, the coach wanted to sign her straight away which was amazing, they normally take their time to decide or give the child a few weeks to get used to playing with the team. Since she has started at the girls team, she has played eight games, kept three clean sheets, made two assists and scored two goals.
“She just wants to keep progressing and hopefully get signed, she would love to play for the Albion (WBA). However, the main thing is she is enjoying it and is having some great performances, making some great saves, and getting complimented by the opposition regularly. She surprises a lot of people because of her size.”
Above: Lexi Haffner wearing the goalkeeping gloves that Impetus and SELK Grassroots joined forces to buy her last year. Photo: Martin Haffner.
From Carrie Dunn – Aberystwyth Town FC (20/12/22).
Above: Aberystwyth Town hat-trick hero Emily Thomas. Photo supplied to Impetus by: Aberystwyth Town.
An Emily Thomas hat-trick fired Aberystwyth Town through to the semi-final of the FAW Women’s Cup, beating Wrexham AFC 3-1 behind closed doors at Colliers Park.
All three of her goals came in the second half, beginning with a fine finish in the 56th minute, running on to an audacious chipped through-ball from Rebecca Mathias.
Rosie Hughes got one back for Wrexham with 15 minutes to go – but just two minutes later Thomas restored the advantage, capitalising on patient build-up play from Libby Isaac.
And she sealed the Seasiders’ place in the final four – where they will play Briton Ferry Llansawel on Sunday 19th February – as she slotted home seven minutes from time.
The Seasiders’ next home match is another cup encounter – also against Wrexham, this time in the quarter-finals of the Genero Adran Trophy, kicking off at Park Avenue at 2pm on Sunday 15th January.
Before then, they travel on Sunday 8th January to Cardiff Met in the Genero Adran Premier.
Each week during the home and away season, Impetus’ writing and photography team covering the A-League Women will nominate a player, coach, and event of the week. We’ll keep a tally of the player and coach votes as the weeks go by, and just before the Finals, will announce our winners for 2022/23 (19/12/22)
Player of the Week:
Above: Kayla Morrison’s superb hat trick for Melbourne Victory on Sunday took the votes from two of our contributors this week. Photo: Melbourne Victory.
BEN GILBY: I found this really hard. How can I have overlooked Kayla Morrison, a centre back scoring a hat trick?! Yet I have. How can I ignore Cyera Hintzen, a player who played a major role in ensuring her team came from 2-0 down to win 3-2? Yet I have. Why? On Saturday, Cote Rojas unleashed her magic wand and absolutely bossed it for Melbourne City in defeat to Western United. When she is in form like that, there is no more enjoyable player on the planet to watch. Rojas epitomises the expression “plays with a smile on her face.” She’s an outrageous talent and the A-League Women is so much better for having her back again.
KIERAN YAP: A hattrick for the Victory skipper and star centre-back Kayla Morrison was terrific to see. She also made a goal-saving tackle and helped set up her team’s second goal with an amazing 40-yard pass.
RYAN MILLER-WOODS: Annalee Grove of Adelaide United. She was absolutely incredible to watch in between the sticks against Wellington Phoenix with her heroics when needed. Her form really proved to be the difference towards ensuring the result went Adelaide’s way.
BEN CAREY: This is so tough this week! So many great individual performances. Chloe Logarzo was a halftime injury substitute and came on and flipped the game on its head with an amazing goal from range and stepping up to convert a penalty as well. Rylee Baisden scored two goals and contributed an assist to essentially carry Perth Glory to their comeback against Canberra United. But, Kayla Morrison, a centreback, scoring a hat-trick probably tops them both. That’s just insane. After much careful thought, she has my vote this week.
Coach of the Week:
Above: Perth Glory head coach Alex Epakis, the choice of three of our four contributors as coach of the week. Photo supplied to Impetus by: Perth Glory.
