These are the key talking points from Round 9 in the Liberty A-League.
Melbourne City took home Derby bragging rights, while Wellington Phoenix made an intriguing change to their tactics in the win over Newcastle Jets.
Adelaide United registered back-to-back wins for the first time in over a year in the Liberty A-League, with thanks to an incredible performance from Annalee Grove.
And Matildas star Cortnee Vine sent an ominous warning to the rest of the competition that she’s returning to her blistering best.
With a lot to dissect, here are the key talking points from Round 9 of the Liberty A-League.
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Wellington boss explains fascinating tactical shift as Mariana roars back into form
Wellington Phoenix have made headlines throughout the opening weeks of the Liberty A-League season for their ‘small ball’ approach, but coach Paul Temple shuffled the deck for their clash against Newcastle Jets – making an intriguing tactical shift.
Temple shifted Mariana Speckmaier and Hope Breslin out wide for the clash against the Jets, opting to play Macey Fraser as a false nine, while shifting defenders Kate Taylor and Michaela Foster into midfield.
The move paid off enormously as Wellington came away with a 2-0 victory over the Jets, ending their two game winless run.
Temple explained why he opted to make that move in his post game press conference.
“I think it went really well,” Temple said about the shift.
“Jets have really picked up over the last month and what they’ve been doing is this one on one kind of all over the pitch, pressing, getting tight on people.
“So what we decided to do today was kind of have an extra sort of more defensive player in the midfield. So Michaela (Foster) and Kate (Taylor), and so that gave us kind of Macey (Fraser) to use as a free player.
“We knew that the middle centre back would kind of have to make those decisions. Does she follow her all the way in and leave a big gap? Or does she sort of hold and let her have the space?
MATCH REPORT: Wellington close in on league leaders after star duo ensure Phoenix soar past Jets
“I thought we did that tactic quite well. We got Macey on the ball a lot, got her turns and then when she did follow her in, we were able to kind of find spaces around the side.
“It was just little kind of tactical tweaks that I thought we needed to do and it’s nice, when players do that, because then it just gives you more options moving forward.”
It was a weekend to remember for Speckmaier, who put in a brilliant showing, scoring the opener with a brilliantly taken penalty before getting an assist for Hope Breslin to double their advantage on Saturday afternoon.
Speckmaier – who turns 26 on Boxing Day – hadn’t scored since Round 3 and had spurred a number of quality chances over the last couple of weeks, so finding the back of the net at Sky Stadium was a welcome sight for the Venezuelan international.
“It felt really good. The last few games I’ve had, my chances on goal I haven’t been able to convert them, so getting that goal today was a really good feeling. It feels like my work is paying off,” Speckmaier said.
Temple was pleased with what he saw from the former Washington Spirit attacker, hoping she can kick on heading into the rest of the campaign.
“It’s just about being brave as a striker and keep putting yourself in the positions,” Temple said.
“On the back of a few misses, which have obviously knocked her a little bit, to stand up and take a big breath of that penalty, take her time and just smash it in the top corner, I think that shows where she’s at from a mentality point of view.
“It’s brave and strong to do that, and it was a good finish and she can move forward now.”
Numbers behind Reds keeper’s unbelievable showing
Annalee Grove, take a bow.
The Adelaide United goalkeeper had one of the performances of the season, keeping Western Sydney Wanderers at bay in their 1-0 victory on Saturday evening.
Grove made huge one-on-one saves to deny Danika Matos, Holly Caspers and Sophie Harding throughout the evening, helping the Reds weather the storm before and after they went down to 10 players following Ella Tonkin’s red card.
The Wanderers had an expected goals (xG) of 3.14 compared to Adelaide’s 0.83, and Grove had to make a total of five saves throughout the contest.
MATCH REPORT: Outstanding goalkeeping display helps Adelaide snatch impressive win over Wanderers
Only Melbourne City (3.46) registered a higher xG this round, showcasing just how many chances the Wanderers spurred, but were also – at the same time – denied by the brilliance of Grove.
It was the kind of performance that initially put Grove on the map during their run to the finals in the 2021-22 season, also sending a reminder to the rest of the competition that she’s still one of the league’s best goalkeepers when she’s in this kind of inspired form.
