The 2025-26 Ninja A-League season is down to the final four teams and aleagues.com.au has everything you need to know ahead of week 3 of the Finals Series.
Read on below to catch up on everything you need to know ahead of this weekend’s Semi-Finals clashes.
Melbourne City v Melbourne Victory
Saturday, May 9 – ctrl:cyber Pitch– 2:00pm AEST
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City take a 1-0 advantage into their home semi-final leg
A Leticia McKenna free kick was the difference between these sides in the first leg, with Melbourne City taking a 1-0 win at AAMI Park.
Speaking on Dub Zone, Victory midfielder Grace Maher said the one goal deficit will only serve as motivation.
“Victory live for one-off games. And we know now that this is a one off game.
“We’ve got the deficit, but maybe that puts a little bit of pressure. It’s a really interesting tactical minefield for City, being 1-0 up and how they approach it.
“But for us, it’s clear, we have to score and we have to come out firing.
“We’re just looking forward to taking it to their home field and maybe bring those demons back for City.”
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For City though, it’s all about finishing the job they started at AAMI Park last weekend with as little fuss as possible.
Michael Matricciani’s side will run out at ctrl;cyber Pitch as heavy favourites this weekend having secured victory in the first leg and according to striker Aideen Keane, it’s all about mindset.
“I think we definitely had a sense of control throughout the match,” said Keane when speaking ahead of the game and I think we had a really good mindset throughout it.
“We were calm, we were creating opportunities and I think we just had a hand on the match the whole time, which is exactly where you want to be.
“So that’s something that we’re definitely going to look to bring in this game again.
“We’ve got that winning mentality. So from minute one to minute 90, you know, the whole game where we’re looking to win, we’re looking to score goals, and we did that in the first leg.
“So we’re looking to do it again.”
Another big boost for the City is the fact the game will take place at their own stadium in Casey Fields as opposed to AAMI Park.
Whilst it may not sound like much it’s actually something Keane believes will give them another edge come game day, especially given the pitch doubles as their training base.
“Playing at AAMI Park is always really nice, but it’s definitely an advantage for us, being that we’re on that pitch pretty much every day.
“So we know it inside and out. We know the size, we know the conditions and yeah, I think we’ve definitely got that bit of an advantage in we know what to expect.”
Wellington Phoenix v Brisbane Roar
Sunday, May 10 – Porirua Park – 12:30pm AEST
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Brisbane head over to Wellington with a 2-1 lead to defend.
The Phoenix hit the lead early in the first leg through Grace Jale, before Momo Hayashi equalised for Brisbane 10 minutes after and Daisy Brown put them ahead with just 20 minutes to play.
Wellington coach Bev Priestman is optimistic about her side’s chances of turning it around though, especially when the crucial second leg is in front of the club’s fans.
“I think it’s exactly what we expected, it was a difficult game, the pitch, we played a little bit into their hands in terms of their style of play.
READ MORE: Phoenix boss’ rallying cry ahead of 2nd leg: ‘Stand up and be counted’
“But really, we’re one goal down to go to Porirua Park, we get to play the way we like to play and we’re going home, we’re going to do it in front of our amazing fans.
“This is where big players step up. This is a great opportunity for us. Adversity, we always step up. And I’m actually really excited to see the response from the group.”
“If we get an early goal at Porirua Park, the whole game changes.
“We’ve talked about making the city stop. That’s our opportunity now to go home to a packed out Porirua Park and reward our really loyal fans.
Brisbane will be without defender Ruby Cuthbert for the second leg, the defender coming off in the eight minute and leaving the ground after the match on crutches.
Coach Alex Smith was pleased with how his team reshuffled after the early setback.
“It wouldn’t be our season if we didn’t have to deal with something during the game.
“So it forced us into a little bit of a change, with a couple of people moving positions, so for us to perform like that, I thought we were the more aggressive team.”
Whilst they do hold a 2-1 advantage heading to New Zealand, should they need to find a goal then young forward Daisy Brown has proven herself capable of steping up when her side needs her most this campaign.
“It’s a testament to the system we have here in Queensland and the type of players we produce,” said Smith when discussing Brown’s transformation.
“To come in as an 18-19-year-old and score eight goals in a debut season is fantastic. She’s a great kid as well, so I couldn’t be happier for her.”
One of the players brought on earlier than expected in the reshuffle was captain Tameka Yallop, and the Brisbane legend paid tribute to her injured teammate who will now miss the this weekend’s clash.
“I think we had an excellent first half, obviously was very disappointing and sad for Ruby to come off in the first five minutes, but I think the girls turned around really well.
“And after half-time, going in and checking on an injured player, I think we came out with even more fire and were pretty happy with the game.
“I think we’ve had a solid group of girls together for a couple of years and pretty much everyone’s been through the injury ringer.
“So we’ve all been in and out of rehab and we all know what it’s like, so I think there’s extra motivation.
“We’ve got a diehard team that we haven’t been in the finals for a long time. We’re excited to be here, but also to fight for it.
“We’ve got good momentum at the moment and playing at home obviously really helped us as well. We’ve got to take that away now and hopefully do it again.”
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