BEN GILBY: Alex Epakis. His team has huge potential but has been unable to click into gear. Whilst he is renowned as a supportive coach who will always back his players, this week we saw a different side to the Perth head coach. He spoke in midweek to the Western Australian media about the extreme focus and non-negotiables that he laid down to his players in training. Speak to any Perth player and they will tell you how much they respect their head coach. When he speaks, they listen. Regardless of the scoreline on Sunday, they showed immense character. Yes, the team produced and did it for themselves, but this is an exceptionally tight group – they did it for Epakis too. His influence and standing among his team make him a deserving winner of this accolade.
KIERAN YAP: Alex Epakis. It was a tight decision between the Perth Glory coach and Mark Torcaso of Western United. In the end, Epakis has won out because the pressure was higher and the comeback was incredible. Glory changed their setup and line-up. They had more control of the midfield and were able to wrestle back control from a very tough opponent. It’s early, but Perth’s season was on the line. They delivered when it mattered most.
RYAN MILLER-WOODS: Alex Epakis of Perth Glory. The way that he got Perth going to another level against Canberra United during the second half despite having gone two goals down to not only win the match, but getting a crucial victory for Glory’s season in the process but when it was all said and done, being deserving winners against Canberra. So, whatever was said by Epakis at halftime to his side, really must have worked.
BEN CAREY: Mark Torcaso. Leading Western United to victory over yet another strong team in Melbourne City. His team is still undefeated in the A-League Women. Four wins from four. The only powerhouse team they haven’t beaten yet is Sydney FC.
Event of the Week:
Above: Action from Perth Glory against Canberra United – a game that two of our four contributors flagged as their Event of the Week. Photo: Tom McCarthy.
BEN GILBY: Chloe Logarzo’s first goal for Western United at Melbourne City. There was no better way for the Matildas star to announce “I’m back!”
KIERAN YAP: Chloe Logarzo’s brace. She has looked good since returning to the Dub. But this was the first time she dominated while on the field in familiar style. She was everywhere, but her goal was something special.
RYAN MILLER-WOODS: Canberra United’s first goal against Perth Glory. The sequence of the build-up to the goal was fantastic from Grace Maher’s through ball to Michelle Heyman who was able to successfully dispossess Kim Carroll before beating Sadie Lawrence, then finishing her part by going into the box where her pass met the feet of Nikki Flannery who slotted the ball beautifully into the back of the net to complete both a great sequence of play and a great goal in every sense.
BEN CAREY: Perth Glory v Canberra United. Such an exciting and entertaining match with so many twists and turns. Canberra’s strong start and Perth Glory’s dramatic comeback. What a match!
Above: Melbourne Victory celebrate another strike from Kayla Morrison. Photo: Melbourne Victory.
Melbourne Victory won their third game in a row in an entertaining and incident-filled match at AAMI Park.
Victory named an unchanged lineup from their win over Perth Glory. While Newcastle brought Claire Coelho into goal to replace Georgina Worth.
The home side’s form has steadily improved over the last few weeks. After struggling to get a shot on target in the first two rounds, their attack has started to click. It took only minutes to hit the scoreboard against The Jets.
Alana Murphy was clipped at the edge of the penalty box by Leia Puxty. It was not a deliberate foul, but a mistimed clearance. Nevertheless, Murphy got to the ball first and the referee pointed to the spot in the fifth minute.
Melina Ayres made no mistake with the finish. It was the third consecutive match where the number 14 opened the scoring.
Ayres had her second almost instantly. Victory launched a brilliant end-to-end move starting with Jessika Nash and Murphy. The ball was played backward to Kayla Morrison, who’s pass split the press and found Alex Chidiac near the halfway line.
From there, it was Chidiac, to Lia Privitelli, and then back to the Matildas playmaker. The final ball to Ayres was only outdone by the touch that rounded Coelho before she prodded it into the net.
It was the best piece of play Victory had displayed all season. A training ground move that trusted the individual abilities of each play to excel.
Kayla Morrison soon added a third. Murphy’s corner kick was dropped onto the head of the Victory skipper, and the captain powered the ball into the next with a textbook header from close range.
Above: Alana Murphy delivers a corner. Photo: Melbourne Victory.
