Canberra United score twice to beat Sydney FC

Canberra United 2-0 Sydney FC

By Kieran Yap 11/12/25

Above: Canberra United celebrates a goal Photo: Canberra United

Goals from Michelle Heyman and a first for Sienna Dale secured a 2-0 win for Canberra United against Sydney FC, while Sasha Grove’s impressive form continues to build.

Canberra United offers fans a special deal, a ticket bought for this midweek clash with Sydney FC would grant them entry into the weekends fixture with Melbourne City. On the strength of this performance, that was the best deal in Australian football.

The home side started strongly, possibly buoyed by their weekend win over Melbourne Victory, but more likely because they were organised and enthusiastic. Hayley Taylor-Young and Emma Hawkins were especially proactive early, creating numerous chances on the left.

Sydney FC were without Riley Tanner, the Panama international was rested following national team duty. Ante Juric opted for an attack of Mackenzie Hawkesby, Caley Tallon-Henniker and Millie Cassar.

Canberra’s midfield press kept the game mostly on their terms. They were aggressive on winning the ball back and quick to put the visiting defenders under pressure with quick movement, often to the flanks.

Jazmin Wardlow came closest to opening the scoring in the first half. Her header from a set piece flashed wide.

Canberra’s high energy tactics were paying off, but came with a risk, Bethany Gordon was perhaps lucky to only receive a yellow card for a sliding tackle.

The home side began the second half much as they did the first and before the hour, they had a deserved lead. Michelle Heyman had been well marked in the opening stages, but her flick direct from Sally James’s long pass released Sasha Grove on the right.

Canberra’s cult hero burst free of her marker, leaving the defender on the turf and accelerated more to give herself time and space. Meanwhile, Heyman’s run had continued and she finished well from Grove’s excellent cut back.

Tori Tumeth almost levelled the scores immediately, but her shot from wide skimmed past the far post when all it needed was a touch from anyone near it.

Canberra United escaped that danger and soon had a second. Gordon’s well paced free kick fell to Sienna Dale who turned to score through a crowded penalty area.

Sydney FC’s efforts to chase the lead were in vain and even the introduction of Hana Lowry could not overcome Canberra’s enthusiastic defensive efforts. To cap off another outstanding performance, Grove finished the game on the left side of defence, to secure the three points.

Canberra United’s second successive win should give them all the confidence they need to get a result against Melbourne City in the next round.

Sydney FC will look to bounce back from their first loss of the season against Wellington Phoenix following a week off with the Bye.

Teams: CANBERRA UNITED (4-3-3): James, Anton, Wardlow, Bertolissio, Taylor-Young, Aulicino, Gordon, Hawkins, Grove, Sasaki, Heyman. Substitutes: Majstorovic, Stanic-Floody, Robers, Christopherson, Dale, Malone.

Goals: Heyman 53’ Dale 65’

SYDNEY FC (4-3-3): Robertson, Lemon, Pearson, Fenton, Tumeth, Hunter, Caspers, Galic, Cassar, Hawkesby, Tallon-Henniker. Substitutes: Oppedisiano, Ayson, Lowry, Ulkekul, Halmarick, Sullivan.

Referee: Georgia Ghirardello.

Attendance: 761.

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Keeper MacLean steals the show in tenacious Drybugh cup defeat to Hibs

Hibernian 7-0 Dryburgh Athletic

By Gethin Thurlow For Impetus at Meadowbank (8/12/25)

Above: Rebecca Lonie (Maroon) and Jess Ramsey (Green) chase the ball in the rain Photo: Hibernian FC

Dryburgh shot-stopper Zoe MacLean made a number of incredible saves in what was a strong defensive display by the third division side, who kept the score at a more than respectable 4-0 for the majority of the game. In a significant moment for the hosts, 16-year-old wonderkid Jess Ramsey scored her first goal for the club, as they advanced to the fourth round of the SWF Cup.

The Action

Given the gulf between the sides – a fully professional and current defending SWPL champions outfit up against third tier Dryburgh it was not surprising that Hibs controlled the ball at the edge of their opponents’ box for the majority of the game.

Dryburgh’s game plan became obvious from the first minute, to sit back in an ultra-low block with so many bodies crowding the box that Hibs couldn’t operate effectively enough to create clear shooting opportunities.

This proved effective as the game advanced, and while Grant Scott’s team able to fire the ball towards the box whenever they wanted, his players never had time or space on the ball and it was continually cleared by the Dryburgh defence.

It didn’t take long for the hosts to accrue some shots on target, as Livingstone and Herron both had strong efforts kept out by MacLean, who didn’t look anything like a third tier goalkeeper throughout the match. The first shot which didn’t find the hands of MacLean in fact was an absolute fizzer from Ellis Notley that rattled the bar.

The champions of Scotland that they are, Hibernian weren’t going to let any moment slip. When they had any sort of space inside the box for the first time just before the 20-minute mark, Kirsty Morrison drove down the right wing and pulled the ball back beautifully to Tiree Burchill, who smacked the ball straight into the far corner. A brutal display of patience and clinical edge.

By no means did this open the floodgates however, and some more defending and shot stopping occurred for the next 10 minutes. From a corner, the ball briefly bounced around the various heads inside the six-yard box, before Scarlett Herron decisively forced the ball into the net, with MacLean having no chance amidst the chaos on her goal line.

