Jets Take All The Glory

Perth Glory 0–4 Newcastle Jets

By Kris Goman.

Above: The looks on the faces of Perth Glory goalkeeper Lily Alfeld plus defenders Sarah Carroll and Deborah-Ann De La Harpe speak volumes. Photo: Tom McCarthy.

After the weekend of upsets, who knows what to expect from this game. We’re at Dorrien Gardens to watch this bottom of the table match. On paper you’d have to put your money on the Jets but it has been a strange weekend.

Glory kick off. The first ten minutes sees Perth with the bulk of possession but unable to get out of their defensive half very often due to the Jets’ continued high press.

Newcastle get one long range strike on goal that goes wide before Glory construct an attack from the left. Taneesha Baker gets the ball in the box on the full and high but she can’t control the volley and it’s headed away before she can strike.

Liz Anton gets a yellow for a foul tackle on Lauren Allen. Taren King takes the free kick and sends it cross field to Tiana Jaber. She lobs it into the box and Allen runs onto it in free space with just Lily Alfeld to beat in the Perth goal. The keeper blocks the shot but Allen still has possession and gets past on the left in front of the open goal. The defence recover by the time she has it under control and it goes back to the right to Tara Andrews, whose shot is blocked. It rebounds and is scooped up by Alfeld. How the Jets didn’t score then is not clear but the Glory did a great job of scrambling their defence.

Sunny Franco took a nice run down the left that was looking dangerous until Sarah Carroll cleared out with a magnificent sliding tackle.

From a goal clearance, it comes to Hana Lowry who puts a lovely ball out to Caitlin Doeglas on the left wing. She brings it in but her shot is deflected out by Tessa Tamplin into the left side of the net.

Above: Caitlin Doeglas gets a shot away with Tessa Tamplin in pursuit. Photo: Tom McCarthy.

Shortly after, Andrews releases Franco again and she’s off down the left towards an unobstructed goal with only the keeper to beat. Her shot just dribbles towards Alfeld and she must have topped the ball or something as it presented no challenge to Alfeld at all. Another chance goes begging for the Jets.

At 24 minutes in, Cassidy Davis takes a power shot from the top of the box. Alfeld nearly gets a hand to it and it hits the crossbar. It bounces down and then back up and hits the crossbar again before it’s cleared by the Glory. The ref declares it’s not a goal despite the Jets protests. There’s no cameras to say otherwise. Jets have been very unlucky not to score three times so far.

A corner for the Jets also results in a scramble in front of goal that is eventually bundled up by Alfeld.

Finally, at 28 minutes the ball is stolen from the Glory. Andrews sends the ball out to the right to Allen who crosses it back in to Rhianna Pollicina who gets a clean jab at it to send it past Alfeld’s outstretched arms for a long deserved Newcastle goal.

Franco and Deborah-Ann De La Harpe are starting to get a bit pushy with each other after De La Harpe got away with pushing Franco over earlier. Franco is clearly out for revenge and it’s starting to get interesting. Soon after, Jaber comes in from behind and knocks over Alexia Moreno. De La Harpe pushes away Pollicina who’s checking she is OK.

Above: Alexia Moreno (10) and Hannah Brewer get in a tangle. Photo: Tom McCarthy.

Seconds later Chloe O’Brien slams Lowry to the ground then immediately after, Moreno takes down Jaber with a sliding tackle. She finally gets a yellow for that but it looks like tempers are flaring right now. Someone will get sent off soon if this continues.

At 36 minutes, a ball comes through on the right for Franco who’s been staying high. She takes one touch then slams it past the keeper. No mistakes here at all and Franco gets her first goal of the season for Newcastle.

Just before half time, the Jets get a corner which is taken short. It goes to O’Brien then back to Pollicina who lobs it to Andrews. She heads towards goal but it’s tipped over the crossbar by Alfeld in a very close call.

In the second half, Jets kick off and we’re back into the Glory’s defensive half which is where all the territory has been. Tamplin delivers a ball from the right into the box. Marianna Tabain tries to kick it away but she shanks it and it bounces with considerable spin, right in front of Franco who heads it past Alfeld for her second and Jets third goal.

Above: Lily Alfeld looks to gather the ball for Perth Glory. Photo: Tom McCarthy.

A little later, Doeglas takes the ball down the left flank for Glory. Malia Steinmetz, who came on at half-time, connects with her cross and slams it towards the bottom right corner. A heroic dive by Claire Coelho saves it from going in and it’s cleared successfully.

Glory seem to be stepping up their attack a bit now and Moreno gets a ball back to Lowry who takes a crack just outside the box on the right. It goes over the crossbar but Perth are finally showing a bit more spunk.

The last fifteen minutes have felt a lot more even with the ball up and down the field and both teams getting reasonable possession. There’s been a couple of runs onto each box but nothing particularly threatening. Perth are doing better than before in this half despite the early goal.

There’s another tussle and Jaber knocks Tash Rigby to the ground. She gets up and joins in again and this time Franco pushes her over. Glory gets the decision. Rigby isn’t happy about there being no card given but walks away before she says something she regrets.

At 75 minutes, Bass replaces Franco so she won’t get the opportunity for a hat-trick – or a red card.

A lob towards goal by Anton from quite a way out is fumbled by Coelho. She eventually gathers it but sub Jamie-Lee Gale is right there but she can’t kick it without hurting Coelho.

Above: Liz Anton on a late run for Perth Glory. Photo: Tom McCarthy

Patricia Charalambous weaves a ball through the centre and sends a lovely pass out to the left to Doeglas but her cross back fails to connect with anyone.

It’s straight back the other end and Sophie Harding takes a shot that goes across the face of goal and out on the right.

At 82 minutes, Coelho sends a very long ball down field. It bounces over Glory’s last line of defence and is picked up by Harding. The defence have recovered but it bounced across to Allen in the middle of the box. She takes control and rolls it past Alfeld and it’s in for the Jets fourth goal.

Newcastle haven’t looked as dangerous this half but they’ve taken their chances when they’ve been presented and this was a case of that.

In a last ditch attempt, Rigby brings the ball down the left. Her looping cross is too high for Charalambous to connect with despite a big jump.

Above: Tijan McKenna (far left) tries to take evasive action from her airborne team-mate Tash Rigby. Photo: Tom McCarthy.

There’s three minutes of extra time. Lowry gets a cross over to Charalambous who’s positioned by the left post. Her kick goes across the face of goal and no one else is there to tap it in.

The match ends with Newcastle deserving the win despite a second half rally by Glory and it sends the Jets ahead of Melbourne City on the table. Neither of these teams will be in contention for the finals but they both are still trying to move up the table.

Sunny Franco got player of the match with her two goals.

Teams: PERTH GLORY: Alfeld, De La Harpe, Rigby, Carroll, Anton, Tabain, Baker, McKenna, Lowry, Doeglas, Moreno. Substitutes: Bennett (GK), Gale, Morgan, Steinmetz, Charalambous.

NEWCASTLE JETS: Coelho, Tamplin, Jaber, King, Brewer, Davis, O’Brien, Pollicina, Andrews, Allan, Franco. Substitutes: Simonsen (GK), Bass, Petratos, Harding.