In a team featuring Chidiac, Beattie Goad, and Elise Kellond-Knight it is indicative of Murphy’s standing in the team that she was on set piece duty. The 17-year-old is a quality prospect and Victory’s increase in form has coincided with her inclusion in the starting lineup.
Morrison was once again unmarked for her second and Victory’s fourth. Goad’s free-kick drifted beyond the pack of players and Morrison slid in at the far post to complete the scoring for the half.
Newcastle struck back in the second half. With Victory goalkeeper Casey Dumont removed with concussion, Miranda Templeman was given her first minutes as an A-League Women player.
The Jets looked to test the highly rated youngster and Sarah Griffith’s long-range rocket was merciless in its power and timing.
With Griffith getting on the ball more regularly, Newcastle looked more dangerous. Her run helped set up The Jets second. Another shot from outside of the box bounced off two defenders. It fell to Ash Brodigan who slammed home the goal on the half-volley.
Despite being two goals ahead, and having introduced new signing Rikke Madsen onto the wing, Victory looked to be tiring against the high-intensity Jets.
Above: Casey Dumont in action yesterday before suffering a concussion injury. Photo: Melbourne Victory
The comeback was extinguished in the closing minutes with Morrison’s hattrick. It was another close-range finish from a corner, this time from Chidiac’s delivery.
The ball was spilled by Coelho, and Morrison scrambled it home. Some confusion followed with both players lashing out at each other. Both players received yellow cards but the goal stood. It sealed the game as a contest, and Victory were the 5-2 winners at the final whistle.
It was another honourable loss for the entertaining Jets, and although neutrals love to watch them, that will be little consolation for a side capable of some exciting and high-quality football.
The Jets have a chance to get their second win of the season when they face Brisbane Roar on Friday night. The sides are similarly matched and each have speedy, tricky attackers.
Victory have a break over Christmas. Their next game is on New Year’s Eve at home to Canberra United.
Above: Kayla Morrison celebrates with the match ball after her hattrick. Photo: Melbourne Victory.
Report by Ben Gilby with photos from Tom McCarthy at Macedonia Park (18/12/22).
Above: Joy for Perth Glory as they come from 2-0 down against Canberra United. Photo: Tom McCarthy.
Perth Glory claimed their first win of the A-League Women season after showing their attacking potential in coming from 2-0 down to defeat Canberra United at Macedonia Park today.
This was a hugely entertaining game that eventually saw the Western Australians record only their third victory over the capital city side in 27 encounters over the 15 seasons of the competition. Yet they did it the hard way after a well organised and quick-thinking Canberra side reaped the reward of their fast start with two goals in a 22-minute period.
Above: Susan Phonsongkham, who came into the starting line up today. Photo: Tom McCarthy.
Perth Glory head coach Alex Epakis shuffled his pack, bringing Sarah Langman back in goal, Kim Carroll returned after missing last weekend’s game with Melbourne Victory, and Susan Phonsongkham was brought into the starting line-up.
This was Canberra’s first visit to Perth in just over three years, and the visitors looked to get on the front foot from the start with Vesna Milivojević looking to make progress along the left as they employed a high press to make it exceptionally challenging for the Glory to play out from the back.
From an offensive perspective, Perth were also forced into playing quick passing in order to find space as Canberra aimed to shut down any purple shirt on the ball as rapidly as they could in the 32c heat.
Above: Canberra United celebrate their opening goal. Photo: Tom McCarthy.
Canberra took the lead their hard work deserved with 12 minutes on the clock in some style. Michelle Heyman eased past the attempted tackles of Carroll and Sadie Lawrence along the left and turned on the after-burners to sprint towards the by-line in order to square a ball for an unmarked Nikki Flannery who had all the time in the world to score.
With 20 minutes of the half gone, the home side built their first serious attack of the game. Liz Anton’s throw on the right found Cyera Hintzen, who returned the favour to the Football Fern. The ball was then fed through to Hana Lowry who used outrageous skill to flick the ball past Kennedy Faulknor and get a shot away that fellow Young Matilda Chloe Lincoln saved with her legs.