On the stroke of half time, Rosie Livingstone showed off the quality that saw her start multiple European games thrashing a goal in from the edge of the box. This was only after she had a close-range effort and Siobhan Hunter a furiously strong freekick saved by Dryburgh’s hero, who’s hands seemed to be made of steel.

As the second half got underway, Dryburgh stayed resilient. Despite the physical advantage that Hibs players had from training full time and the mental discipline required to play how they did, the away side inspired the large fan support they managed to bring from Dundee.

They held out until the 63rd minute, when academy star Jess Ramsey scored her first goal with her first touch in the match – redirecting Tegan Bowie’s cross past MacLean.

While Rowena Armitage faced zero shots in the Hibs net, Dryburgh’s attackers worked tirelessly throughout, and in one particular example, winger Emma Lawson delightfully received a long ball towards their oppositions box and controlled it with a backheel.

Naturally, one would assume that as the game wore on, Athletic’s resistance would break down, but in reality, the opposite happened. As Hibs introduced striker Eilidh Adams back from injury they still pushed with the same intensity but were repeatedly denied by whatever Dryburgh could throw in the way of the ball.

In the final 10 minutes of the game, Hunter rifled a free-kick through the wall, before Boyle and Adams added finishes from close range; but ultimately those goals did an injustice to the overall display from Dryburgh Athletic, who defended with more vigour and application than a fair few semi-professional sides have at Meadowbank this year.

Player of the Match Zoe MacLean

Above: Drybugh goalkeeper MacLean Photo: @DryburghAthW on X

It’s difficult to sum up Maclean’s performance for the people unlucky enough not to witness it. While there is no official stat line, she must have been close to if not into double figures in terms of saves made. Her positioning, movement and strength were all that of a much higher level than she’s currently playing. These shots were powerful and well-placed efforts from league winners, and the torrential Scottish rain can’t have made the ball easier to handle.

While Maclean remains a Championship player for the moment, I wouldn’t be surprised if she finds herself in the SWPL or SWPL2 soon. Based on this display, she would barely have looked out of place starting in goal for any of the teams that Hibs come up against in the top tier of Scottish football.

Where this leaves the teams

There were positive signs for the Hibees in terms of injury returns, with Caley Gibb’s start confirming her full fitness. Eilidh Adams’ 20-minute spell finally signalled the return of an out-and-out striker. Scarlett Herron got another 90 minutes of valuable experience under her belt, as it looks like she’ll be continuing at centre back for the foreseeable with Linzi Taylor still missing.

Advancing to the next stage of the cup was always going to be the Edinburgh side’s main aim, and achieving this whilst giving all seven goal scorers confidence in front of goal is an added bonus for Grant Scott.

Before the game, Dryburgh Athletic called this the biggest game in their history, and the performance certainly matched this. Holding the SWPL champions to seven goals might not seem impressive, but this a prolific attacking unit which regular puts five or more goals past SWPL sides, and beat current seventh placed Motherwell 9-0 earlier this year.

The gaps between leagues are huge, with the training and preparation of either side unrecognisably different. Dryburgh had a plan, went out there and made the travelling fans – which outnumbered some SWPL clubs at Meadowbank, ever so proud. While Zoe MacLean was incredible, it was a full 16-player defensive effort, and they showed what Dryburgh Athletic are all about.

Teams: HIBERNIAN (4-2-3-1): Armitage, Doran-Barr, Hunter, Herron, Gibb, Notley, Boyle (c), Morrison, Boughton, Livingstone, Burchill. Substitutes: Papadopoulos (for Gibb 46’), Bowie (for Livingstone 46’), Ramsey (for Boughton 62’), I Taylor (for Burchill 62’), Adams (for Morrison 70’).

Scorers: 1-0 Burchill 19’, 2-0 Herron 30’, 3-0 Livingstone 43’ 4-0 Ramsey 63’, 5-0 Hunter 82’, 6-0 Boyle 87’, 7-0 Adams 90’.

DRYBURGH ATHLETIC (4-3-3): MacLean, Delworth, Hassett, Kelly, Martindale, Dailly, Robbie (c), Fraser, Laing, Christie, Lawson. Substitutes: Scobie (for Christie 51’), Lonie (for Lawson 62’), Burns (for Dailly 62’), Watt (for Kelly 86’), Coutts (for Fraser 86’).

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Mariners score four past Jets

Central Coast Mariners 4-1 Newcastle Jets

By Emma Burke 7/12/25

Above: Central Coast Mariners. Photo: A-Leagues.

Central Coast Mariners have served Newcastle Jets their first loss of the season, beating them 4-1 in the F3 Derby at Polytec Stadium.

Despite the Jets opening early and against the run of play through Lauren Allen, assisted by Alexis Collins, the Jets were unable to withstand the force of the Mariners. 

It was Annalise Rasmussen, an Academy graduate, who found an equaliser towards the end of the first half, breaking a three game goalless streak for the side.

Rasmussen had kept a level head throughout the half after being called offside multiple times, and was finally rewarded with a goal, scored on the end of a cross from Peta Trimis.

The Mariners waited until late into the second half to truly demolish the visiting Jets, scoring three goals in the space of just 12 minutes.