Scorers: Pollicina 29. Franco 36, 47. Allen 83.

Referee: Rachel Mitchenson.

Attendance: 310.

 PWDLFAPtsGD
Sydney FC10802241024+14
Brisbane Roar10541221019+12
Adelaide United10613171319+3
Melbourne Victory9522171217+5
Canberra United9432171415+3
Western Sydney Wanderers1031681810-9
Newcastle Jets921614167-2
Melbourne City81167184-11
Perth Glory70154191-15

Top four sides qualify for the finals at the end of the regular season.

Impetus’ coverage of Australian Women’s Football is supported by The Chicken Salt Co. They are offering every Impetus reader 5% off all orders of Chicken Salt from their website. Go to https://www.chickensalt.co.uk/?mate=impetus and place your order – 5% will automatically be taken off of the cost. The coupon code is impetus.

Artwork: Graphics by PW.

Marking #IWD2021 With Wroxham Women

To launch a whole week of special features on Impetus to mark International Women’s Day, Ben Gilby spoke to Kate Pasque, Cyan Fullbrook and Rhianne Brister from our partner club, Wroxham Women about what International Women’s Day means to them, their impressions on the treatment of women in the sport and the importance of role models because “you can’t be what you can’t see.”

What does International Women’s Day mean to you?

KATE PASQUE: International Women’s Day is a really powerful day where experiences and stories are shared and everybody comes together to drive forward the need for equality. For me, it’s an important day to reflect on how proud I am to be a woman and also acknowledge how grateful I am to all of the incredible women that have had a big impact on my life.

CYAN FULLBROOK: International Women’s Day is an opportunity to honour the women who have been at the forefront of fighting against gender inequality. It is also a day to reflect on the work that still remains. IWD is a day to continue to highlight discrimination and inequalities in education, economics, sport, and legal rights in society. It has become more important to me as I have got older to learn how I can make changes myself, even small ones like my use of language, calling out questionable behaviour and listening to and supporting other women.

RHIANNE BRISTER: International Women’s Day is a celebration of the progress that has been made in equality for women in history up until now, and an opportunity to highlight ways that we can improve this equality further. It is a great opportunity to put a spotlight on inspirational movements, people and ideas hopefully inspiring young women and girls in the process.

We have heard many cases of derogatory comments being made to prominent female footballing presenters and pundits in recent months. What difficulties have you experienced in pursuing your own footballing careers?

KP: I think I am fortunate that I cannot recall any significant difficulties I’ve had throughout my football career personal directed at me. I think maybe that is to do with being on the pitch so there is the respect between the players on the pitch. I have been involved in games even within the past 2/3 season’s where the opposition’s bench or supporters have used language directed towards our manager or players on the bench to try belittle them purely because they’re a woman. The exact same kind of derogatory comments which have been used towards pundits, which seems to be on a weekly basis at the moment.

CF: I think football in general has a cultural problem with forms of abuse compared to most other sports (where women compete too). We’re still seeing racism, homophobia and sexism in 2021 which is particularly rampant online. It has a trickle-down effect on society which affects both men and women. Calling out and reporting this behaviour is the least we can do. I just hope younger generations are more open minded and educated and one day we really do see it being kicked out.

When I started playing football outside of school (95/96) there were next to no local girls teams so initially I was in a mixed team. Then North Walsham Girls was started up by another players’ mum where we had to borrow the boys’ kit to play in. Finding kit that fits women is still an issue today!

At Primary School the boys would make me play in goal because they all wanted to be the Shearers, Wrights, Giggs etc. Turns out I actually got quite good at it!

In High School I was teased a lot by boys for my sporting ability and innuendos about my sexual orientation as I never presented overtly ‘girly’. I was the only girl who chose football when doing GCSE P.E (at the time I was playing for Norfolk Schools and Norwich City). Once they saw how good I was (getting the same marks as the ‘top’ boy) I was being asked to come play for their teams! I still get nervous when telling men that I play football because this teasing has stuck with me and I worry about their potential comments being hurtful – even though it’s never happened since school!

RB: I would not necessarily say I have got any clear memories of specific situations where I have been on the receiving end of derogatory comments or actions regarding my football, however it has always been the norm to accept that women’s football is not “worth” the same as men’s football (or that of girls and boys too). While growing up, there definitely were more opportunities for boys to progress to a high level of football than girls (in my personal experience) but of course there were far more boys playing football and so more avenues to a high level does correlate. The Wildcats programme is something I am fond of as it gives girls the opportunity to try football out with no pressure or competitive aspect so girls can decide if football could be for them, I had the opportunity to go along to a session last year and this is something I would love to do again.

Above: Kate Pasque of Wroxham Women. Photo: Edward Payne.

There is no doubt that women’s sport is more in the public eye than ever before – but there is still an awful long way to go in terms of equality (the recent furore over girls’ academies not being able to continue during lockdown when boys ones were being a case in point). What do you believe are the priorities in this area to develop further?

KP: It’s obvious there is still a long way to go, football has been seen as a ‘male’ sport for too long. However, I do think it has also come a long way in the last 10 years, which gives me a lot of hope for the next 10 years!

CF: I genuinely cannot understand why, at Academy level, girl’s football has had to stop. Obviously there needs to be more women involved at the decision making stage in the FA. If it’s a case of Government classification of what is ‘elite’ why aren’t we/the FA demanding change?

RB: The key thing for me is to get the public interested in women’s sport to the extent that they will pay to watch in similar numbers to the men’s game. The likelihood of this happening soon is probably small, but we are going in the right direction. The focus on increasing interest, commitment, and therefore ability at a young age is crucial to the progress of women’s football becoming of greater public interest. Reclassification of football as a unisex sport instead of a “boys” sport will enable more girls to feel comfortable enjoying, playing, and watching it.

In terms of equality – what do you believe specifically needs to happen at Wroxham’s own level of the sport, in terms of funding, opportunities, representative football etc?

KP: I think we’re in a really good position at Wroxham. Our chairman Lee and head coach Bex have plans for the club to grow more and more, and are giving us the best opportunities to do this as a team. It’s exciting to think where this club could be in 5 years’ time.

CF: I think if women’s teams are affiliated with the men’s they should get the same opportunities and level of support top down. I have been part of other teams where, although we wore the badge, had next to none of the club support the men’s and boys’ teams have. This includes quality of coaching, facilities, equipment, sponsors/funding and access to medical support.

RB: I feel so lucky to be part of a club that considers the women’s team an integral part, I know not all clubs in our league or at our level nationwide have the same support. Unfortunately, money talks and if there was a greater incentive for men’s teams to afford a greater importance to their female teams the situation would likely improve. It’s also great that we have a club connection with Bure Valley FC and had the opportunity to meet some of the girls last season, looking forward to see lots of them playing for Wroxham Women in the future.

Above: Wroxham Women goalkeeper Cyan Fullbrook. Photo: Rebecca Burton.

The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is #ChooseToChallenge. Who for you are the greatest female role models in terms of those who have in the past, or are presently challenging the status quo?

