Sydney FC 1–4 Brisbane Roar

Report and EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS from Kris Goman.

Sydney FC’s one hundred percent winning start to the season came to a stunning halt after they were swept aside by Brisbane Roar in the battle of the only unbeaten sides in the W-League.

After their recent win over Canberra United, yesterday saw another top of the table clash for Sydney, as their defeats of other teams change who is in second place on the table. Sydney had been looking unstoppable but if anyone was going to stop them, it was be Brisbane and this match was very telling.

Brisbane outplayed them on the day. They clearly wanted it more. They were faster, they were getting in front, their attack was more focussed and their defence almost impenetrable. I felt that the Roar didn’t deserve to win against the Wanderers last time out but they had Sydney’s mark yesterday. Sydney tried to win on reputation alone and it wasn’t enough. I’d also question the nature and timing of the substitutions.

Sydney started strong with a hard press for the first ten minutes with their 4-1-2-3 formation providing the necessary firepower up front.

Brisbane kicked off with their 4-3-3 formation but the ball stayed deep in their territory. Initially anyway. Princess Ibini gets an early shot on goal from the left that wakes Morgan Aquino up and causes a good save. Not that she was asleep but she knows she’s living now. There’s a couple of corners and the goal area is busy.
First transition is at five minutes and results in a goal kick.

Second transition is at seven minutes and results in a goal. Olivia Chance brings it down the left and passes to Emily Gielnik in front of her. Gielnik puts a perfect one touch cross direct to Tameka Yallop’s head in front of goal, a quick nod by Yallop and it’s in the back of the net for Yallop’s second goal of the season.

The pressure is on Sydney to reply now and they retaliate by attacking on the right through Cortnee Vine and Angelique Hristodoulou. They get a corner which gets headed around but then captured by Aquino.

Sydney continues to push and the ball goes back to Aquino for safety. She controls it but Clare Wheeler is approaching quickly. As Aquino clears it, Wheeler is on top of her and the ball rebounds off of the Roar player into goal for the equaliser. It’s a bad mistake by Aquino. It’s Wheeler’s first W-league goal after 72 games and the excitement is obvious as she celebrates with her teammates.

We’re twelve minutes in now and this is where things start to fall apart for Sydney. Brisbane ramp it up and Sydney rest on their laurels.

Three minutes later, Yallop makes inroads on the right for Brisbane. She releases Mariel Hecher down the right of the box. Her cross is punched to the left by Jada Mathyssen-Whyman directly to Jamilla Rankin who just taps the volley past the keeper. Two goalkeeper mistakes leading to two goals in quick succession. It’s also Rankin’s first W-League goal at only seventeen years of age. There’s been a lot of that this season.

Brisbane are invigorated now. Sydney get a couple of corners but the Queenslanders defence is solid. On the counter attack, Gielnik gets away down the left and sends a pass forward to Leticia McKenna. She tries to cross to Hecher but Ally Green intercepts with a sliding tackle and stops a certain goal. The resulting corner is eventually cleared after two waves of attacks.

Brisbane embark on a number of penetrating attacks resulting in a couple of corners. Sydney’s defence holds strong but they are very much on the back foot now and looking unstable. Brisbane are controlling the game and it’s being played in their attacking half. Sydney are looking disorganised as Yallop brings a ball down the centre and drives for goal. Her shot from outside the box is deflected by Mathyssen-Whyman for a corner. It’s cleared but the Roar are straight back on the attack. Sydney get some possession but it’s nullified quickly and effectively by the Brisbane defence.

There’s a nice Brisbane play started by Hecher who cuts back a pass to Gielnik. Her cross is glanced away by Hristodoulou right in front of goal. Yallop and Hristodoulou chase the ball to the left and Hristodoulou wins the battle to eventually clear the ball. It comes straight back into Yallop though but her shot is blocked out for a corner. Clare Polkinghorne heads the corner on top of the net which relieves the pressure.

Another Brisbane attack is saved by Green in the box. Late in the half, Sydney get a couple of corners but can’t make anything happen. After a minute of stoppage time, half time is called.

First few minutes of the second half see Sydney re-energised. Mackenzie Hawkesby kicks the ball straight into the referees bum and the resulting restart sees a long ball to the right corner chased by Wheeler. She evades Carroll and crosses to Ibini. She holds it up and draws the defenders and taps it across to Remy Siemsen but she mis-hits the ball and it goes out to the right of goal, in what was a very good chance.

The game swings again and Brisbane are back on the attack. Gielnik takes a long shot into the arms of Mathessen-Whyman. Another long ball in lands on Gielnik’s chest to bounce to the feet of McKenna. Her shot is deflected out by Natalie Tobin for a corner. The resulting ball in glances Polkinghorne’s head to go straight into goal for 3-1 at 54 minutes.