Rasmussen ended her shift for the evening with a brace, scoring again, this time assisted by an Isabel Gomez pass that broke through the Jets’ lines.

It was Rasmussen’s replacement in Tamar Levin who found the back of the net for the first time in a Central Coast shirt. 

Levin’s shot was fired in from outside the box, well out of the reach of Jets’ Kiwi keeper Anna Leat. 

The final nail in the coffin for the Jets came at the right-foot of 17-year-old Eliza Familton, who also made her debut for the Central Coast.

While the game was an overwhelming success for Central Coast, they may now have an injury concern for their starting keeper, Sarah Langman, who went down late in the second half, clutching her right knee. 

Langman received treatment on the pitch, with her knee being heavily strapped, but was unable to continue playing only a few passages of play later, which saw Annalie Grove make her first appearance for the Mariners between the sticks.

Central Coast Mariners (4-4-2): Langman, Baumann, King, Barwick-Grey, Martin, Coco-Di Sipio, Quilligan, Kraszula, Trimis, Rasmussen, Gomez Substitutes: Grove, Levin, Prakash, Clough, Buchanan, Familton

Scorers: Rasmussen 42’, 71’, Levin 78’, Familton 84’

Newcastle Jets (3-1-4-2): Leat, Wilson, Prior, Cicco, Davis, Copus-Brown, Dundas, L. Allen, J. Allen, Collins, Ayres Substitutes: Ritchie, Karipidis, Adams, Breier, Page, Johnson

Scorers: L. Allan 22’ 


Referee: Sophie Allum

Attendance: 328.

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Roar’s attack purring in defeat of Adelaide United

Adelaide United 1-3 Brisbane Roar

By Kieran Yap 7/12/25

Above: Bente Jansen (L) Photo: Brisbane Roar.

Brisbane Roar gained a valuable three points on the road against Adelaide United. Bente Jansen’s brace and a sparkling display by Kiera Myers was enough to secure a 3-1 win against Adelaide United.

Alex Smith’s Roar travelled to Cooper’s stadium for their first outing in three weeks. A bye and a postponement meant that their last game was on the 16th of November, and they were looking to bounce back from that 1-0 defeat to Western Sydney.

Adelaide United had a similar gap between games, but were aiming to sustain momentum from a win against Canberra United almost a month ago.

Brisbane started the strongest of the sides. They fielded a very attacking lineup, with Tameka Yallop, Jansen, Sharn Freier, Grace Kuilamu and Meyers all starting, but they defended from the front. The Roar pressed Adelaide aggressively and any ball that got out the back was mopped up and returned by Momo Hayashi or Alicia Woods.

Adelaide’s midfield of Adriana and Melissa Taranto and Emily Condon, struggled to maintain possession or move the ball forward in the  opening stages. The game was largely being played in Brisbane’s attacking third and Meyers’s tricky footwork created the first real chance of the game, but her cross was blocked.

Despite Brisbane’s early dominance, the home side almost took the lead. Chelsie Dawber’s cross was whipped in dangerously but Melissa Taranto’s outstretched effort was centimetres away from connecting.

Brisbane’s attack finally delivered the opening goal though and it was Grace Kuilamu who broke the deadlock. The young striker calmly finished off Aimee Medwin’s cross from the left to make it 1-0 in the 29th minute.

Brisbane’s strong start was challenged by an apparent hamstring injury to captain and star playmaker Tameka Yallop. The Matildas midfielder pulled up short as she chased a ball towards goal. She punched the turf in frustration and was replaced by Kijah Stephenson.

The injury might have dampened the mood, but not Roar’s momentum. Another flowing passing move found Sharn Freier in space, and another cross from the left ended up in a goal. This time is was Jansen who nodded back across goal to double the advantage.

Adelaide United grew into the game in the second half and pulled one back in spectacular style. After winning the ball back in attack, Dawber’s clever flick put Erin Healy infront of goal, but still with three defenders and 18 yards between her and scoring.

The shot was almost unsavable from the Ireland international. She rocketed the ball beyond Chloe Lincoln before the goalkeeper or her defenders could ready for the strike. It was 2-1 and Adelaide had their spark back.

Another attack from the home side looked like it could be one of the goals of the season. An excellent passing move that began with Holly Murray at the left of defence and ended up with Isabel Hodgson crossing from the right deserved a goal, but Hayashi was ready to clear and deny Adelaide an equaliser.

Even without Yallop, Brisbane’s attack still looked deadly when given the chance and with Adelaide searching for a second, they left themselves exposed to counter attacks through the pace of Kuilamu or Freier.

Kuilamu’s through ball, put Jansen into space and she raced in on goal, although Claudia Jenkins did well to block the initial shot at close range, Jansen was able to scramble home the rebound the effectively seal the result with just over 20 minutes to play.

The Dutch forward almost had a hat trick when Hayashi pushed forward to play her in on goal, but her finish was uncharacteristically off target. Despite that missed chance, Brisbane were able to hold out Adelaide to record a 3-1 win and climb to the top of the table with games in hand over both Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC.

Next up for the Roar is a potentially tricky visit to face and unpredictable Newcastle. Adelaide United will head to Melbourne where Victory await.