Matildas star puts league on notice with ominous display
If rival coaches around the league hadn’t already hatched plans to curtail the influence of Sydney FC winger Cortnee Vine, her performance against Brisbane Roar on Friday night will serve as a timely reminder to do exactly that.
Vine scored Sydney’s solitary goal in a 1-1 draw with Brisbane – but it wasn’t the end result and her individual output that was so ominous – it was the potential she showed to cause so much more damage to a Brisbane outfit that struggled to curtail her impact all night long.
MATCH REPORT: Vine strikes in clash of Matildas as Sky Blues, Roar share the spoils
The Matildas winger made her first start for the Sky Blues since a hamstring injury on international duty in October, and although displaying rustiness with her finishing and end product, Vine showed her trademark pace and dribbling prowess to pervade into dangerous areas, time and time again.
Vine has just two goals to her name this season to date, but both of those strikes have come across her last three outings. The reigning Premiers and Champions need a spark to fly back up the Liberty A-League table; more match minutes will lead to Vine regaining her polish in the box – and if opponents aren’t prepared, an avalanche of goals.
City’s added bonus in win over Victory
A win over the arch rivals heading into Christmas was the perfect present for Melbourne City.
Dario Vidosic’s side knocked off Melbourne Victory 1-0 on Saturday, claiming not only bragging rights, but sent them top of the table ahead of Perth Glory, turning a corner following a fortnight without a victory.
Vidosic said post-game he was pleased with what he saw on the ball, believing they could have easily scored more than once at AAMI Park, but he was also just as satisfied with the way they defended.
City kept their first clean sheet since their 1-0 win over Wellington Phoenix back in Round 1, turning a corner after conceding a whopping 13 goals in the space of six games.
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“It’s because of the way we play because we’re so open, we’re so far away from our goal that there’s going to be times when we get caught and we work on it, and it’s it’s just something that’s gonna get better and better,” Vidosic said about their defensive structures.
“Today I though we controlled it. We never really got caught too much in transition, a few times out wide then they crossed, but in terms of all that (defending) we’ve been practising and working on, a lot of it was shown today.
“They were a joy to watch for the majority of the afternoon.
“At times it would have felt like there were three extra players of ours out there.”
Western’s simple, but effective tactic shuts out Glory
Western United put together arguably their best start-to-finish performance of the season in their 1-0 win over Perth Glory.
Kat Smith’s charges were superb on Friday evening, completely shutting out the then, league leaders with an effective, but simple game plan that shut out the visitors.
Western’s plan was to press high and force Glory into high turnovers, which they did from the word go, especially in the first half.
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The Taranto twins, along with Jackie Sawicki set the tempo in the middle of the park, allowing for the likes of Chloe Logarzo – who scored the winner – and Hannah Keane to find avenues to put Glory’s scrambling defence under pressure.
If it wasn’t for the woodwork and some wayward finishing, the final score could have been a lot higher.
And this tactical switch may have set the blueprint for sides looking to exploit Perth, who are currently in the midst of a dip in form of their own, winning one of their last five.
Western’s performance and importantly, the result, is certainly a platform for them to build off, especially as they are yet to win back-to-back games this season.
Mariners striker’s special outing in the capital
Goals had been hard to come by for the Central Coast Mariners in the first few weeks of the season, but they may have found an answer for their attacking struggles on the weekend.
Wurigumula put in a special showing in their 3-0 victory over Canberra United, scoring twice including a stunning long range attempt to help Emily Husband’s side to their third victory of the season.
The Chinese international has been in and out of the Mariners starting XI this season as Husband looks to find her best attacking unit, jostling with the likes of Rola Badawiya and Annalisse Rasumssen for a starting spot.
MATCH REPORT: Wurigumula masterclass, headlined by golazo, helps Mariners roll past Canberra
Husband went with Wurgimula and Badawiya from the first minute again at McKellar Park, with the move paying huge dividends against a porous Canberra defence.
Their next test against Perth Glory at home will be a good barometer to see where Wurgimula and her teammates stack up against the best in the competition, as they look to secure a finals spot in their first season back in the league.