KP: I would have to say Alex Scott. I got into football a similar kind of time that she was at Arsenal and the career she had there and for England was incredible. Now I turn on the football and see her face on TV every weekend, which I think is so inspirational to young girls playing football right now. Last year I saw she said ‘I want boys and girls to know its normal for women to talk about football’, and I think she’ll be a driving force for that in years to come.

CF: For me, despite not being a fan of Tennis, I’m a fan of Serena Williams. How she’s risen to become one of the greatest athletes ever, pushing through discrimination of gender, race and body shaming has been really empowering as a woman. Winning a Grand Slam while pregnant? Wow. An incredible role model.

I’m also really proud to have Bex Burton as our manager and coach – one of the only women in our league. I’ve been coached by her since joining Acle United and followed on to Wroxham and I have witnessed and heard many derogatory comments towards her over the years from opposition male dominated benches and supporters and I’m always impressed how she handles herself. Not that she should need to! These types of comments hurt not only her, but us women as a whole. I hope she has inspired some women and girls to think about taking up coaching roles and management.

I’m reminded of the Nike advert a few years back ‘Dream crazier’ featuring Serena Williams “When we stand for something, we’re unhinged. When we’re too good, there’s something wrong with us. And if we get angry, we’re hysterical, irrational, or just being crazy.”

“So if they want to call you crazy? Fine, Show them what crazy can do.”

RB: The female scientists of the 18th and 19th centuries, such as Rosalind Franklin, Dorothy Hodgekin and Marie Curie. These women succeeded against the odds in a field that was so prohibitively dominated by men of the noble classes. If we can encourage girls and young women to look up to women who have overcome the challenge of their gender to such a degree, then they will no doubt have better aspirations in all aspects of their lives. I hope that one day overcoming gender bias is not a challenge to succeed in but unfortunately in some areas this is still the case.

In terms of encouraging further change and open minded attitudes, high profile female personalities (in sport) are hugely important. As a child, who did you look up to?

KP: I would have to say Kelly Holmes. I loved watching athletics when I was younger and remember watching the Athens Olympics and thinking she was so driven and determined to reach her goal. When she then opened up about her mental health, this was a time people didn’t raise enough awareness for this and I think she’ll have helped a lot of young athletes by doing so, and is still continuing to now.

CF: I grew up pre-internet, social media and with only four TV channels, so the only occasions I’d see women in sport were either Wimbledon or the Olympics – neither of which I was really interested in. I was more of a pop culture consumer and the women I looked up to at the time were characters like She-Ra and comedians who wrote, produced and starred in their own work like French & Saunders and Victoria Wood. Also in film seeing women in normally male dominated roles – Like Judi Dench’s M, Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley and Jodie Foster’s Clarice. These all had a big impact on me at the time and I felt I could achieve high and be respected as a woman.

As a junior Gunner one of my idols was David Seaman and it never occurred to me that my gender would stop me being as successful and good as he was. Both my parents encouraged me to try all the things I wanted and was never discouraged because I was a girl, so I really thought I could achieve anything with the right support which I still believe today.

RB: I don’t recall having any particular female sportswomen to look up to, but I do remember feeling inspired by the England Women’s football team and Team GB Olympians. Any female sportsperson who had the exposure on television was of interest to me and at one point I did think that I wanted to be an Olympic swimmer one day, turns out I did not fancy the early wake up calls ha-ha!

Above: Rhianne Brister at Wroxham Women’s Trafford Park ground. Photo: Rebecca Burton.

As a footballer at the present time with Wroxham are you aware of the fact that young girls are watching you as a potential role model and hero? What importance do you attach to that?

KP: I think it’s extremely important. Women’s football has grown so much since I first started playing, and I didn’t really have a local women’s team to watch and players to look up to. We all really value our partnership with Bure Valley and want to go along to their training sessions and have them at our games as soon as possible!

CF: I consider this as hugely important especially with our partnership with Bure Valley Youth FC as a pathway to women’s football. I always try and make sure my behaviour on the pitch is as professional as I can be, and where I can, offer support to younger players which I hope can go on to achieve greater things than I have.

I’m really proud we can engage with the younger community and offer our time when needed. I’m not sure I’d be considered anyone’s hero, but if I can inspire and encourage any young girls to take on the goalkeeper role then I’d be really honoured.

RB: I am aware that we can be seen as role models, I am looking to be more conscious of this when football resumes as many of the girls will agree, I can have quite the foul mouth. While becoming a teacher I have become more aware of the impact you can have on a young person and how important it is to aim for that to be positive in all situations. Of course, the heat of the game and the passion I have for this team, my teammates and our club can boil over on occasion, and I am sure some unsavoury language might crop up time and again, but “every day is a school day” and we are constantly working on ourselves as the finished article will never be obtained. 

Wroxham Women play in the Eastern Region Women’s Football League Premier Division (tier five) and it was a pleasure to speak to defender Kate Pasque, goalkeeper Cyan Fullbrook and striker Rhianne Brister.

Artwork: Graphics by PW.

Lime Green Machine Dismantle Roar In Style

Canberra United 4–1 Brisbane Roar

By Ben Gilby

Above: Michelle Heyman (23) celebrates her record equalling goal for Canberra United with team-mate Nikki Flannery. Photo: @CanberraUnited

Canberra United produced arguably the result of the W-League season by demolishing previously unbeaten Brisbane Roar in front of a big crowd at Viking Park.

It was a result that renewed the capital city side’s Finals hopes and came with the added delight of club icon Michelle Heyman scoring a goal which saw her equal Sam Kerr as the W-League’s all-time leading scorer.

The stats going into the game emphasised just what a phenomenal result this was. Canberra United were without a win since 30th January after opening the season with an unbeaten run of five games. This period coincided with Michelle Heyman going a month without scoring a goal. If both of those statistics were not depressing enough for the Lime Greens’ fans, United hadn’t beaten Brisbane Roar since December 2016.

From the Queenslanders perspective, Clare Polkinghorne was playing her 150th W-League game for the club, becoming the first player to play that number of games for a single team in the competition’s history. The Roar were though without head coach Jake Goodship, who remained in Queensland as he was about to become a father. Assistant coach Kelly Crew stepped up to take over the reins.

The opening period of the game was cagey. It took five minutes for anything close to a chance to be created. Brisbane’s Australian international Tameka Yallop got through and just outside the box, she was denied by a great tackle from Kendall Fletcher. The ball then went straight to Mariel Hecher, but her follow up went over.

Four minutes later, this season’s W-League top scorer Emily Gielnik tried to lift an effort over Keeley Richards in the United goal, but the Canberra keeper was equal to it.

From the resulting goal kick, Canberra developed their first attack of the game. A beautiful directed lofted pass by Grace Maher from the middle of the pitch into the box was chested down by Nikki Flannery and her shot deflected off of Roar defender Kim Carroll and trickled over the line for the Lime Green Machine to take the lead.

Brisbane tried to respond to going behind, but despite looking good in the build-up, the final ball consistently let them down, and this would cost them badly.

With twenty-three minutes played, Fletcher played another delightful ball through the midfield to Heyman. Her offload to Laura Hughes needed to be tidied up at the cost of a throw in.