Lineups: Adelaide United (4-2-1-3): Jenkins, I Hodgson, McNamara, Murray, Tonkin, M Taranto, A Taranto, Condon, Dawber, Healy, Worts. Substitutes: Rossi, E Hodson, Zois, Murray, Millar, Tolland.

Goals: Healy 51’

Brisbane Roar (4-1-4-1): Lincoln, Millar, Hayashi, Varley, Medwin, Woods, Freier, Yallop, Jansen, Meyers, Kuilamu. Substitutes: Stepehenson, Studer, Kruger, Franco, Kinsella, Piazza.

Goals: Kuilamu 29’ Jansen 45’ 67’

Referee: Caitlin Williams.

Attendance: 4,004.

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Action packed Sydney derby sees spoils shared

Western Sydney Wanderers 0-0 Sydney FC

by Callum Logie (7/12/25)

Above: Western Sydney Wanderers’ Amy Chessari (hoops) battles for possession with Mackenzie Hawkesby today at Marconi Stadium. Photo: Sydney FC.

Marconi Stadium hosted the Sydney derby which saw a lot of action on the field, but neither team was able to get the deciding goal as they split the points.

An overcast but pleasant day in Western Sydney hosted the derby between two sides with different aspirations coming into it. Sydney FC were looking to remain undefeated and move up to the top of the table while the Wanderers were looking to propel up the table with their second win of the season.

Sydney FC started out with a very young back line, with 14 year-old Willa Pearson and 16 year-old Rubi Sullivan getting starts, with fellow teenager Amelia Cassar getting the start in the front three. Chinese International Yuan Cong got the start up front for the Wanderers, who came out in a positive shape seeing both Holly Caspers and Kim So-Eun in the starting eleven.

The first five minutes were rather tentative, with both teams looking to feel each other out and get stuck in defensively. Western Sydney controlled the majority of the possession and territory during the start, but the defensive line of Sydney FC, lead by Kirsty Fenton, held firm.

The first meaningful chance came from Riley Tanner. Western Sydney lost possession after an errant pass from Amy Harrison and Mackenzie Hawkesby leaped into possession and played a clever ball through to Tanner. It arrived awkwardly to the wide forward and her effort on goal was competently collected by Sham Khamis.

On the other end almost immediately after, some determined aerial play from Yuan released Harrison for a driven shot at Tiahna Robertson. Robertson proved equal to the effort and collected the ball on the second effort.

There was no shortage of goalmouth action within the three minutes after the ten minute mark, with Mackenzie Hawkesby drifting wide and setting up a curled shot from Madeleine Caspers. Caspers strike was well directed but saved well by Khamis, and Cassar’s subsequent effort was deflected behind for a corner.

The midfield battle in particular was very interesting to watch, with Harrison, both Caspers sisters, and Bianca Galic all looking to create chances in what was a rather narrow gameplan from each team early on.

At 15 minutes, Hawkesby struck a snapshot half volley after an aerial battle was won by Sydney. While a nice display of ingenuity from the forward, the shot was straight at Khamis who looked in good form to start the first half.

The Wanderers tweaked their game plan early, focusing up the left wing and looking to create with Holly Caspers. The focus was testing Pearson and Fenton in the middle with the aerial threat of Yuan who was winning her fair share of battles in the air.

A breakaway forward set up by nice hold up play from Cong allowed Kim space to break forward, she played a gentle ball across to Holly Caspers who took a shot after taking a touch, but the effort was deflected for another corner. The middle third of the first half was controlled by Western Sydney.

Yuan and Kim combined well on a few occasions in the first half, Cong consistently looking to test the centre backs physically and the creativity of Kim complementing the target forward well.

Yuan’s hold-up play created another chance for the hosts, with Harrison taking a shot from around 20 yards but directing it high and wide, not getting the best connection with her shot.

Hawkesby won a free kick in a dangerous position, well within shooting territory for Sarah Hunter. Hunter did take a curled shot around the wall but it was too close to Khamis who was able to collect the shot at the first time of asking.

Just before half-time, Yuan found herself open from eight yards out for a free header at goal after a good run forward and cross from Ella Buchanan. The shot was just slightly wide of Robertson’s post but it was the closest either team got to opening the scoring in the first half.

Tanner and Hawkesby combined to create a great chance for Caley Tallon-Henniker in the 49th minute, but Khamis charged out to close the angle and made the save to keep the game even at 0-0. Despite the lack of scoring, there was quite an engaging flow of play in this derby.

In the 55th minute, the visitors created a terrific chance. Galic broke forward and set up Hawkesby from just behind the penalty spot. Unfortunately for the forward, her effort was driven over the bar and the scores remained even.

A couple of minutes later, some good passing between Tanner and Galic set up another great chance, this time for Maddy Caspers. Her left foot effort was driven wide of the goal, but Sydney were consistently knocking on the door in the second half.

Robertson nearly conceded the first goal of the game as she played a misdirected pass into the path of substitute Talia Younis who immediately slid the ball across to Yuan. Robertson remarkably got back to her spot in time to make the save from the effort and Sullivan was able to clear from danger as there was an injury stoppage for Robertson, who was able to continue after receiving some treatment for a cut to the head.

Younis drove a shot wide after some clever build-up play from Yuan and Holly Caspers. Yuan took another shot a couple of moments later but was unable to direct it on target. 

