Casey Dumont won player of the match in the Grand Final and Matildas boss Tony Gustavsson was watching, writes Tom Smithies.
At the highest point above Jubilee Oval, Tony Gustavsson had the best seat in the house for the Liberty A-League grand final – the perfect vanatage point to watch a history-making performance.
Despite what the history books will tell you, it wasn’t Amy Jackson and Catherine Zimmerman who won the title for Melbourne Victory and assured their retention of the crown from last year.
The hero for Victory was Casey Dumont, a goalkeeper whose series of brilliant saves repelled Sydney’s attacks at times single-handedly. So dominant was her performance that the judges of the player of the match award could just have put one name on the 3-2-1 voting slips and left it there.
There were four outstanding saves showcasing Dumont’s shot-stopping ability, but also bravery in spades; time and again she was battered by friend and foe in the moshpit of the penalty area, and each time she rose to her feet to continue the fight.
For Gustavsson there was significant food for thought in Dumont’s performance, less than 48 hours before he annouces the squad to face New Zealand in two games next month. While Lydia Williams, Mackenzie Arnold and Teagan Micah are the women in possession, a performance such as Dumont’s – on such a stage – has to merit discussion. Much has been made of Jada Whyman’s potential involvement in the national team, but Dumont’s performance will linger in the memory.
To earn both team and individual glory was just reward for the work Dumont put in to be ready for this season, after missing the whole of the last campaign through a ruptured Achilles. Physically and mentally “not ok”, in her own words, Dumont heeded the advice of a doctor and returned in better shape than ever.
Her form has been impressive throughout and in this, the climax to the campaign, she wore two fearsome collisions, one in each half, both times needing treatment for several minutes but both times climbing to her feet. When the final whistle went she was fit enough to race towards the huddle of her teammates; the bruises and the aches can wait util tomorrow.
Her elation was the very opposite of Sydney’s horror, just about every player in sky blue sinking to their knees as the end was confirmed. To win the Premiership but then lose the grand final – on home turf – was painful enough last year. To go through the same experience again 12 months later was visible agony for a team that has played in five consecutive grand finals but won just a solitary title in that time.
They were undoubtedly the best team in the competition all season; the most prolific attack, the most miserly defence. They won 11 of their 14 games, and appeared supremely relaxed in the build up to this week’s game.
Yet it’s revealing that Cortnee Vine described the 2-2 draw with Victory earlier this year as an “emotional” game and the same could be sad of this encounter. Victory were happy to make it a physical contest from the start, Courtney Vine earning a yellow card in just the eighth minute for a crude challenge, and Sydney allowed themselves to be riled.
Their belief in the style that has been so successful also seemed to dim in the face of Dumont’s heroics and too many long balls ensured – playing into Victory’s hands. The visitors hit their hosts with two sucker punches, each a result of setpiece, and you could almost see the déjà vu seeping through Sydney’s players.
Even the lifeline that Vine’s tap-in gave them – coming naturally from another Dumont save – couldn’t be converted into a comeback to match the drama of their semifinal win over Melbourne City. Juric’s side got out of jail that night, but this time the penitentiary walls were insurmountable.
They will, presumably, come again, with a young and well-bonded squad, though the bright lights of Europe may tempt some, especially with a World Cup in 17 months’ time.
But those are questions for the future, as Victory Kayla Morrison – the popular captain who tore her ACL in the opening game and missed the whole season – joined her teammates to begin the celebrations. The partying was deserved, too, as only the second side the retain the title.