From that throw in, Roar initially looked to have cleared any danger, but a loose pass from Kim Carroll found 21 year-old Canberra midfielder Grace Maher over thirty yards from goal. She unleashed a shot which flew both through the air and the grasp of Brisbane keeper Morgan Aquino and it was 2-0 for the hosts.

Canberra created another great opportunity shortly afterwards. A beautiful one touch offload from Hughes found Flannery in acres of space down the right only for her ball in to be cleared.

Roar responded a minute later when Emily Gielnik chested down a long ball just outside the area and turned before hitting an effort which came back off the bar.

Just prior to the half-hour mark, there was more joy for the Lime Green Machine and another stunning build-up which produced a memorable goal. Flannery was stationed inside her own half on the right wing and played an inch perfect pass into the feet of Heyman who took possession just outside the ‘D’. The Matildas’ and Canberra goal scoring legend took a touch and rolled a calm finish into the net to equal Sam Kerr’s record as the leading scorer in W-League history to a delirious reaction from the home fans. Canberra United were in dream land and they deserved everything for the outstanding skill and work ethic that they displayed throughout the opening half.

Brisbane probed and pressed in the remaining ten minutes of the half, but still struggled to produce a dangerous final ball to trouble the home defence.

Above: A delighted Grace Maher celebrates with Emma Ilijoski and Kendall Fletcher. Photo: @Canberra United

With just over a minute left though, they finally got it right, courtesy of a free-kick awarded for a foul on Clare Polkinghorne just outside the centre circle and the consequence was a goal. The long ball in was directed towards Gielnik whose glancing back header found the net.

From the kick-off of the second half, former Perth Glory teenager Leticia McKenna drove a shot in which was narrowly wide of the left hand post.

Canberra came back strongly and Heyman turned Isobel Dalton and eventually found Paige Satchell who forced a corner.

With eight minutes of the second half played, the Roar had a glorious opportunity to get a second goal back when Yallop’s low cross from the right was side-footed goal wards from just a few metres out by Gielnik, but Keeley Richards produced a great save.

Shortly afterwards, just outside the box, McKenna ran across a pass to Isabel Dalton who unleashed a shot which crashed back off of the bar.

Despite Brisbane pushing forward and creating some excellent chances, they couldn’t fashion a second goal and they were made to pay for that.

With sixty-four minutes played, Heyman picked up the ball just inside the Brisbane half and found Bianca Galic who was around forty yards from goal. She looked up and saw Morgan Aquino off her line and the 21 year-old lifted a superb long range shot over Aquino’s head and into the net.

With twenty-two minutes left, Michelle Heyman was substituted to a huge reception from the Lime Green Machine’s fans.

Hayley Taylor-Young came on as a result and was involved instantly after being played through beautifully by Satchell, who must have been seriously impressing her Football Ferns boss Tom Sermanni, who was looking on. As Taylor-Young homed in on goal, she was involved in a crunching collision with Polkinghorne but eventually was able to return to the action.

Another substitute was then involved, this time from Brisbane’s perspective as the game neared its final quarter of an hour. Kaitlyn Torpey broke through and her effort was saved magnificently by Richards. It rebounded back to Torpey who put in a low cross which found Gielnik who looked odds on to score, but a quite sensational “how did she do that?” header off the line from Kendall Fletcher denied the Matildas striker. This one piece of action summed up exactly why Canberra were so far ahead in this game – their sheer determination and never say die spirit put them head and shoulders above the Roar.

Try as Brisbane might they could not break through the Canberra defence as the ACT based side earned one of their greatest wins in recent times.

Speaking about equalling the competition’s all-time goalscoring record, Michelle Heyman said: “I am just glad that it is finally done, it’s been haunting me for the last couple of weeks! To finally get that off my shoulders is a big release and now I can go out and hopefully get a few more in.”

In terms of what inspired Canberra to create a performance that led to the outstanding result, Heyman revealed: “We just wanted to focus on being that best that we can be. If everyone does that, as a team we will always be successful.”

Proud Canberra United boss Vicki Linton said: “We’d been on the road for a number of weeks and it was nice to be back home. It was a great start which gave us momentum. It was disappointing to concede just before half-time and we needed to be smart and work hard to finish it off. The execution we had been working on and it showed. We concentrated on our work with the ball and it really paid off.”

Teams: CANBERRA UNITED: Richards, Keir, Ilijoski, Nash, Fletcher, Galic, Maher, Hughes, Heyman, Flannery, Satchell. Substitutes: James (GK), Goldstein, Rasschaert, Koulizakis, Taylor-Young.

Scorers: Flannery 10. Maher 23, Heyman 29, Galic 64.

BRISBANE ROAR: Aquino, Heatley, Rankin, Carroll, Polkinghorne, Dalton, Chance, Hecher, McKenna, Gielnik, Yallop. Substitutes: Worth (GK), Torpey, Crummer, Horsey.

Scorers: Gielnik 44.

Referee: Rebecca Durcau.

Attendance: 1,161.

Impetus’ coverage of Australian Women’s Football is supported by The Chicken Salt Co. They are offering every Impetus reader 5% off all orders of Chicken Salt from their website. Go to https://www.chickensalt.co.uk/?mate=impetus and place your order – 5% will automatically be taken off of the cost. The coupon code is impetus.

Artwork: Graphics by PW.

Record Breaking Adelaide Make Big Statement

Adelaide United 2-0 Sydney FC

By Ben Gilby

Above: Adelaide United celebrate Maruschka Waldus’ opening goal. Photo: @AUFCWomen

Adelaide United put down a real marker for the finals as they produced an excellent performance in defeating league leaders Sydney FC at Marden Sports Complex.

This 2-0 win also ensured that the club have won their highest number of W-League games in a season (six) and are now well on their way to earning a first ever berth in the Finals.

Both teams went into the game on the back of disappointing midweek news. Dylan Holmes, the home side’s 23 year-old captain who has been in outstanding form this season, announced that she was moving to new Swedish side BK Häcken after this weekend. Her new team were formed out of a takeover of the previous campaign’s champions Kopparbergs/Göteborg who ran into funding issues and lost large numbers of their squad at the end of December.

For Sydney FC, there was the devastating news that key player Ellie Brush suffered an ACL injury at Perth Glory last weekend.

Above: Adelaide United captain Dylan Holmes in action during her final game for the club. Photo: @AUFCWomen

The league leaders from the harbour city went into the game having won their last five games against the South Australians, but from the very start this always looked like it might be different.

Adelaide started strongly with plenty of possession, and looked particularly dangerous down the left flank. It was therefore no surprise when they took the lead via a move that started down that area of the pitch.

With five minutes on the clock, Khalia Hogg’s corner was met by a power header from Maruschka Waldus whose effort rocketed into the top left hand corner of the net.

Sydney couldn’t offer much in response other than Princess Ibini buzzing around the middle of the pitch, but United’s high press and constant energy nullified the Sky Blues’ threat.

A worrying stat for the visitors was the fact that every time they have scored the first goal in a game this season, they went on to win. Adelaide’s early goal only served warning as they kept their foot firmly down on the attacking throttle.