Despite this glimmer of what they are capable of, the home side were suffering from slow and ponderous decision-making leading to passes that were more hopeful than crisp and creative. Rylee Baisden and Phonsongkham were on the periphery as a consequence; rarely able to pose a threat as the home side were unable to spend time in the Canberra half.
Above: Vesna Milivojević’s shot flies into the net despite Sarah Langman’s dive as Canberra United go 2-0 up. Photo: Tom McCarthy.
Consequently, it was no surprise when Canberra doubled their lead. Grace Jale skipped away from Carroll and Anton, before squaring to Milivojević who was positioned centrally on the edge of the box to fire home.
Perth reacted well and switched on their multiple attacking threats. Lowry was found by a low ball threaded across from Hintzen on the left. The locally produced star turned and got a shot away that Lincoln had to push away at the far post. Hintzen got herself involved again shortly afterwards on the opposite flank when she laid a pass back to Alana Jancevski to fire in a trademark rocket shot that Lincoln covered.
The idiosyncratic talent of Jancevski shone through again as the half came to a close. Baisden broke through and faced Lincoln who blocked. The American laid off to the 19-year-old who lifted a delicious high chip that bounced twice off of the crossbar before being cleared.
Above: Rylee Baisden, scorer of Perth Glory’s crucial goal in first-half stoppage time. Photo: Tom McCarhy.
Right before the break, the home side emphasised their dominance from set-pieces against Canberra this season having grabbed both of their goals against Njegosh Popovich’s side on the opening day. Lowry’s corner curled in from the right. The visitors could only succeed in heading it against each other and amidst the chaos, Baisden forced the ball home.
The second half opened with a bang as over a period of two minutes, Canberra forced a corner, Jancevski tried her luck from the halfway line after noticing Lincoln off her line, and Lowry curled a corner onto the roof of the net.
The home side remained on the front foot as Hintzen was found by a looped pass over the top from Ella Mastrantonio. Despite being under the close attention of Faulknor, the American striker took a touch to get free and fired a rocket across Lincoln and into the far corner.
Above: Cyera Hintzen’s rocket shot flies into the net to level the scores. Photo: Tom McCarthy.
Hintzen was now at the peak of her powers, with pace and strength allowing her to get free along the right and fire a low ball across for Lowry to smash a shot in from just outside the box in a central position that Lincoln needed to repel.
Despite a flurry of chances for the visitors, it was the increasing influence of Hintzen that caused further damage. Sakalis headed into her path and the striker flicked the ball through beautifully into the path of her compatriot Baisden into the box who smashed a shot into the corner of the net.
Both sides had further chances to change the outcome of the game once more, with Faulknor seeing a great chance go well wide and Hintzen trying to create up the other end.
Above: Rylee Baisden sgteers home Perth Glory’s winner. Photo: Tom McCarthy.
Whilst Perth’s comeback was a superb team effort, the influence of Cyera Hintzen cannot be overlooked. The pace, strength, flicks, and goals from last season were back and then some. It was a superb shift from the striker.
For Canberra United head coach Njegosh Popovich, it was a frustrating afternoon with the outcome hinging on Perth’s goal in stoppage time at the end of the opening 45 as he told the media post match: “The goal conceded before half-time from a corner. We spoke in the week about it and making sure set pieces were strong (defensively). It’s a tough trip to get to Perth. We ran out of legs a little bit.”
Whilst Popovich felt his team worked hard in their response, the momentum shift allied with weather conditions was ultimately too much:”We came out strong (in the second half), but there were some lapses of concentration and there was the heat. The wind was a factor (too).”
Above: Cyera Hintzen’s delightful flick-through for Rylee Baisden’s winning goal. Photo: Tom McCarthy.
His counterpart Alex Epakis’ overwhelming reaction after the match was one of pride: “It was a performance built on resilience and character. It wasn’t the start we wanted, but the players knew that this was really important today to get something. We knew we are capable of results like that, and performances like that, and today the players did us really proud.”