The Wanderers once again created a chance after a poor pass from Maddy Caspers directly played in Talia Younis, but Tiahna Robertson charged down and made the save to keep the game even at 80 minutes.

Western Sydney continued to press and push forward, not content with settling for the draw. Some determined forward play led to an excellent shot from the edge of the box from substitute Alyssa Ng-Saad which was denied by an outstretched Robertson who put on a heroic performance in the second half.

In stoppage time, Hana Lowry in her first game in over a year took a shot from the edge of the box that was driven over the bar. It would have been a fairytale return for the midfielder after such a long rehabilitation, but it was not to be.

In an action-packed derby game, both goalkeepers put up great performances to keep clean sheets and mark what may have been the most exciting 0-0 draw of the season. Sydney FC remained undefeated but Western Sydney Wanderers ended their 6 game losing streak in Sydney derbies.

Teams: WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS (4-2-3-1): Khamis, Matos, Cerne, Hooks, Buchanan, Chessari, Harada, Harrison, Kim, Caspers, Yuan. Substitutes: Edwards, Khoshaba, Ng-Saad, Price, Wang, Younis.

SYDNEY FC (4-3-3): Robertson, Lemon, Pearson, Fenton, Sullivan, Kaspers, Hunter, Galic, Tanner, Hawkesby, Cassar. Substitutes: Ayson, Halmarick, Lowry, Oppedisano, Ulkekul, Tallon-Henniker.

Referee: Isabella Mossin.

Attendance: 1,348.

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City steals the points with a late Stott strike

Melbourne City 1-0 Wellington Phoenix

By Alice de Koster-Kitto 7/12/25

Above: Melbourne City celebrates their late winning goal. Photo: Tilly McDonald for Impetus.

Melbourne City have taken the points against Wellington Phoenix, in an intense end-to-end battle at ctrl:cyber Pitch. The match went scoreless for the majority of play, with the Nix looking to be the more likely to take the points until City’s late winner .

The match-up has historically been a difficult one for Wellington Phoenix, having never beaten Melbourne City across their six meetings; however, they did come in with an added benefit, having just come off their first-ever win against Melbourne Victory.

Melbourne City dominated at the start, maintaining their possession-based style of play, but Wellington put up a good fight, making some good interceptions early on.

It was quite a physical match, with City earning a free kick within the first few minutes, following a foul on Holly McNamara by CJ Bott, who wore the armband for Phoenix.

Nepalese international Samba was a standout for the Nix, getting forward and pushing through City’s defence, as the national team’s top scorer searched for her debut Wellington goal, although her chances were intercepted.

The end-to-end action remained, with the intensity of the match only growing as the first half stoppage approached. Both sides had a strong attack and plenty of opportunity, but none that were particularly close or significant. Melbourne continued to hold the possession. However , Wellington’s efforts to capitalise on the possession they managed to take presented danger for the hosts

A pass from Brooke Nunn outside the box almost gave the Nix the lead; however, the shot that attempted to find CJ Bott was slightly too wide to reach the goal, or the captain’s foot.

The pressure from the visitors eased slightly toward the break as Melbourne City looked to respond to their chances. Aideen Keane got dangerously close to tapping the ball into the net, as a deflection from the Nix keeper Aimee Feinberg-Danieli was sent straight to her foot in close range.

As the first half stoppage approached, it seemed increasingly likely that if a goal was to be found in this half, it would come from Wellington Phoenix, with Samba and Nunn continuing to get forward, while the backline held City’s notorious attack back, disallowing any opportunities to reach the net.

The match remained lively and aggressive, with Shelby McMahon being shown a yellow card for a foul on van Der Meer, at the top of 2 minutes of additional time. An excellent effort from Grace Jale almost gave Wellington a last-minute lead, as the ball bounced off the crossbar.  Despite the energy, there were no goals to be found, and the stalemate remained at the break.

The Phoenix opened the second half as the dominant side, with Jale immediately taking a long strike from distance. An excellent save from Malena Mieres saved City from conceding the first goal of the match as Manaia Eliott had a close shot on target following a pass from Nunn.

In a concerning turn for an already injury-stricken Nix side, Samba was taken off following what seemed to be an ankle injury, replaced by Emma Main.

While things were fairly even during the first half, with Wellington taking the dominance towards the end, there was a significant lack of chances from Melbourne City throughout the second half, as they continued to take an uncharacteristically passive role on the pitch.

The 71st minute saw Lucia Leon make her much-awaited Wellington Phoenix debut, coming on for Lara Wall, in hopes the former Adelaide United player could bring the impact the Nix need to complete one of their string of chances and take home the points as stoppage approached. 

Emma Maine got extremely close to opening the scoring following a pass from Brooke Nunn, shooting wide of the goal while holding back Laura Hughes, but the ball bounced off the post, and the goal was denied. 

The scoring was opened by Melbourne City, as Taylor Otto combined with Rebekah Stott, who headed the ball into the net in close range. Despite the Nix’s heavy dominance, it looked as though the hosts would take the lead in the 86th minute.

Wellington desperately searched for an equaliser during six minutes of added time, wanting to capitalise on the significant chances, after dominating throughout the second half.

Despite efforts at both ends, there were no more goals to be found, and the score remained 1-0 to Melbourne City, in an unexpected turn to one of the most contentious meetings of the season thus far.