Just past the quarter hour mark, Mallory Weber let fly with an effort which curled wide, away from the right hand post. That was a mere sighter though, as less than a minute later, Weber had better luck.

Dylan Holmes found Hogg just outside the box in a central position. She in turn played a ball out to the left hand side once more where Weber was lying in wait. She took the ball forward and then curled an absolute screamer into the far corner past a despairing Jada Mathyssen-Whyman as Adelaide doubled their lead.

Above: Mallory Weber in action during the game – scorer of an outstanding second goal. Photo: @AUFCWomen

It wasn’t just in attack that Adelaide were showing the greater hunger. On one of the rare occasions that Sydney got forward, a sensational tackle from Charlotte Grant denied the ever dangerous Cortnee Vine down the right.

With seven minutes left of the half, Vine got free down the right hand side after being played through beautifully by Ibini. Her ball in was met by Remy Siemsen who slid in to direct the ball over the line but the flag was up for offside.

Just before the break, Adelaide almost put the game to bed and it was a move down the left wing that caused carnage to Sydney once more. Emily Condon got away and played in Maria Jose Rojas whose shot was narrowly wide. It remained 2-0 at half-time.

Ninety seconds into the re-start, Adelaide came agonisingly close once again. Rachel Lowe lost possession to Mallory Weber in the middle of the pitch and careered forward to get a shot away which was just over the bar.

Still Adelaide United pressed. Chelsie Dawber did sterling work down the right and then just before the hour mark, Rojas had a shot that Mathyssen-Whyman did well to catch. As the shot got away Khalia Hogg accidentally collided with Ally Green which necessitated the Sydney defender to require lengthy treatment before she was able to resume.

Three minutes later, Rojas played in Grant for Adelaide who was taken out by Green just outside the box, with the Sydney defender given a yellow card for the challenge. The resulting free-kick was well over the bar.

Above: Maruschka Waldus takes on Angelique Hristodoulou of Sydney FC. Photo: @AUFCWomen

With twenty minutes to go, Sydney earned a free-kick when Vine was brought down on the right hand edge of the box. Teresa Polias’ free-kick saw Allira Toby crack heads with Adelaide defender Matilda McNamara.

With fifteen minutes left, Natalie Tobin was yellow carded for Sydney for a challenge on Rojas in the centre circle as frustration built for the league leaders.

Shortly afterwards, Adelaide had two more superb chances. First, Chelsie Dawber broke free down the right. Jada Mathyssen-Whyman came storming out of her goal, but was rounded by Dawber whose ball across found Rojas. The Chilean’s effort was scrambled away for a corner. As the flag kick came in, Waldus directed a looping header against the bar before the visitors cleared.

With seconds of normal time left, Sian Fryer-McLaren was finally called on to make a save, such was the control Adelaide’s defence had, with Sydney’s sharp shooter Remy Siemsen largely anonymous all night.

Deep into stoppage time Adelaide hit the woodwork again with Weber playing though substitute Fiona Worts who let fly with a shot which crashed off of the crossbar with Mathyssen-Whyman beaten.

This was a deserved win for Adelaide United and arguably the greatest in their history. The Reds now look to be all but certain to cap their best ever season with a first appearance in the Finals. Losing Dylan Holmes to Sweden will hit them and they have a tough trip to Brisbane Roar next time out, but there is plenty of talent in the South Australian’s squad to push on.

Teams: ADELAIDE UNITED: Fryer-McLaren, I.Hodgson, Grant, McNamara, Waldus, Holmes, Hogg, Condon, Rojas, Dawber, Weber. Substitutes: Grove (GK), E.Hodgson, Campagnale, Worts, Mullan.

Scorers: Waldus 5, Weber 19.

SYDNEY FC: Mathyssen-Whyman, Hristodouou, Mclean, Green, Tobin, Polias, Lowe, Wheeler, Siemsen, Vine, Ibini. Substitutes: Campbell (GK), Chlakian, Hawkesby, Rule, Toby.

Referee: Casey Reibelt.

Attendance: 987.

Impetus’ coverage of Australian Women’s Football is supported by The Chicken Salt Co. They are offering every Impetus reader 5% off all orders of Chicken Salt from their website. Go to https://www.chickensalt.co.uk/?mate=impetus and place your order – 5% will automatically be taken off of the cost. The coupon code is impetus.

Artwork: Graphics by PW.

Dark Blues’ Victory Dents WSW Finals Hopes

Melbourne Victory 1-0 Western Sydney Wanderers

By Kieran Yap

Above: Melbourne Victory celebrate Annalie Longo’s goal. Photo: @victorywleague.

On an immaculate pitch, in perfect conditions and in finals bound form, Melbourne Victory and Western Sydney Wanderers played in front of an empty stadium and put on a display of fast, wonderfully chaotic football that would have delighted the crowd had fans been able to attend.

The game was originally scheduled to be played at Lakeside Stadium, but 24 hours from kick-off, the pitch condition at that venue necessitated a late switch to AAMI Park. This was far too late to ensure the necessary Covid-safe regulations would be in place at the 30,050 seater venue of the men’s Victory team.

Victory were without influential attacker Catherine Zimmerman who was nursing a calf niggle following the draw with Canberra and Western Sydney again started Leena Khamis on the bench despite her recent scoring form, with coach Dean Heffernan electing to go with young speedster Bryleeh Henry up front.

Lisa De Vanna looked to be in good touch early, one of her first touches was rolling the ball behind her, between two defenders into the path of Annalie Longo and Victory looked happy to make good use of the AAMI Park surface to stroke the ball around at pace and try and find an opening.

Despite Melbourne having the majority of early possession, it was WSW who fired the first shot in anger, a counter attack and cross by Danika Matos was met by Henry but her shot flew over the bar. Henry looked dangerous early and almost broke away to race in on goal before a backtracking Kyra Cooney-Cross hurried back to recover the ball.  If the Victory prodigy had added defensive steel to her already considerable attacking abilities her powers may soon be complete.

Melina Ayres responded in attack for Melbourne, she controlled a cross into the box on her right foot, shifted it quickly onto her left and got the shot away. It sailed wide but it was a good sign of the strikers instinct and confidence, the right thing to do, and done in a split second.

Melbourne again attacked when De Vanna won the ball on the left flank and after exchanging passes found herself in space with Ayres charging into the middle, a shot on goal looked imminent but Nikola Orgill arrived to put in a well-timed block on the cross.

Is it possible to be awarded “Save Of The Week” for just incredibly good luck?

Sarah Willacy might find out when the round is complete after a corner kick caused havoc in the WSW penalty area and the ball fell to Melina Ayres. She shot from inside the six yard box and Willacy was not only on the ground already but facing the wrong way following a clash of players. The ball somehow missed the crowd of defenders and crashed into Willacy who knew very little of it, but kept the scores level, a moment later she showed off her more conventional goalkeeping talents when she anticipated a Cooney-Cross attempt to score with an attempted Olympico (scoring direct from a corner) from the next flag kick.

