A look at round 15 of the A-League-Women season, with Perth Glory and Canberra United continuing their late surge towards the finals.
THEY SAID IT: “I’m so pleased for her. She really deserved those goals and she had a fantastic game.” Western United assistant coach Helen Winterburn after striker Kahli Johnson returned from Young Matildas camp to slot home two goals and break a goalscoring drought in the 6-0 win over Newcastle Jets.
WOMAN OF THE WEEK: Winterburn stepped up to take charge of the competition leaders against Newcastle Jets after head coach Mark Torcaso sustained a calf injury. She did a mighty fine job, guiding the team to the six-goal triumph in his absence, the club’s biggest-ever win.
TALKING POINT: The recent form of Canberra United and Perth Glory has put them in striking distance of the top four. Canberra, on 20 points, have won three games in a row while Glory chalked up their fourth win on the trot to go to 18 points. Defending champions Melbourne Victory, on 23 points, are still favourites to make the top four but have opened the door for the chasers.
STAT ATTACK: Perth Glory have found their attacking mojo with 11 goals in their past four matches, all wins. They only scored 10 goals in their previous eight games and the pleasing thing is that they’re now sharing them around. Hana Lowry scored both in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Brisbane Roar.
UNDER PRESSURE: The Wellington Phoenix aren’t scoring goals and, apart from a 5-0 win over Canberra this season, the cellar dwellers have been insipid. They are on track to win another wooden spoon after a 1-0 loss against Sydney FC in Auckland. It’s not ideal heading into a home FIFA Women’s World Cup.
UP NEXT: A blockbuster clash looms next Sunday when second-placed Sydney FC take on competition leaders Western United. A win for United, already six points clear of Sydney, will make them specials to take the title.