The performance and comeback was the consequence of a lot of hard work put in at the club’s Fremantle Oval base after their loss to Melbourne Victory last Sunday. “It was a very intense week. We build in a lot of conversations on the training pitch and the laptop was in overdrive with the film in terms of reviewing individual, team, and collective stuff. We have a foundation now, but we’re still not where we want to be.”
Epakis emphasised the vital importance of Rylee Baisden’s strike in first-half stoppage time to get Perth back into the game: “That was like the life support starting (us) back up again. It was critical. Rylee has scored some important goals for us already in her career. It definitely made the conversations in the changing room, and the momentum that bit different.”
Above: Alana Jancevski produced another hugely skilled performance. Photo: Tom McCarthy.
The focus now for Perth Glory is to use this performance as a springboard. This was the longest period of any match this season in which they showed their true potential. But a 45-minute or a 60-minute performance doesn’t cut it at this level. Nor does it cover up the issues defensively. Perth can be better. To finish where they are capable of being in the league this season, they must be better.
More of Tom McCarthy’s photos from Macedonia Park today:
Above: Brisbane Roar huddle to celebrate a goal by Hollie Palmer. Photo: Brisbane Roar/Getty Images
Brisbane Roar won a tight match on Sunday afternoon against Western Sydney Wanderers. It was a warm, overcast day at A.J Kelly Park, the home of the Brisbane Roar until renovations are finished on Perry Park early next year. There was a sea of orange shirts in the stands and the atmosphere was fun and excited.
Brisbane Roar got off to a quick start, scoring a goal in the first 10 minutes. Swedish defender Kajsa Lind hit a wonderful through ball all the way from the backline up to Larissa Crummer who was pressing high. American Jordyn Bloomer made a solid point blank save, but Hollie Palmer was there for the follow up and tucked the ball away to give Brisbane Roar a vital early lead.
REPLAY | Hollie Palmer with the opener to put us in the lead.
Brisbane Roar didn’t sit back and defend after their early goal, they stayed on the attack. Katrina Gorry, back from a well-deserved four-week break, forced a saved from the keeper about five minutes later.
Western Sydney Wanderers eventually played their way into the match, with Holly Caspers and Sophie Harding linking up for a few attempts on the Brisbane goal. The Wanderers’ most spectacular chance of the half came in the 33rd minute from an amazing through ball from Clare Hunt in the backline up to Malia Steinmetz, who took a shot at goals, but missed high.
The second half was a very even contest. There was a lot of passion on the field with fouls behind handed out left, right, and centre, and a few yellow cards for good measure too. And several attempts on goals as well from both sides.
Brisbane Roar’s best chance in the second half came from good high cross from the ever-present Palmer that set up a header from Jessie Rasschaert towards the bottom right corner. But Bloomer was equal to it.
The Wanderers had several attempts on goal. Three of which came from 55-cap Czech international substitute, Jitka Chlastáková – another example of the international talent on display in the A-League Women’s.
When Brisbane Roar captain, Ayesha Norrie, came off after a full 90 minutes, she was met by a huge applause from the crowd who were celebrating her 50th game for the Roar. Since her debut in November 2013, she has become an essential part of the team and one half of the dynamic midfield duo that is Norrie and Gorry.
The Roar were able to cling onto their slim lead despite a nervy final 20 minutes, including almost 10 minutes of stoppage time.
Palmer proved to be the difference maker in the match. But it wasn’t just the goal she scored, she was full of energy and intent for the whole 90 minutes and created a lot of opportunities. And although Gorry only played the first half, she was also outstanding. It doesn’t matter if she’s playing for Vittsjö in Sweden, the Matildas, or for the Roar, her constant physicality, energy, and intent to win the ball and take shots at goal make her an absolute menace in the midfield.
The entire Roar backline put in a great shift as well, particularly Lind, Rasschaert, and Levin. This will please Roar coach Garrath McPherson as the Roar defence has been a puzzle he has been trying to solve since Clare Polkinghorne departed two years ago.
