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.
Read on for all the biggest talking points from Round 17, thanks to Mitre.
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Star captain explains Melbourne Victory’s ‘DNA’
What is the key to Melbourne Victory’s strong defence? Legendary head coach Jeff Hopkins.
MATCH REPORT: Captain fantastic heads Victory to crucial win over rivals to close the gap on league leaders
Morrison was among the goalscorers at Ironbark Fields, where Victory stayed second in the standings and within five points of foes Melbourne City.
Both Victory and City share the best defensive record in the league this season, having conceded 17 goals after 17 rounds.
Asked about the secret to Victory’s defence, Morrison told Paramount+: “Jeff all he thinks about, sleeps, dreams about is defence, defence, defence.
“Rest defence, we could be taking a penalty kick and Jeff could be screaming at me rest defence.
“I always say, it’s the DNA of our team. It’s all about defence. You’d hate to be a striker here because we barely work on shooting. But to be a defender, it’s great.”
Relief for two-time champions: ‘It’s something different this season honestly’
For just the third time this season, Sydney FC celebrated a victory so there was understandably a sense of “relief” for the Sky Blues.
Nat Tobin’s stunning strike restored parity for the two-time reigning champions with 23 minutes remaining before Shea Connors settled the contest five minutes later.
MATCH REPORT: Captain’s golazo helps reigning champs heap further misery on slumping Roar in 5-goal thriller
Sydney remain rooted to the bottom of the standings but they snapped a five-game winless run, including four straight losses.
“Probably more relief than anything,” captain Tobin told Paramount+ post-match.
“When we went down 2-1, there was a lot of frustration, especially as I think we dominated the game so much. It’s been the story of our season – going down and conceding silly goals.
“But this team shows a lot of belief and resilience. It’s probably a deserved win today in the end.
“If we’d lost that game, our bad luck… it’s something different this season honestly.”
Sydney head coach Ante Juric added: “The girls showed their worth on the pitch today and it
showed in the result.
“I’m not worried about points in the next game, we’re pretty happy where we are.
“We will go into that match the same as any other. We’re here to play football, and get the three points which are up for grabs.”
‘We can play against anyone, anywhere at anytime and give ourselves a chance’
Can anyone stop Adelaide United? Based on current form, the Reds are emerging as a legitimate Championship threat.
Lucia Leon’s doubled fuelled the high-flying Reds, who ended Wellington’s five-match unbeaten streak at Porirua Park.
MATCH REPORT: High-flying Adelaide extend unbeaten run as import stars with career first
Adelaide have not featured in the finals since qualifying for their one and only Finals Series in 2021-22, when they reached the Semi-Finals.
“I’m just happy we’re higher than last season because it was a tough season last season,” Stenta told reporters after the Reds finished bottom in 2023-24.
“We’ve come a long way since then. Even our game here last season, we were outplayed and really struggled a bit.
“I’m happy to go as high as we go, but we’re just trying to take it one game at a time, as boring as that is.
“We feel like we can play against anyone, anywhere at anytime and give ourselves a chance.”
Western Sydney’s resurgence continues in Gosford
And just like that, Western Sydney Wanderers are in form and wreaking havoc in the Ninja A-League.
MATCH REPORT: Western Sydney Wanderers’ resurgence continues with stoppage-time win
There was drama in Gosford, where the Wanderers rallied to trump the Mariners thanks to substitute Holly Caspers’ 93rd-minute winner after Olivia Price had equalised 13 minutes earlier at Industree Group Stadium.
While Western Sydney are still ninth and nine points outside of the top six, they are in the midst of their best streak since winning four matches on the bounce in December-January 2024.
Caspers is playing an integral role in the resurgence. The 25-year-old has scored three goals in as many games.
Newcastle Jets snap skid: ‘It can be a downer’
Newcastle Jets are back in the winners circle after overcoming Perth Glory 2-1 on Saturday.
MATCH REPORT: Newcastle Jets end Ninja A-League drought at the expense of Perth Glory
Newcastle held on for maximum points despite Libby Copus-Brown’s record 13 minutes from the end in the Hunter region.
“It’s nice (to win). It’s always nice to do it at home as well,” Hoban told Paramount+.
“It can obviously be a downer when you just keep losing match after match.
“But I feel like we always have pretty good intensity involvement, even when we lose.
“But it’s just nice to finally get three points. Just be proud of the football we’re playing.”
‘We want to go and beat that record’
Make no mistake, Melbourne City are out to make history in the Ninja A-League.
City are now 18 games without a defeat, a record shared by Brisbane Roar (2008-09), Canberra United (2011-12) and City themselves (2015-16).
MATCH REPORT: Melbourne City equal A-Leagues record as reigning premiers stretch streak
“We’re super proud to achieve that,” captain Rebekah Stott told Paramount+.
“We obviously want to go and beat that record, but to be honest, we haven’t been talking a lot about it.
“We know it’s a goal but it’s not something we’re focusing on everyday.
“We want to be hard to beat and being hard to beat can help you get that record, and that’s what we’re aiming for.”