Although Victory were doing the majority of the attacking, Western Sydney threatened with the pace of Julie-Anne Russell, Georgia Yeoman-Dale and Teigan Collister on the flanks and they all looked dangerous on the counter-attack when the midfield were able to get the ball to them quickly and again Henry was almost in on goal before a well-timed Kayla Morrison tackle prevented the scoring chance.

Lisa De Vanna was rewarded for her endeavor after she chased down a long ball that Orgill tried to shepherd out of play, she managed to flick the ball back into play and tried to run onto it, both her and Orgill grabbed at each other but the referee decided that De Vanna was being obstructed and awarded the free kick to Melbourne.  Kyra Cooney-Cross drove the free kick into a dangerous area, close to goal but low enough that Willacy couldn’t easily gather, Ayres rose to meet it and the ball fell for Longo to sweep it home from close range and send Victory into half time 1-0 up.

Above: Western Sydney Wanderers’ young starlet Sarah Hunter tussles with Melbourne Victory goal scorer Annalie Longo. Photo: @wsydneywanderers

The Wanderers introduced Khamis after half time and the attack immediately took on a more dangerous shape, her guile and experience was needed to compliment Henry’s pace and provide another target for the visitors’ wingers.

The pace of the game did not decrease in the second half but neither side found many easy chances to score, for that credit has to go to both sets of defenders, with crosses by Matos and Barbieri cut off by Morrison and Orgill for Melbourne and WSW respectively.

Khamis had a difficult chance to level the scores after the otherwise faultless Gabby Garton skied her clearance and it landed 18 yards from goal, Khamis tried to hook it over the scrambling goalkeeper but her effort cleared the crossbar.

Up the other end Lisa De Vanna sped past the Wanderers defense in trademark style and fired a shot from her left foot and forcing Willacy into a strong diving save.

Rosie Galea swiveled curled an attempt on goal for Western Sydney and Cooney-Cross tried to deliver a spectacular sealer from long distance, in both cases the goalkeepers looked concerned but in the shots just whizzed wide.

The unpredictable nature of the game continued until the dying moments, substitute Lia Privitelli raced after a long ball that Willacy was already arriving at, the Wanderers keeper cleared the ball but Privitelli slid after it and with two feet slid straight through her, it was poorly timed and poorly executed and even she looked surprised to only receive a yellow card for it. The saving grace might have been that she did not have studs up and looked to try and tuck in her legs at the last second, but she was lucky to not see red, fortunately Willacy was unharmed but unfortunately for her the game ended in a 1-0 defeat to Melbourne Victory.

With that win, Melbourne Victory look almost certain for a top four finish, they play Perth Glory twice in the final games of the season and though they should not take them lightly, they will go in as favourites.

The season is too short for everybody, but it feels particularly true of Western Sydney. They look to be just finding their groove and although they did not get the result on this occasion they have a young brigade of weapons such as Henry, Sarah Hunter, Courtney Nevin and Libby Copus-Brown who are supported by some experienced players. Copus-Brown has been shifted into a deeper midfield role recently and has been increasingly influential. Hopefully they can keep most of this side together and with a few additions can be a threat next season. They are not technically out of it this year, but everything will have to go their way in the following weeks, but as Sarah Willacy’s save showed, a little luck is never out of the question.

Teams: MELBOURNE VICTORY: Garton, Doran, Beard, Bunge, Morrison, Jackson, Barbieri, Cooney-Cross, Ayres, Longo, De Vanna. Substitutes: Maizels (GK), Markovski, Martineau, Privitelli, Eliadis.

Scorer: Longo 43.

WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS: Willacy, Matos, Yeoman-Dale, Orgill, Cooper, Copus-Brown, Hunter, Price, Henry, Collister, Russell. Substitutes: Newbon (GK), Chauvet, Galea, Halloway, Khamis.

Referee: Georgia Ghiradello.

Attendance: Behind Closed Doors.

Impetus’ coverage of Australian Women’s Football is supported by The Chicken Salt Co. They are offering every Impetus reader 5% off all orders of Chicken Salt from their website. Go to https://www.chickensalt.co.uk/?mate=impetus and place your order – 5% will automatically be taken off of the cost. The coupon code is impetus.

Artwork: Graphics by PW.

Wroxham Women Podcast

Impetus are very proud of our partnership with Wroxham Women which includes the player sponsorship of defender Harriet Meers.

This week, our founder Ben Gilby joined Harriet and club media officer Darrell Allen in a podcast episode with Stu Barker of Since ’71 – it’s well worth a listen and provides more background on the club and Harriet’s own experiences:

https://since-71.com/since-71-podcast-s03e03-wroxhams-harriet-meers-and-darrell-allen/

Artwork: Graphics by PW

The Swedish Scene

It’s Saturday, so that can only mean one thing on Impetus, @DandalBs round-up of all the news from the women’s game in Sweden. This week, there’s news from the UEFA Women’s Champions League, lots of pre-season action and a multitude of transfers.

Rosengård are in a precarious position after the first leg of their UEFA Women’s Champions League Last Sixteen tie against St. Pölten. One strike in the second half from Sanne Troelsgaard helped the hosts, but they had to rely on an equaliser from Caroline Seger four minutes into stoppage time at the end of the game saved Rosengård from complete failure.

Above: Caroline Seger, scorer of a late leveller for Rosengård in their UEFA Women’s Champions League this week. Photo: Fotbollskanalen.

PRE-SEASON GAME NEWS:

In last weekend’s games, Örebro defeated Elitettan (tier two) side Älvsjö 3-0 with two goals from Karin Lundin and one from Jenna Hellstrom.

Newly promoted Hammarby gained a surprise 3-2 win over Kristianstad, who finished third last season. The Stockholm based side built a 3-0 lead thanks to Ellen Wangerheim, Hanna Folkesson and Emma Jansson before Kristianstad hit back through Sveindis Joinsdottir and Jutta Rantala.

Vittsjö defeated Kalmar with 2-1, goals by Bea Persson and Clara Markstedt.

Växjö recorded a resounding 5-0 win over Borgeby who are newly promoted to the Elitettan. Goals by Signe Holt Andersen (2), Mimmi Strömberg (2) and Emma Pennsäter sealed the win.

BK Häcken saw off Eskilstuna United 4-1. Kullberg, Angeldahl, Hammarlund, Blackstenius scored for BK Häcken with Kullashi on target for Eskilstuna. Häcken played very well and scored a couple of good goals.

There was a big 6-0 win for Piteå over Elitettan promotion hopefuls Morön. The goals came courtesy of a Hlin Eiriksdottir hat-trick, with Katrina Guillou adding two and Cajsa Hedlund one.

Eskilstuna United claimed a 4-1 midweek friendly win over Djurgården to continue the Stockholm side’s disastrous pre-season form. Loreta Kullashi (2), Vaila Barsley and Fanny Andersson were on target for Eskilstuna with Tilde Lindwall getting the sole positive from the game for Djurgården.

In a game played yesterday afternoon, Piteå defeated Sundsvall 1-0. Jennie Nordin scored the only goal. After five pre-season matches, Piteå remain undefeated and have not conceded a goal. However, this statistic comes with a caveat. Not a single one of these matches has been against a Damallsvenskan team. This will change on Sunday when they face Hammarby.