It constantly feels like Brisbane have more players on the field than Sydney, all there in defence and there in attack while Sydney are usually recovering or don’t have the numbers up front.

Charlotte Mclean gets a yellow card for a late tackle on Gielnik. The free kick is knocked out by Sydney so Brisbane get another corner. It goes to the far post and is eventually kicked out by Wheeler. Next corner is taken short and Hecher gets a shot that goes wide to the left. Not long after Yallop finds herself in the clear and takes a shot from outside the box that goes wide. The Brisbane attack is unrelenting.

At 63 minutes, Ibini is off and Charlize Rule, two days short of her eighteenth birthday comes on. It feels a bit of a risk to bring on a younger, less experienced player at this stage but Ibini wasn’t particularly effective anyway, however Sydney’s two main strikers, in Ibini and Siemsen, are now on the bench when Sydney need goals.

Wheeler gets a good run down the right but her cross is wasted by no one being there to capitalise on it.

Shortly after, Yallop directs a missile to Gielnik just by the goal mouth. It bounces off her chest but Whyman is able to clear it. Sydney are getting some attacking runs but they feel desperate and passes are going into empty spaces with no one to run onto them. Opportunities are being wasted and possession lost. At 73 minutes, there’s another strange substitution for Sydney when Cortnee Vine is off and Taylor Ray is on. At this point, I’m not convinced that taking the last experienced forward off is the right move. Although I’m not sure what could save this side right now.

At 78 minutes, a push by Chance is rewarded with a corner. It’s taken short and the cross by Rankin floats to the top near post and Whyman jumps up to grab it but instead pushes it back into the goal. Gielnik almost looks sorry for her but Rankin claims her second goal with eight minutes left.

Three minutes of stoppage time is announced as Brisbane continue their attack. Sydney manage to clear it each time but can’t keep possession. They aren’t passing it or playing out from the back, just doing big largely undirected clearances.

Full time is called and Sydney register their first loss of the season. Brisbane remain undefeated but still second on the table but narrowing the gap to Sydney although the Harbour City side have a game in hand.

Brisbane looked very strong today in producing probably their most convincing performance of the season and probably what we all expected based on what the team looks like on paper.

Jamilla Rankin got player of the match and it’s very well deserved. Two goals, incredible defending and kept Cortnee Vine under wraps. So many tackles. Well done.

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

Scorers: Wheeler 18.

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

Scorers: Yallop 8. Rankin 16, 82. Polkinghorne 54.

Referee: Lara Lee.

Attendance: 1,126.

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.

Western Sydney Wanderers 1–2 Brisbane Roar

Report and EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS from Kris Goman.

Brisbane Roar continued their seven match unbeaten start to the W-League season with a 2-1 win at Marconi Stadium against Western Sydney Wanderers.

The Queenslanders have travelled to the emerald city for a long weekend to play both Sydney teams. In the current climate it’s good to get these things done while you can, plus it probably saves on travel expenses and gives better rest between the games. So it’s a big win win for Brisbane before they even start playing.

Courtney Nevin isn’t playing tonight for the home side and isn’t a substitute either. Apparently coach Dean Heffernan is resting her this match and it’s her birthday tomorrow. This results in a reshuffle of the usual team and Yeoman-Dale has moved to left back from the forwards to replace her.

Georgina Worth is out for Brisbane with a knee issue and so Morgan Aquino is making her debut in goal for the Roar. Katrina Gorry is out and we won’t be seeing her playing again this year due to the happy reason of her being pregnant rather than having an injury. Although, like an ACL injury, it will probably take her out for a year so she won’t be going to the Olympics, opening a spot for a young contender.

Wanderers are kicking off playing in 4-3-3 formation and Brisbane are 4-4-2.

The match starts pretty rough with a few tackles sending various playing flying before Emily Gielnik takes a shot from the far left of the box that’s straight to Sarah Willacy.
Sarah Hunter, two goal hero for Wanderers in their last match seems to be being cheered on by the rest of her Year 12 cohort at Pymble Ladies College every time she gets the ball in this match. I guess a few more schoolmates have come along to support her after her stunning game last week. It’s great to see and adds to the atmosphere at Marconi.

Thirteen minutes in, Teigan Collister makes a break down the right for the Wanderers. Her cross is cleared back to Libby Copus-Brown who sends a lovely long ball through to Leena Khamis in the box in front of goal. She chips it to the top right of goal as two defenders arrive and it’s in for her long awaited first goal of the season as the Wanderers take an early lead.

Brisbane are immediately back on the attack and make a few excursions into the box including a corner that comes to naught. Then a cross comes over from the left and is punched out by Willacy. Isobel Dalton comes flying in from outside the box and sends a low one towards goal that lands at the feet of Emily Gielnik who turns and is able to put it to the top right bin of the goal for the equaliser just two and a half minutes later.