Clare Hunt had a solid game, taking a few shots herself, and creating several more opportunities for her teammates, all while commanding the backline and preventing attacks from the Roar. The Wanderers midfield also put in a good shift, but no one on the front line had the finesse or firepower to beat Hensley Hancuff, who had a great day between the sticks, securing her first clean sheet for the campaign.
Next week Brisbane Roar play Newcastle Jets again after a tight opening round win. Western Sydney Wanderers will take on Sydney FC once more, after a narrow loss at the start of this month.
Above: Chloe Logazro celebrates with her teammates after scoring. Photo: @wufcoffocial twitter
A second-half brace from Chloe Logarzo has sent Western United to the top of the A-League Women’s table.
The meeting between the two top sides was one of the most anticipated matches of the round. Perfect conditions awaited the players at AAMI Park, where Melbourne City faced their toughest opponent so far.
Western United and Melbourne City both had perfect records coming into this match. City had scored more goals and surged to title contention after some thrilling displays. Their attacking talent has been impressive in form and depth. Their defence has been versatile and well-drilled.
Western United have been the surprise packet of the season to anybody who did not watch the Victorian NPLW. This was a team that arrived in the W-League more ready than any other new side in history.
The Victorian players gave them the core to compete with anybody. Additions of overseas stars like Sydney Cummings, Jess McDonald, and Hillary Beall gave them the edge to beat the best.
Above: Hannah Keane, one of Western United’s impressive signings ahead of their first-ever season in the competition. Photo: West Australian.
The biggest name to sign for the club was Matildas’ star Chloe Logarzo. So far this season, manager Mark Torcaso has used the gun midfielder sparingly. She has often been brought into games in the second half, as she returns from a long-term knee injury.
She has steadily improved with each game, but against City, it became official. Logarzo is back.
It was a game of contrasting styles. City are set up to possess the ball, Western United were determined to press. In the second minute, that early effort paid off. Sally James’ pass was intercepted, and Adriana Taranto unleashed a low drive from outside the area to open the scoring.
If City were stunned by conceding, they didn’t show it. Their attacking trio got themselves quickly into the game with Maria Rojas causing problems for the United defence, and Bryleeh Henry coming close to levelling the scores.
Western United were bravely playing a high defensive line. Given the pace of Emina Ekic and Henry on either flank, it was a risky strategy. But the compressed space in midfield helped keep the skills of Rhianna Pollicina and Daniella Galic in check.
Above: Action from today’s game at AAMI Park. Photo: Darrian Traynor/Getty Stock Images.
Dario Vidosic’s side did equalise before halftime, and it was a brilliant individual goal from Ekic.
The ball fell to the American attacker on the left of the attack, and she twisted to find space and shoot despite the attention of three defenders.
McDonald tried to restore the lead for United, but James stopped her shot from the improbable angle.
The second half was no less action-packed, and Rojas almost scored in the opening stages. A long ball from midfield put her into space behind Cummings. Her lofted shot was stunning in its execution and only luck prevented it from going in. There was a sigh of relief in the Western Core supporter group as it bounced off the crossbar.
Rojas continued to torment the United defence, and eventually earned them a penalty. Her low cross was judged to have been stopped by a handball from Tyla Jay Vlajnic.
Pollicina stepped up to take the shot, and put her side ahead, but Beall dived low to her right to make a spectacular save. It was the turning point of the match.
Eyebrows were raised when Mark Torcaso subbed off striker Hannah Keane. She had enjoyed few scoring chances, but her pace up front and pressing was valuable. However, onto the pitch stepped Logazro, and she looked determined to impact the game.
Logarzo’s first goal was the type she is famous for. She picked up the ball and ran at the City defence. She attempted to play the ball wide, but it bounced back to her. In vintage style, she struck a shot from 20 yards that flew past Sally James and thrilled the crowd.