Round Seven will see Wellington Phoenix head to Sam Kerr Football Centre to take on Perth Glory, while Melbourne City will face Canberra United at McKellar Park.

Teams: MELBOURNE CITY (4-4-2): Mieres, Apostolakis, Stott, Otto, Turner, Keane, Davidosn, Hughes, McMahon, McNamara, McKenna. Substitutes: Barbieri, Wilson, Roestbakken, Uchendu, Jackson, Butrus.

Scorer: Stott 87’.

WELLINGTON PHOENIX (4-4-2): Feinberg-Danieli, Walker, Barry, van der Meer, Wall, Elliott, Bott, Jale, Vlok, Bhandari, Nunn. Substitutes: Main, Brazendale, Leon, Neary, Benson, Bartlett.

Referee: Shab Roshan.

Attendance: 619.

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Canberra upset wasteful ladder leaders

Melbourne Victory 1-3 Canberra United.

by Alyce Collett (5/12/25)

Above: Canberra United celebrate after scoring one of their three goals against Melbourne Victory. Photo: via A Leagues.

Canberra United has caused quite the upset to open the weekend’s A-League Women’s action, downing the ladder leading Melbourne Victory 3-1 for the first time away from home since 2016.

The Victory had more chances than their visitors to score but just could not make the most of them, whereas Canberra did make the most of its chances once it got going. A goal to Kennedy White was eventually cancelled out by a goal from Nanako Sasaki, and then Canberra added to its lead in the second half with a goal from Sasha Grove and an own goal from Kayla Morrison.

The initial moments of the match were at times chaotic, with the ball bouncing all over the place in an unsettled fashion, and clean passes hard to come by.

Victory did not take too long to score – not even five minutes – after a well placed Holly Furphy cross connected with White in the box, who helped it over the line.

After things started to settle down a bit, the game started to pan out in a similar way to the first half of Victory’s match against Perth last weekend.

Every time Victory went into attack they would have so many more players in useful positions to try and progress the attacking play than Canberra did when trying to do the same thing. Rachel Lowe in particular was playing a pivotal role in the centre of the park and playing as a pivot point that could open up the angles for Victory.

However, as little chances that Canberra was having in comparison to the home side, the visitors did eventually make the most of one of them and level up proceedings. After a good pass into the box from Hayley Taylor-Young, the ball bounced around several times and off several different players before eventually deflecting off Sasaki and into the back of the net.

Sasaki’s goal really evened up proceedings, with Canberra improving its tightness of defending, particularly on the counter.

Grove was doing a lot of running for the visitors from right back and was almost playing a wing back-esque role with how high into attack she was getting, while the likes of Sienna Dale were doing a lot of the grunt work through the middle and setting up the attacking chances alongside the likes of Taylor-Young.

Neither side was able to add to their score before the half time whistle, but it did leave the match poised for a potentially very interesting second half.

The second half started in a very different way to the first half, with a lot calmer ball movement and very even possession between the sides.

Both sides had a number of closer chances early in the second half, but Grove took it upon herself to make one of these chances work, beautifully curling a shot from outside the box into the diagonal top corner of the net to give Canberra the lead.

Despite the scoreline it was in fact Victory who continued to pepper the goals as the half progressed, but as hard as they tried the Victory attackers just could not get past Sally James and the Canberra defence.

Canberra extended its lead even further with just over 10 minutes to go when a well placed cross bounced awkwardly off a retreating Morrison and past Courtney Newbon and into the Victory goal.

Even with the increased margin to make up, the Victory did not stop trying to claw at least one goal back, but the Canberra defence held strong and ensured their side took home the full three points.

Teams: MELBOURNE VICTORY (3-4-1-2): Newbon, Jančevski, Morrison, Maher, Bunge, McMeeken, Sakalis, Pollicina, Lowe, White, Furphy. Substitutes: Ray, O’Grady, Pickett, Curtis, Techera, Woodward.

Scorers: White 4‘

CANBERRA UNITED (3-5-2): James, Anton, Aulicino, Grove, Robers, Taylor-Young, Dale, Bertolissio, Gordon, Sasaki, Heyman. Substitutes: Majstorovic, Wardlow, Hawkins, Stanic-Floody, Christopherson, Malone.

Goals: Sasaki 22’, Grove 55’, Morrison 77’ (OG)

Referee: Rachael Mitchenson.

Attendance: 782.

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Sofia Sakalis, Victory’s in-form forward

By Kieran Yap 5/12/25

Above: Sofia Sakalis breaks free from Julia Sardo of Perth Glory. Photo: Adrian Geremia for Impetus.

Melbourne Victory rediscovered their best football in the 3-0 win over Perth Glory, and with a goal and an assist, Sofia Sakalis was central to that win. The playmaker spoke to the media ahead of Round 6.

Sofia Sakalis has started the A-League season in form. After limited game time in 2024/25, the Melbourne Victory forward has every match of the current season and has been one of her team’s best performers.

Against her old side in Round Five, Sakalis scored Victory’s second  after attacking a Holly Furphy cross at full pace and register her first goal at the club. 

“It’s really good to be on the pitch and alongside the girls week in week out,” Sakalis told the media. 

