With everything riding on final round of the Liberty A-League, Rhali Dobson picks out key player for each team in the running.
You couldn’t ask for a much better final round of the season, with literally every game having a material effect on the outcome of the Liberty A-League table – and this is even before we get into the finals.
The top two are fighting for the Premiers Plate, the next four are chasing the other two finals spots, and three of those are on the hunt for a home final. The stakes are high, and every one of these teams needs to find a hero. These are the players I believe can be the dealmakers for each team, and find a performance of match-winning ability when it matters.
Sarah Hunter (Sydney FC)
The lynchpin of the Sky Blues, the glue that holds their structure together, she is a teenage freak. This is a midfielder who can score goals, can find space for someone like Cortnee Vine or Madison Haley, but who also defends both space and individual players as well.
Their physical stature notwithstanding she reminds me of N’Golo Kanté in her effect on games, and in the way that sometimes what she does goes unnoticed until people make an effort to point it out. Certainly, when she’s not there it leaves a hole in Sydney FC’s midfield but also in the heart of the team. She’s unbelievably focused, rarely switches off, and will be a leader if Sydney FC are to be successful.
Hillary Beall (Western United)
You can see such a before and after sense in Western’s season, split by the departure at the end of January of Jess McDonald back to the US. But one of the reasons this new team has managed to calm some late-season stutters is Hillary Beall in goal, a vice-captain whose performances speak volumes.
She is United’s brick wall, an excellent shot-stopping goalkeeper who augments that with sheer presence on the pitch. She has saved points and won points this year, and been a major reason for such a remarkable first year for the team. The fact she won two Player of the Month awards says everything of a player who has stood out both in her team and in the league as a whole.
Maria Rojas (Melbourne City)
A player with x-factor, a matchwinner and trader in football’s most valuable currency – goals. She’s the biggest threat that City have for this game and the finals; just signing her again was a statement of intent. She just has to make sure that her decision-making in the final third is spot on, as a player who can score herself, create for herself or create for others.
She’s a smart player who knows the value of individual work for the team structure; for instance the runs she makes can get her on the end of a pass but equally can be a decoy to open space for others. In that sense, she reminds me of Liverpool mainstay Roberto Firmino. It’s no exaggeration to say that City need Rojas to fire if they are to confirm a place in the finals and then make headway once they’re in the play-offs.
Beattie Goad (Melbourne Victory)
There’s been a buzz around Beattie these past couple of weeks, in part because of the focus on her incredible non-footballing career as a doctor. It’s meant that people have understood how good she can be – now the last person she has to really convince is herself. Victory need her to own that ability and put it in the shop window.
She has all the skills to be a gamechanger for Victory; she can cross, shoot and offers prodigious work rate. But strangely she’s always been one of the league’s most underated talents, before and since she had a spell overseas. For a brilliant achiever she is a humble person and goes quietly about her business. At this point, though, her team need that quiet influence to roar.
Vesna Milivojević (Canberra United)
There’s been understandable focus on Michelle Heyman’s scoring record, but alongside her is the silent assassin of the season. She’s deadly shooting from anywhere and is in unbelievable form. What’s been almost eerie to watch is the understanding she has struck up with Heyman, a double act that could go down as one of the greats.
Sometimes in football you see two players just sync with each other. Milivojević and Heyman have an almost symbiotic relationship, they bounce off each other and seem to inspire one another. Milivojević can play in a top two or top three equally comfortably, and I fancy she’ll enjoy tackling City’s three-player back line in Sunday’s crucial game.
Hana Lowry (Perth Glory)
To be honest I’ve almost ruled Perth out after their defeat to Sydney on Wednesday, but results could go there way to sneak into the top four. If that happens, you can expect Lowry to have played a major role, just as she has for weeks now.
In fact it’s her return to form, after a stuttering start to the season, which has been as influential a reason for Perth’s finals run as anything. She can score with her head, can shoot from long range, and her defensive work has noticeably improved as the season has gone on. Her work ethic is excellent and the ground she covers allows other players to focus entirely on their own roles. She’ll keep Glory going to the last whistle.