Both Logarzo and McDonald threw themselves into defensive duties. The star recruits could be seen clearing the ball or crowing the City attack as the clock ticked down.
Although City had most of the possession, the game felt like it was on Western United’s terms. Vidosic’s side created scoring chances, but Beall was equal to anything that was on target.
Cummings and Alana Cerne were excellent in making sure any City strikes had to be earned. United were defending deeper than they were in the first half but did not buckle under the pressure.
In the final moments, Western United iced the contest. McDonald earned an injury-time penalty kick after Julia Grosso handled, and Logazro calmly slotted it past James to put an exclamation point on the victory.
Above: Chloe Logarzo hits her second and Western United’s third from the spot in their famous win. Photo: West Australian.
Logazro is back, Western United sit atop of the table. Most frightening is that they are still improving.
Above: Adelaide United’s Fiona Worts (left) battles with Wellington Phoenix’s Mackenzie Barry in today’s match. Photo: Flipboard.
Adelaide United have won their fourth match in five games with a 1-0 win at Wellington Phoenix thanks to a deflected own goal by Wellington defender Mackenzie Barry.
This was a closely fought match with goalscoring chances created by both sides. Indeed, the outcome may have been a different story altogether in the first half if it wasn’t for the heroics of Adelaide United goalkeeper Annalee Grove who was in superb form.
The visitors fielded Jenna McCormick for her landmark 100th W/A-League Women. At the other end of the scale, their young star on a scholarship contract, Zoe Tolland would make her first senior appearance.
Above: Jenna McCormick had the captain’s armband for Adelaide United today on her 100th appearance. Photo: Adelaide United.
McCormick was involved early on as Betsy Hassett’s header bounced onto her, leading to the ball falling for Emma Rolston who had a first-time shot at goal that was superbly stopped by Annalee Grove and then cleared away by Maruschka Waldus.
The home side continued to press and Paige Satchell’s crossed was misplaced by the Adelaide defence into the line of fire of returning Nix star Grace Wisnewski whose shot was brilliantly saved by Grove in the 14th minute.
That combination of Grove’s sensational form and an inability to turn chances into a goal came back to haunt the Phoenix in the most heart-wrenching way with 22 minutes played.
Adelaide striker Fiona Worts’ through ball found Chelsie Dawber in the box. Dawber’s shot deflected off of Wellington’s Barry into the back of the net.
The home side responded well, but once more Grove denied them with a superb acrobatic save to deny Rolston.
Clear-cut chances were fewer and further between after that, with the visitors claiming the remaining two opportunities in the final minutes of the action. With five minutes remaining, Dawber showed superb vision in playing a centimetre long ball from close to the halfway line to the path of Paige Hayward who from outside the box had a great first-time shot at goal which was blocked and deflected by Edwards.
Deep into stoppage time, Adelaide had a free kick which was guided into the box to the head of Worts but wide of the goal.
Above: Chelsie Dawber in possession – it was another strong showing from the South Australian today. Photo: Adelaide United.
It was a frustrating afternoon for Wellington Phoenix who went toe to toe with one of the strongest teams in the competition, but fell short in the most agonising way possible.
“You can see from the girls it was a difference from last week,” Lawrence told the assembled media post-match. “Last week we knew we didn’t play well, we knew that wasn’t us and we knew we deserved to lose the game.
“The feeling this week was completely different. We competed, we had more shots on target than they did [and] we had the same amount of final third entries as they did. Credit to their goalkeeper. I thought she pulled off some fabulous saves.
“If we play like that against what is the joint top team in the league we can compete against anyone.”
Lawrence revealed that she felt nothing but pride in the performance of Mackenzie Barry, whose unfortunate own goal was ultimately the difference between the two sides. “Mack just wears her heart on her sleeve. She loves the club, she loves these girls [and] she has incredibly high standards.
“We can talk about the own goal, but look at how many blocks she makes, look at how many times she throws herself into tackles. She’s a proper defender. I thought Mack was outstanding today.”
As for Adelaide United, they just find ways to keep winning, and that is the sign of a potential champion team.
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