Welcome to Made With Mitre Moments, where aleagues.com.au brings you all the biggest talking points from each round of the 2024-25 Ninja A-League season.
Round 5 was split across two weekends and with some of the biggest stars of the Ninja A-League absent on Matildas duty, it was time for some new names to write the headlines as an action-packed split-round ended with Melbourne City sat at the top of the Ninja A-League table.
Read on for all the biggest talking points from Round 5, thanks to Mitre.
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SUNDAY WRAP: New twist in Golden Boot race, super-sub’s 20-second impact, GK legend makes history
FIXTURE UPDATE: Sydney FC v Newcastle Jets rescheduled
Phoenix boss hails ‘incredible’ captain who stole the spotlight… back off her dog!
In mid-November, Wellington Phoenix captain Annalie Longo was part of a viral online moment when her dog, Tiger, entered the field of play whilst the Phoenix took on Canberra United at Porirua Park.
On Sunday afternoon the Phoenix returned to Porirua Park for their first game at the home venue since Tiger became the Ninja A-League’s infamous “pooch invader” – but this time it was Longo who wrote the headlines with two goals in a 2-1 win over Brisbane Roar.
Longo isn’t known for her goalscoring prowess; she had just seven Ninja A-league goals to her name before taking on the Roar. But two goals against Brisbane took that tally to nine, and took Wellington up to six points, with consecutive wins following three straight defeats to start the season.
Post-game, Phoenix head coach Paul Temple lauded Longo for her impact against the Roar, and expressed his delight at seeing Longo, not her dog Tiger, end the game as the star at Porirua Park.
“Having someone like her is just incredible,” Temple told media post-match. “I started her on the left wing, then I moved her into an eight, then into a six. She’s so versatile and so intelligent.
“The dog’s not got the headlines, Annalie’s got the headlines. It’s good.
“Two goals, and I’m sure there’s more to come as well.”
“It (the game) wasn’t that pretty, I don’t think,” Temple added. “Both teams are really good footballing teams, and I don’t think you really saw either shine as well as we could have.
“It was hard conditions, but I think we’re seeing really battling qualities from our team, doing what’s needed to do to win.
“You need that, and we’re going to need that in future games as well.”
‘Crazy’ Matildas decision that led a Reds star to make shock return
Matilda McNamara was named in the matchday squad for the CommBank Matildas’ clash with Chinese Taipei in Geelong on Saturday night – but less than 24 hours later, the Adelaide United centre-back was lining up as part of the Reds’ backline for a clash with Newcastle Jets in the Ninja A-League.
Adelaide head coach Adrian Stenta came into the weekend expecting the one-cap Matilda would be unavailable for selection against the Jets but after watching the Matildas’ 6-0 rout of Chinese Taipei at GMHBA Stadium, and seeing McNamara remain on the bench as an unused substitute, he quickly set wheels in motion to ensure she was eligible to feature at club level in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Newcastle Jets.
“It was a little bit crazy,” Stenta said. “I expected her to get some minutes across the two games for the Matildas so we were prepared to go without her.
“Then when she didn’t come on for the game yesterday I reached out and said: ‘If you want to play, we’ll see if we can find a way to get you back in’ – and she was keen, really keen to play.
“I thought for her to come out and perform the way she did today just showed how mentally tough she is and how physically strong she is as well.”
Adelaide beat Newcastle 2-0 on Sunday and it was a Fiona Worts brace that ensured the points went to the hosts at ServiceFM Stadium.
Worts took her individual tally for the season up to six goals scored in five games; the Englishwoman now has an equal-share of top spot on the Golden Boot leaderboard with Melbourne Victory forward Emily Gielnik.
After her latest match-winning display, Stenta praised Worts not just for her goals but for her work ethic.
“It’s great that Fiona is scoring goals and being part of our attack and getting those rewards,” Stenta said.
“But to be honest, it’s her work rate I’m most pleased with. And even though Erin Healy hasn’t got the stats and the rewards yet, those two players cover the most territory for us, they run the most high-speed metres in a game.
“If you’ve got attackers that are prepared to work like that for the team, I don’t care who is scoring goals. They’re doing a great job.”
Western United youngster takes 20 seconds and one touch to become a hero in Tarneit
23-year-old forward Kiara De Domizio is becoming a super-sub at Western United – and her latest exploits off the bench have to be seen to be believed.
With her side level at 1-1 with Sydney FC at Ironbark Fields on Sunday afternoon, De Domizio was brought off the bench with less than five minutes of regular time left to play. Twenty seconds later, she scored the match-winning goal with her first touch of the ball.
The 88th-minute goal was a display of true attacking instinct from De Domizio, who came off the bench and headed straight to the front post for an attacking corner, which Kahli Johnson delivered perfectly into her path.
De Domizio’s clinical finish wasn’t just her first touch of the game, it was her first touch of the season. The young forward hadn’t featured for Western since the 2023-24 finals series but took no time at all to double her career tally of Ninja A-League goals.
Her first goal for Western United came against Central Coast Mariners in March 2024; De Domizio was a substitute in that game, too, and scored within 13 minutes of being introduced to the contest by head coach Kat Smith.
SUNDAY WRAP: New twist in Golden Boot race, super-sub’s 20-second impact, GK legend makes history
FIXTURE UPDATE: Sydney FC v Newcastle Jets rescheduled
Sydney coach ‘extremely disappointed’ as latest defeat leaves Sky Blues in precarious spot
Sydney FC head coach Ante Juric is confident his side can turn things around despite sitting 10th on the Ninja A-League table five games into their Championship defence.
The Sky Blues have notched just four points from five games to date, with their third defeat of the season coming against Western United on Sunday.
Renowned for being slow starters under Juric, Sydney FC have ample time to turn things around in 2024-25 and that’s exactly what their head coach expects to occur in the coming weeks, with games against Newcastle Jets, Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne Victory presenting in the next three rounds.
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“An extremely disappointing result, especially after dominating the majority of the game and after having some very good chances,” Juric said of the 2-1 loss to Western United.
“In looking forward, we are confident that we will turn around our recent results, as we have the quality and mental attitude within the team to do so.
“The players have been working hard at training to improve on some of our weaker areas of our game.
“We will continue to improve and give ourselves the best chance of achieving success again this year.”