SWEDISH CUP NEWS:

Linköping won 3-0 away to IFK Norrköping. Therese Simonsson, Uchenna Grace Kanu, Frida Maanum sealed a comfortable win for Linköping, which earns them a place in Swedish Cup Group One with among others. BK Häcken.

NEWS IN BRIEF:

BK Häcken has strengthened their defence further by signing the 23 year-old Dylan Holmes from Adelaide United in the Australian W-League. Holmes has been playing better than ever this season for an Adelaide side who are on the brink of having the best season in their entire history. She is being talked of as a potential future senior Matilda (additional information from Ben Gilby).

Above: Dylan Holmes going for goal for Adelaide United in the W-League against Melbourne City this season. Photo: @AUFCWomen

Rosengård have reported that their Swedish international forward Anna Anvegård hasn’t been able to train or play since mid-January due to an undefined knee problem. She was not be able to play in their Champions League last sixteen first leg tie against St Pölten in midweek.

Djurgården have signed 20 year-old forward Alexandra Takounda Engolo from Cameroon on a one year deal. This is her first club abroad. She has experience from playing internationally for Cameroon’s youth and senior teams.

Vittsjö have announced two new signings this week. First came the arrival of 20 year-old goalkeeper Elin Vaughn on a short-term deal as a backup for Shannon Lynn while waiting for Sabrina D’Angelo to be ready to play. Vaughn comes from nearby third tier IFÖ Bromölla and has been capped for Sweden U19. The second arrival is Filippa Wallén who has been on trial at the club for a short period. Wallén has most recently played for Cypriot champions Apollon Limassol and before that with West Ham United in the FA Women’s Super League.

Above: Filippa Wallén, newly arrived at Vittsjö this week. Photo: Stefan Sandström

Växjö have signed Ena Mujdzic, a 23 year-old midfielder from third tier Böljan on a one year deal after spending some time on trial.

My Footballing Journey So Far…

As part of our partnership with Bure Valley Youth FC, their youngsters are going to be writing regularly for Impetus. Here, Isla from their U9s tells us about her footballing journey so far…

Above: Isla proudly wearing her Bure Valley Youth FC kit, complete with captain’s armband. Photo via: Bure Valley Youth FC.

I first started my journey in football by kicking a ball around with my Dad at the age of two. My love for the sport started here, running around in my Manchester United kit. Then, the next step was Soccer Stars at three years old. Here, I learnt basic football skills like not picking up the ball and running away with it. 

Next, I moved onto Wildcats at age five, where I learnt more about shooting, passing and teamwork. With the Wildcats, I got the opportunity to watch the Under 23’s play at Norwich City’s Carrow Road stadium. I even got to walk out with the team holding the flag, and one of those players was Todd Cantwell.

I was looking for a proper team, that’s when I found Bure Valley FC. This is the team I’m at today. When I first started, I was so shy and had little confidence, but with the encouragement from the coaches and kind teammates, my confidence has grown loads. Amazingly, I was made team Captain for the Under 9’s Kittens, which has been my proudest moment in football so far.

While playing for Bure Valley FC, I also train with Norwich PC on a Tuesday. These sessions have helped me improve my; footwork, accuracy, endurance and confidence.

My hopes and dreams

I hope to play in every age group at Bure Valley FC, and then play for Manchester United and England, just like my heroes Marcus Rashford and Lauren James.

Defending Champions In Less Than Convincing Win

Jean-Pierre Thiesset reports on the first leg of the UEFA Women’s Champions League round of sixteen tie between Olympique Lyonnais and Brondby.

Above: Fans gathering at the Groupama Stadium. Photo via: Jean-Pierre Thiesset.

About 20 OL ANG’ELLES fans were at the Groupama Stadium entrance to cheer for Olympique Lyonnais Women team even if the game was not open to public.

Above: Fans welcome the OL Feminin team coach to the Groupama Stadium. Photo via: Jean-Pierre Thiesset.

Lyon at home in the Groupama Stadium, won 2-0 against Brondby. A larger score was expected but despite the fact that the home side largely dominated the Danes (almost 75% possession for Lyon), they were not really efficient (23 shots but only 2 goals). After just six minutes, Brondby almost scored from a free-kick from Nanna Christiansen 18 yards in the centre of the field, which finished on the crossbar while Sarah Bouhaddi, Lyon goalkeeper, was beaten.

Goals for Lyon came from Lionesses star Nikita Parris (30) header at the first post on a cross from Amel Majri from the right side and Melvine Malard (92) on a cross from Janice Cayman from the right side.

So, the job is not completely done and a big game from Lyon in Copenhagen against Brondby will still be necessary to ensure to qualify for the Quarter-Finals.

If the strikers from Lyon were not able to score more, we must point out the great game from Lyon left and right defenders: Sakina Karchaoui, which played 60 minutes as a left midfielder and 30 minutes as left defender after Selma Bacha was replaced; Selma Bacha, which played 73 balls in only 60 minutes on the field; and Ellie Carpenter as right defender, which was elected player of the game. I would like to also highlight the good game of Catarina Macario for her first 60 minutes in UEFA Women Champion League game. We have to note that we saw an encouraging return of Eugénie Le Sommer for the last 30 minutes of the game.

A Chat With Australia’s Top Women’s Football Journalists – How Good?!

Ben Gilby spoke to four of Australia’s leading women’s football journalists who also present The Far Post Podcast. Sam Lewis (Guardian Australia), Anna Harrington (AAP Newswire), Angela Christian-Wilkes (Beyond 90 AU) and Marissa Lordanic (Beyond 90 AU) talk to him about their show and how they view the domestic and international game in Australia right now.

We opened the chat by discussing how the podcast came about. “The four of us came together as part of a larger group of friends who all went to the Women’s World Cup together in France 2019. But we’re all lifelong football fans. We’ve all covered the game as volunteers and for media organisations. We’ve written hundreds of articles between us for print and online, covered major tournaments, commentated matches, appeared on radio and TV and other podcasts to talk about and analyse the women’s game.”

“The podcast began in the middle of Melbourne’s lockdown as a little bit of a joke. Thankfully a few people encouraged us to actually pursue it. We had a few zoom meetings about how we wanted to approach things and have been recording almost weekly since September 2020.”

“At its heart it’s a football podcast. We’re a bunch of friends who also happen to be fans of the game. We love talking about the action on the pitch, having a laugh at the lighter moments, and trying to add nuance and analysis to matters on and off the field. There’s an absolute abundance of podcasts on football, especially men’s football, but fewer on women’s football and even fewer still with an Australian focus. It’s the kind of podcast we’d all like to listen to so we went ahead and made it.”

Despite football having to compete with Aussie Rules, Rugby League and Cricket, the Matildas and their stars are loved and have a pretty high profile in Australia. I wondered how the Far Post crew could explain this profile: “Support from the public is always a little dependent on being successful and since the 2015 Women’s World Cup when the Matildas became the first senior Australian team to win a knockout game at the tournament, people have taken notice of them. The team has played good football and has always been filled with incredible players, but women’s sport globally was starting to have a moment and Australia and football were no different. The team was so good you couldn’t ignore them and once the public got to know them and fell in love with them it’s continued to grow.”