We’re up and down the field a few times with Collister continually making good runs down the right for Wanderers. At one stage Khamis takes a long range shot on goal but she puts far too much into it and it is on a trajectory to the moon rather than goal.

Similarly for the Roar, Mariel Hecher is making good inroads down their right, occasionally foiled by Georgia Yeoman-Dale. At one point Gielnik is at the top of the box and passes back to Olivia Chance who takes a lovely strike but it just clears the top post.

A fine pass back from Collister finds no one in a fairly empty box and a chance goes begging for the Wanderers.

Hecher then receives the ball just outside the box. Yeoman-Dale fronts up to her. She has one foot just inside the box. Hecher flicks the ball up to the right and it hits Yeoman-Dale’s hand and a penalty is awarded. Pretty bad luck on Yeo-Da’s part as there’s no way she could have avoided it and she was only just partially in the box. In fact whether her hand was in the box could be debated but it certainly did deflect the path of the ball.

Gielnik steps up to take the penalty with thirty-one minutes played. It’s a fairly slow shot but she sends Willacy to the right and the ball to the left so it’s in easy. As well as putting the Roar in front, this also puts Gielnik level with Canberra United’s Michelle Heyman in the race for the Golden Boot on six goals each.

Just a minute later, Gielnik gets the opportunity for another clear strike on goal but sends it quite wide to the right this time. Straight after, Tameka Yallop is on the ball and brings it down to the goal line. Her cross is brought down but she has it back almost immediately to take a shot but it’s also well wide to the right.

Wanderers get a corner and it comes in right in front of the box. Khamis jumps but doesn’t quite connect but it deflects off Kim Carroll’s lower shoulder. There are calls for a hand ball but in this case, I think the call is right.

Just before half time Jamilla Rankin sends a beautiful cross to the front of goal but it’s cleared safely by a Caitlin Cooper header then brought down the midfield by Julie Russell to pass for a similarly lovely cross by Collister. It goes to Khamis who draws Morgan Aquino and the ball is headed to the left in front of an open goal. Chloe Middleton rushes on to it but her volley can’t be controlled as defenders rush in and it goes up over the net to miss the equaliser.

Two minutes of extra time are announced. A Brisbane attack sees Middleton chop at Yallop and earn herself a yellow and a free kick for Brisbane at the top left of the box. Gielnik will take it, looking for her hat-trick no doubt. As expected, she goes for goal. It’s low and to the right but Willacy is all over it despite an unmarked Polkinghorne rushing onto her. The half time whistle goes and it’s looking pretty even after 45 minutes.

Early in the second half, Wanderers get into the box and Russell is on the left and open when she gets the ball from a cross from Danika Matos. Her shot is a half volley that goes high.

Ten minutes later, Russell gets another shot on goal as she brings it into the box, side stepping a couple of Brisbane players and shoots across the goal and it narrowly misses the top far corner.

Wanderers are immediately on the attack and Brisbane don’t clear it out when they regain possession. Hunter gets it across to Rosie Galea at the top of the box who shoots with some free space in front of her. It’s wide to the left but it looked dangerous and Wanderers are pressing hard right now.

It’s now Brisbane’s turn to attack and Yallop brings the ball through the midfield before passing to Chance on the left who crosses to the goal mouth. Kaitlyn Torpey comes in for it and both Yeoman-Dale and Willacy are there. Willacy gets above and punches it away safely but collects Torpey in her wake who goes down in front of goal. She’s back up after some treatment but it looked like a heavy fall.

Wanderers push again and it’s stuck in the right corner for a couple of throw-ins before Galea flicks it across to Khamis unmarked in the middle of the box. She turns and shoots but Aquino has it covered in some good goal keeping.

Wanderers seem to have the upper hand at the moment and have three shots to Brisbane’s none after 20 minutes of the second half.

In a switch, Hecher gets a run down the left and her cross is kicked out by Matos for a corner. The corner is low and goes through a few people before finding its way to the back of the box to Yallop. She shoots but it’s deflected and goes up high to be gathered by Willacy safely.

A careless distribution by Aquino goes straight to Collister. Khamis is clear in front of goal but the lob is intercepted and doesn’t reach Khamis. In the rush for the ball, Rankin is knocked over and Collister gives away a free kick after a wasted opportunity.

A transition sees Leticia McKenna offside. It’s straight back up the other end again and Russell brings it into the box on the left, kicks it back from the goal line and it’s tipped into the air by Aquino and then headed by Hunter across the goal. It hits the right goalpost and bounces back into play and it’s cleared by Rankin in a very close call.

The Roar attack again and McKenna gets a shot from the top of the box that skims the top post.

