“I’ll say it over and over again: this season has been one of the most exciting (I have) seen in my whole time in the Liberty A-League.”
Dub Zone panellist Catherine Cannuli summed it up best, as Round 15 of the Liberty A-League season ticked towards its gripping conclusion.
Cannuli, watching on as fourth-placed Melbourne Victory faltered in a 2-2 draw to eighth-placed Adelaide United on Sunday evening, added: “to see how results can really change the way the ladder is going to turn, every week everybody is going to be on the edge of their seats.”
We’re now just five rounds away from the end of the regular season – but no closer to discovering which four sides will progress to the finals series, and in what order.
The draw lifted Victory to 23 points – but with fifth-placed Canberra United and Perth Glory (sixth) both winning on Saturday, their gap to the top four shortened at the conclusion of an action-packed Round 15.
With Western United and Sydney FC all-but assured to play finals, and Melbourne City looking more than likely to join them in the top four, there’s set to be a vicious scrap for that fourth and final place in the post-season.
Victory did look set to fall to a shock home defeat at the hands of an out-of-form Adelaide prior to Catherine Zimmerman’s goal of the season contender which levelled the scores at 2-2; neither side managed to find a winner, however, and as the final whistle blew, the Dub Zone panel quickly started doing the maths:
“Adelaide United, they can now only get to 29 points the season,” said Dub Zone’s Teo Pellizzeri. “It puts Brisbane Roar back ahead of them in terms of the maximum number of points they can get. Melbourne Victory… the can only get to 35 (points) now themselves. Canberra, if they were to win all of their remaining games can get to 35.
“Perth, if they were to win all their remaining games, can get to 36. So that means the odds have now swung against Melbourne Victory in the top four race. Perth are now in the box seat.
“Canberra are neck-and-neck with Victory, Brisbane and Adelaide are now needing results pretty much not just in their own games, but every time each of the teams in this cluster goes out and kicks off.”
Cannuli replied: “What an exciting finish to the season! For us to have this, to be able to sit here and not know who is going to be in the top four at the end of the season is a real testament to the league, how exciting it’s been, and how teams that dd have a slower start at the beginning can really get to the back end now and still be able to make that top four.
“It’s really, really great to see teams like Perth and Canberra to have the opportunity to push on and get something out of this season as well.”
Pride Celebration – in pictures
The A-Leagues Pride Celebration took place across every fixture on the agenda this weekend – both in the Isuzu UTE A-League and Liberty A-League. But the Celebration is far from over, with Wellington Phoenix set to carry it on next weekend when the club hosts a double-header at Sky Stadium on March 4.
But as Sunday evening brings the A-Leagues action to a close, look back on some of the images which defined a weekend where inclusivity and acceptance of all in football was the key message, and at the heart of every initiative from the league and its 13 clubs.
Melbourne City captain Emma Checker joined Dub Zone to explain what the weekend meant to her, after revealing to KEEPUP in midweek how she struggled to find acceptance when revealing her own sexuality to her loved ones.
It was a brave and honest interview, which Checker hopes will help others going through the same. Much like the A-Leagues Pride Celebration, the City skipper hopes sharing stories and spreading visibility on key issues is a path the A-Leagues must continue to travel now, and into the future.
“It’s massive – and to be honest, if it weren’t for our league taking a stance and celebrating a round like this, I may not have come out and told my story in this way,” Checker said.
“You can feel so comfortable and okay within yourself, and with your story, but when you get vulnerable and share in a public way it can feel very different.
“I think it’s a credit to the league that they’ve taken initiative in doing this, because it’s allowed – I know for people like myself – the chance to step up as well, and play a bigger role in helping others now as well.”
Checker added: “I think we’re in a really special position, to be honest, and I think we have a responsibility to do our part in a lot of areas in the broader community – this being one of them.
“I think the great thing about our league is I feel like we’ve been a leader in this element and we have often paved the way, even if it’s just been internal and not so public in the way that we are inclusive.
“I think now that it is on more public display, it’s really great, it really does give the public the chance to engage in that and see just how special sport is.
“It’s our responsibility to use our platform and generate change. Weather it’s in this space or something close to others, we’ve all got something. I think we have to use our platform to do bigger things in the world, beyond just being on the field.
“The biggest thing for me is we’ve taken a step in the right direction… it’s not just a once-off, we can’t just do it once and then think we’ve done our part. So I think for me, in seeing what I’ve seen overseas, the biggest thing is about the long-term commitment and the education around it. I think the education we were fortunate enough to receive as a players was really eye-opening and important, and to continue to generate that education to the broader community is really important.”
THE SUNDAY AGENDA
Wellington Phoenix 0-1 Sydney FC
MATCH REPORT: Lowe strikes as Sky Blues edge Phoenix in Auckland
Newcastle Jets 0-6 Western United
MATCH REPORT: Western United dismantle Jets in record victory
Melbourne Victory 2-2 Adelaide United
MATCH REPORT: Zimmerman Goal of the Season contender rescues a point for Victory in Pride Cup
RE-LIVE THE DUB ZONE ACTION