Whilst it’s great that so many Matildas are now playing for top clubs around the world, I wondered what their feeling was on the positives and negatives are of the situation on domestic Australian women’s club football. 

“We’ve kind of gone through the full gamut of emotions with the Matildas exodus,” the Far Post group said. “There was so much worry and anxiety about how the W-League would fare in those early stages from all of us. And for the most part it was valid. The general belief was how can we attract fans when all those big names that the general public will recognise aren’t there? What is the standard of football going to be like without the very best Australian players?”

“But as we got closer to the season and now in the season proper I think the community as a whole has realised this is overall a good thing. There are so many more opportunities for young players who had perhaps previously only been making substitute appearances or fighting for a place. Now they not only have the opportunity to shine but the responsibility to make the big plays and be the game changers for their teams and so far they’re absolutely delivering in spades.”

“It’s a shame that we arguably never fully utilised the star power of the likes of Sam Kerr and Caitlin Foord and Steph Catley but we’re beginning to see the emergence of new stars. If we continue to give them the strongest possible platform here in Australia – a professional league with a full home and away season – they will continue to showcase their talent. The football has still been good and exciting even if it isn’t filled with the names and faces so many people are instantly familiar with.”

This season’s W-League campaign has produced some hugely enjoyable football and things are quite open at the top and bottom of the table. The focus for the W-League now is to keep attention high for supporters and the general media with home World Cup ahead. The Far Post’s views on what needs to be done to achieve this is exceptionally important.

“The league itself has been doing a great job first and foremost with making sure we have a season to enjoy! The permutations with Covid and borders has meant it’s been a real logistical nightmare. But the league and the players and the clubs and everyone else involved have been adaptable to their immense credit.”

“There has been some great content produced highlighting the players to watch and the storylines that are emerging from the season. Broadcasting has been a bit of an issue and it’s a topic we’ve covered extensively on the podcast. It’s pretty much universally acknowledged that growing the game involves people being able to watch it and that hasn’t always been the case this season. A functioning, high quality broadcast should be the minimum standard now in the W-League.”

“How the game is broadcast is massively important. Making it accessible has been achieved thanks to every game being available to stream and the one game a week on free to air. There needs to be more coverage generally but engaging with the media that is currently out there shows the people in charge that there is an appetite for more of this kind of coverage. This means not only reading and sharing the work of the major sports media companies but engaging with the passionate and dedicated fan-made media too.”

Above: Captured during the recording of an episode – Top left: Sam Lewis (The Guardian Australia), Top right: Anna Harrington (AAP Newswire), Bottom Left: Angela Christian-Wilkes (Beyond ’90 AU) and Bottom Right: Marissa Lordanic (Beyond ’90 AU).

In terms of where the W-League goes next, one of the priorities has to be a full home and away season, given the inherent unfairness of the current schedule. “People have wanted a full home and away season forever. You ask anyone associated with the game about how to improve the W-League and one of the first things they will mention is extending the season,” the Far Post gang told me.

“The league has improved in so many ways – minimum remuneration and medical standards have been brought in, the league is more visible that it has ever been thanks to streaming services. The next logical steps in that continued growth is a full home and away season and a fully professional league. Covid has thrown a spanner in the works in so many ways, including financially, but a full home and away season should be a priority for the new independent leagues.”

One of the major plus points of this year’s W-League campaign is the emergence of some fantastic talent. Whereas the likes of Kyra Cooney-Cross, Jamilla Rankin and Jada Whyman-Mathyssen has caught the eye of Impetus so far, I wondered who the stand out players for The Far Post group are:

“There are so many good players with so many interesting stories to look out for. Kyra Cooney-Cross at Melbourne Victory has grown into this super dynamic midfielder since she debuted at the age of fifteen (and she’s still in her teens!). There’s players jumping up from the NPLW competitions (elite state leagues) across the country like Catherine Zimmerman and Mariel Hecher. Teagan Micah is a Matilda but has spent most of her career in the US college system so we’re being treated to her spectacular efforts in goal. Emily Condon and Dylan Holmes are doing good things at Adelaide United. Lily Alfeld has been awesome for Perth Glory. Tara Andrews and Michelle Heyman are by no means new to the W-League but their golden boot battle is going to be fascinating. Is it too late to say all of them?”

At the other end of the spectrum are vastly experienced players who are absolutely smashing it at the moment – led by Michelle Heyman and Lisa De Vanna. “How good! They are just two of the amazing stories in the W-League this season. Michelle is looking to chase down Sam Kerr’s all-time W-League goal scoring record and Lisa is showing us all just how excellent she is and has always been.”

The next three years is potentially really exciting for the Matildas with the Olympics, Asia Cup and World Cup. I asked the Far Post gang what they felt would success in this period realistically look like.

“It’s a huge three years and when you add in the 2024 Olympics in Paris it’s even bigger! We can’t look too far ahead and we also need to take into account how Covid has changed the entire landscape and factor that into the definition of success.”

“We still don’t have a full complement of countries qualified for the Tokyo Olympics. The Matildas last played a competitive match in March 2020, the USWNT have played three games in that time with another three lined up for February. European teams were taking part in Euro qualifiers throughout 2020.”

Without looking too far ahead, bettering the 2016 Olympics result will be a priority for this year. Similarly going one better in the Asian Cup in 2022 will also be super important. After winning the 2010 edition, the Matildas have lost the last two Asian Cup finals to Japan 1-0 so reclaiming that trophy – and maybe even getting one over Japan – would be great.”

With the next Women’s World Cup being co-hosted in Australia, we ended our discussion by talking about what the legacy for the competition should be in Australian women’s football.

“Every Women’s World Cup has grown from the one before it and the benefits to the host nations are well documented. We as Australians also know that hosting big tournaments is a massive deal and is sure to inspire the next generation of kids.”

“A lasting legacy for this tournament encompasses all levels of football. The Matildas doing well on the pitch would obviously be awesome. In turn, the W-League needs to prioritised and professionalised so it can truly reach its full potential as the place where Matildas are made. Women in this country will hopefully be able to play football professionally right here in their own backyards. Grassroots clubs will hopefully be using the next few years to increase their capacities and upgrade their facilities to ensure the influx of interest post-World Cup can be met”

“Everyone who wants to get involved after witnessing the Women’s World Cup here should be able to whether that is as a player, a coach, or a ref. It will also hopefully inspire more people – especially women – to get involved in governance, the media, and the admin side of the game. Plus fans should be able to enjoy even more quality football after getting to enjoy a month’s worth of the very best football on the planet.”

A new episode of The Far Post Podcast drops every Wednesday and can be found here: The Far Post (buzzsprout.com). They can also be found on Twitter: @TheFarPostPod

Impetus’ coverage of Australian Women’s Football is supported by The Chicken Salt Co. They are offering every Impetus reader 5% off all orders of Chicken Salt from their website. Go to https://www.chickensalt.co.uk/?mate=impetus and place your order – 5% will automatically be taken off of the cost. The coupon code is impetus.

Artwork: Graphics by PW.