It’s straight back up the other end though and Galea extracts a foul on the right of the box from Rankin. Galea to take the kick. She goes for goal to the top right bin and Polkinghorne heads it out to the left. Not sure it had enough on it to get in but it was an audacious move. The resulting corner lands right in front of goal and is headed up and into the arms of Aquino by Cooper. Khamis has been knocked over in the foreground and complains about it but there’s no action on it.

In yet another transition, Gielnik somehow manages to get up from being knocked over in the box to get down to the other end to receive a through ball in the box. Willacy comes right out to deflect it across the goal. Torpey is there to pick it up but her shot goes straight to Matos covering who kicks it out for a corner.

The short corner is crossed by Rankin then punched away by Willacy. The clearance comes back in but this time is snatched by Willacy.

The game has become very transitional now and it’s Brisbane’s turn for a crack. After some play around the box Dalton has a shot over the heads of everyone but there’s not enough on it and it bounces to the feet of Willacy who scoops it up.

Once more back down the other end and this time Henry gets a shot that hits the crossbar. She looks to be offside but it’s not called.

With five minutes to go, a nice ball to Gielnik sees her take a run down the right but her pass back into the box is ineffectual and is cut off and cleared by Matos. It then goes out wide to Hecher but her cross goes to no one and goes out in acres of space on the right of goal. She should have really taken a shot then.

In a slightly desperate effort, Hunter passes to Collister who takes a shot from a long way out. It’s not on target and goes out to the right. The previously well organised Wanderers have morphed to a bit of a shambles as desperation for the equaliser sets in. They need to settle again to be more effective and patient.

In a much better move, the clearance from Aquino goes to Matos who places the ball back to Galea who tips it over right in front of Khamis who runs onto it in the box. She races with Aquino to the ball but Aquino throws herself on top of it before Khamis can connect.

There’s another push by the Wanderers and a couple of incursions are foiled until Yeoman-Dale takes it down the left and crosses to Khamis in the box. A little back heel is cleared by Polkinghorne to Matos who has a crack but she’s a long way out and it was never going in. There’s a minute left.

The clearance is to Cooper who brings it up but it goes out. Wanderers throw in.  Yeoman-Dale takes it. Khamis flicks it into the box and Galea sends it back out to Hunter. She passes back to Copus-Brown who sends it back into the box with interest. Khamis picks it up, turns and strikes. It’s on target but Aquino dives and pushes it out with one hand, saving the day for the Roar.

There’s a corner with 5 seconds to go. Khamis heads it over the goal and full time is called much to the relief of Brisbane.

So disappointing for the Wanderers not to equaliser or even win in the second half. They really did dominate although the stats aren’t really showing that. Possession was 48% WSW 52% Roar,  territory 47% WSW 53% Roar,  corners 4 for Brisbane and 3 for the Wanderers and shots 13 for Brisbane and 11 for the Wanderers which I find hard to believe after the second half. Shots on target were Brisbane 7, Wanderers 3, balls into area Brisbane 25, Wanderers 24 and saves Wanderers 5, Brisbane 2.

Speaking after the game, Leena Khamis agrees that Western Sydney Wanderers were very unlucky and deserved a point at least and big-upped the save by Morgan Aquino, which is nice.

Emily Gielnik gets Player of the Match which I don’t really agree with. Yes, she got two goals and the first was a cracker but the second was a penalty and she had very little impact on the second half. I realise goal scorers often get this award but I think the defenders stepped up, particularly in the second half.

Polkinghorne saved the day many times and Aquino really saved the day, right at the end and was very solid, except for a couple of dubious distributions. Jenkins also had a very solid game both in attack and defence. Khamis, Collister, Yeoman-Dale and even Galea coming on as a sub late in the game all were worthy contenders. But I don’t make these decisions.

So Brisbane have Sydney to play next and I think they need to ask a few questions. Wanderers played well today, perhaps their best match of the season, despite losing. They are mostly a young team with a couple of veterans but were able to take it to Brisbane today. Sydney is also a young team but have a lot more experience playing together. Given the Sydney FC v Brisbane Roar match will be another top of the table bout, it will say a lot about the state of the W-League. I worry a bit that Brisbane are stacked with Matildas yet haven’t been able to perform as expected. Yes, they haven’t lost yet but they’ve drawn four times and didn’t dominate today against a team at the bottom of the table. Their only convincing win was against Melbourne Victory. Anyway, it should be a very interesting match on Sunday.

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

Scorers: Khamis 14.

BRISBANE ROAR: Aquino, Heatley, Rankin, Polkinghorne, Carroll, Dalton, Hecher, Chance, Freier, Yallop, Gielnik. Substitutes: Zaffina, Horsey, Margraf, McKenna.

Scorers: Gielnik 16, pen 32.

Referee: Casey Reibelt.

Attendance: 494.

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.