“Obviously it’s a really strong team, so last season it was a little bit harder to break in but this season I’ve been given an opportunity so it’s been a really good chance to grab it and see what I can do with it.”

Victory is the Melbourne locals third A-League Women club, after debuting for Melbourne City at the age of 15, she became a regular for Perth Glory over two seasons. 

A move to Victory brought her home, but with Victory on a long undefeated run, it was difficult to break into the team. Sakalis’s off-season was don’t at Box Hill United where she was able to work on the aspects of her game that Jeff Hopkins needed, but also lifted the NPLW Championship and was selected for Australia’s successful U23 side at the ASEAN Championships.

“I knew that I needed to get game minutes in the off-season and just kind of focus on the areas that I touched on with Jeff.

“I really honed in on that and then having a good NPL season helped me come in confident and fit as well as going away with the 23’s as well.

All of that together set me up well to come into pre-season and fight for my spot.”

Sakalis is a quick, creative forward with an eye for goal. At Box Hill, she formed part of a duet of 10’s with new Victory arrival Rhianna Pollicina, but had been deployed on the left of attack in the A-League Women. 

Melbourne coach Jeff Hopkins is an obvious admirer of the 23 year old, but wanted her to work on being more direct with the ball, both in dribbling and passing.

“She’s a very very talented player,” said Hopkins, “very technical, but last year that’s what I wanted from her.

“To be honest, she was unlucky last year as well . We were playing some great football, we went on that unbeaten in and players were playing really well ahead of her.”

Sakalis said that she also spent much of the NPLW season working on her defensive attributes. 

“As an attacker, there’s always some defensive attributes that they want you to improve on.

“That was something, in the off season that I drilled into my game.”

The 3-0 win against Glory saw Victory return to the top of the table (for now) but it was also their most convincing display of the season. 

After frustrating results against  Brisbane Roar and Wellington, it looked like things were clicking into place over 90 dominant minutes.  

Sakalis emphasised that it was still very early in the season, but the performance was encouraging for the team. 

“This Perth game really brought everything together, after the Wellington game we looked inwards and  reflected and came together as a group, I think that really showed against Perth.

“We were very relentless and kind of showed what we’re about as a team and hopefully will set a good foundation going forwards.”

After Kennedy White opened the scoring, Sakalis doubled the lead and then teed up Pollicina for a third. 

That  combination has been forged over two seasons together at Box Hill United. Where they played some highly entertaining football that culminated in the club’s first NPLW trophy. 

“It’s obviously been good that I’ve been able to play with her in the off season so we’ve been able to build that chemistry” Sakalis said of her connection with Pollicina. 

“It’s really nice that it’s translated into ALW games.

“A player of that calibre,it’s just inevitable she’s going to make an impact at any club she’s at.

“Just to have her at the club is really special and I really enjoy playing with her week in week out.”

Although she had played across the country and lifted trophies in Bundoora and Vietnam over the last six months, Sakalis is happy to be playing for the club she supported as a child wearing Marco Rojas on her back. 

“Its very special, Melbourne’s my home it always has been.

“Football’s a bit of a roller coaster journey. Sometimes you do have to love away from home and that was a great experience for me.

“Melbourne Victory was a club that I also supported from a very young age. I would always come to the games and wear my jersey. 

“To be back to playing at home and getting minutes is really good and special.”

Melbourne Victory host Canberra United at The Home of The Matildas at 7pm local time. 

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‘They’re coming to our place’- Melbourne Victory prepared to host dangerous Canberra United

By Kieran Yap 4/12/25

Above: Melbourne Victory celebrate a goal against Perth Glory. Photo: Adrian Geremia

Melbourne Victory coach Jeff Hopkins spoke to the media ahead of the Round Five meeting with Canberra United,

Despite a four day turnaround, Melbourne Victory are prepared to host Canberra United on Friday evening. Having defeated Perth Glory on Sunday and Claudia Bunge fresh off a battle with Sam Kerr and Hayley Raso on Tuesday night, Victory coach Jeff Hopkins is optimistc about the star defender’s availability.

“She’s pretty amazing,” Hopkins told the media.

“And she has been in the past (with) backing up from international duty.

“We’ll see what she’s like and make a decision from there.”

In Bunge’s absence, Victory opted for Laura Pickett to partner Kayla Morrison at centre back. The pair were helped by an outstanding performance from Zoe McMeeken and a typically controlling Grace Maher display.

Victory’s defensive stocks were further enhanced with the return of Taylor Ray. The midfielder made her first appearance for her new club and her first A-League Women minutes since she won the Grand Final last season.

“She’s fine to play more minutes if needed,” Hopkins said of the highly rated recruit.

“Obviously now for her it’s about getting back in the side.

“And for the player in the side to make it as hard as they possibly can for her by carrying on the performances close to where they were last week or better.”

Ray’s availability gives Hopkins a problem any coach would be envious of. The trio of Maher, Rhianna Pollicina and Rachel Lowe have connected instantly, and he insists that he could “easily” find a system and fits both Maher and Ray into the starting XI.

“It becomes a nice problem for me to have that I’ll have 20 player pushing really hard  every day in training and the players that perform on the weekend and best through the week get to play.”

The 3-0 win against Perth Glory was perhaps Victory’s most convincing game of the season so far. Kennedy White found the net for a fifth time in four games and Pollicina scored her second of the season, with Sofia Sakalis adding and assist while bringing up her first goal for the club.

Despite not scoring for the second half, Victory continued to create chances through various routes and players. The half time lead also gave Hopkins the chance to rest players and manage his team, while getting minutes into the likes of Ray and Jessica Young.

“That’s probably the thing that pleased me the most,” Hopkins reflected

“How we were able to create chances, how we were able to be patient when we needed to be patient, go forward quickly when they did allow us to do that, and the way we mixed out game up which never really allowed Perth Glory to get into any kind of rhythm or work out how we were trying to do things.”

A player who had a large influence on Victory’s dominance was Maher. The A-League Women fan favourite returned to Victory having played two seasons at centre back for Western United and an outstanding campaign in midfield with The Essendon Royals in Victoria’s NPLW.

In her second stint at the club, she appears to be an almost complete player and ideally suited to Victory’s method of controlling games.

Maher can deliver killer passes in the final third, start attacks from deep or intercept opposition movement in the midfield. While last season saw Sara D’appolonia as the ball winner and Alana Murphy as the deep playmaker, Maher is both at once.

Against Perth, she was influential despite being carefully marked. In last weekend’s post-match press conference, Hopkins said that Perth’s pressing game determined how Maher would involve herself.

“We weren’t sure how they were going to press us, we had a number of ways of trying to attract the pressure a little bit. One of those was to play alongside Kayla… to drop into the back four.

“The way that they were trying to press us dictated her position a little bit.”

Looking ahead to Friday evening, Canberra present another challenge. But Hopkins believes that Victory are well prepared to meet it.

“Canberra always give us a tough game. they’re a really organized side with the coach that they’ve got and they’re very competitive. They play quite a physical game and they’re reasonably direct and obviously with Michelle Heyman at one end, they’ve got a player in her that can finish things off.”

“They’re a decent side this year, but we’ve had a look at them and we’ve worked defensively on things that we can do, but most of todays session was about us and how we can break them down.

“They’re coming to our place. We’re going to make it really hard for them. We’re not going to let them settle, we’re going to be at them right from the word go.”

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Impetus A-League Women Awards: November 2025

3/12/25

Above: Michelle Heyman (white shirt) in action for Canberra United at Wellington Phoenix this season. Photo: Ryan Imray for Impetus.

Impetus’ team of writers and photographers covering the A-League Women this season have joined together to select their Player, Young Player (aged 21 and under), and Head Coach of the Month for November. Here are our choices in each category.

Player of the Month:
Michelle Heyman (Canberra United)

Michelle Heyman has scored twice and assisted in two others over the first month of football.

In terms of pure involvement she still sits behind Melbourne Victory’s Kennedy White, but has still been one of the most entertaining and dangerous strikers in the league so far.

Even at 37 years old, there remains no obvious defensive match for Heyman. She still has her  acceleration and pace, and her instincts around goal have seen her make a big impact for a new-look Canberra United with less attacking threats than last year.

Even without being flanked by Aideen Keane or Maja Markovski and with Canberra still learning their best on-field combinations, Heyman’s standards and output have not dropped.

She might seem an obvious choice for Player of the Month, but as a fandom, we should not be getting used to how consistent and effective she is.

New season, same story. Michelle Heyman remains elite.

Young Player of the Month:
Pia Vlok (Wellington Phoenix)
Above: Pia Vlok (yellow and black stripes) in action during Wellington Phoenix’s impressive victory over Melbourne Victory. Photo: Ryan Imray for Impetus..

Pia Vlok made her professional debut coming off the bench in the 85th minute in the Wellington Phoenix’s opening game of the season, a 1-1 draw against Canberra United. Whilst only on the pitch for a short spell, she made a significant impact which earned her a starting debut a week later against Newcastle Jets.

Four minutes into that game, she got her first assist of her professional career when playing in Brooke Nunn who opened the scoring in the match.

She had a historic impact was in the 1-0 win against Melbourne Victory just before the international break. Vlok started the game and played her first full 90 minutes, scoring the winning goal. Not only was it the 17-year-old’s first of her professional career, but it earned her the record of being the club’s youngest ever goal scorer as well as ensuring that the Phoenix gain their first ever win over Victory at the eighth time of asking and maintain their unbeaten start to the season.

Head Coach of the Month:
Stephen Hoyle (Newcastle Jets)
Above: Stephen Hoyle imparts information during Newcastle Jets trip to Wellington Phoenix. Photo: Ryan Imray for Impetus.

It’s been an outstanding start to Stephen Hoyle’s tenure at Newcastle Jets with the English-born head coach guiding his side to second place on the ladder after an unbeaten first three matches.

After an excellent opening round win at McKellar Park, the Jets came away from Wellington after the bye with a point before defeating Western Sydney Wanderers last time out in their first home match in front of just under 1,500 fans.

Whilst Hoyle is a native of the Yorkshire mining town of Barnsley, a location that is also home to Perth Glory captain Izzy Dalton, the Jets boss has been coaching in New Zealand for the last decade, including a spell with the Football Ferns’ U17’s side.

Hoyle has injected real confidence and tactical nous into his side this season, shown with an ability to gain points at two tough away venues. This, on top of their big fervent home support gives the Jets a real shout at pushing towards Finals come the end of the season.

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