You need nerves of steel to succeed at this time of the season writes Angela Christina-Wilkes in our Liberty A-League Lessons.
You could call it Feb Fast – a blizzard of games at the most pressurised time of year, where the match minutes and the intensity just keep coming.
The urgency of the final few weeks of the Libery A-League regular season has been elevated by the condensed format, with emotional resilience becoming an in-demand quantity. Whether you’re chasing finals football, or just the simple joy of winning, this is the time when mental fortitude comes to the fore.
Witness for instance the feelgood story of the round – if not the season – when Wellington Phoenix won their first game, defeating Canberra United 3-0 at Viking Park.
The win speaks to the resilience of a young side who fight for each other, who have shown fortitude in playing a fearless brand of football and have demonstrated immense courage in building something new together. Materially, the three points doesn’t change too much for Wellington, as Gemma Lewis highlighted postgame. However, emotionally, it will give them renewed energy to draw on for the remainder of the season.
Finals had slipped out of sight for both of the bottom-placed two, however both had plenty left to prove after repeated so-close-but-not-quite encounters. Ash Sykes and Michelle Heyman initially kept the Nix’ defence busy, before Chloe Knott put the visitors up with a forceful hit that slipped out of 17-year-old Chloe Lincoln’s gloves.
The lead was anything but secure heading into the break. This Canberra side have a knack for pushing their way back into games, while Nix have previously lost twice after leading 2-0 at halftime. In the second half, Grace Jale finished one-on-one with Chloe Lincoln, before Ava Pritchard’s shot deflected off Ally Haran’s hip to make it 0-3.
The Welly win serves as a parting gift for Nix captain and keeper Lily Alfeld, who will be joining the Football Ferns squad at the She Believes Cup in America over the coming fortnight. Her first senior callup doesn’t come as a surprise given her ALW form in the past year. Five other A-League Women players will join her: Perth’s Liz Anton, Sydney’s Paige Satchell, Western Sydney Wanderers’ Malia Steinmetz, Victory’s Claudia Bunge and City’s Rebekah Stott and Hannah Wilkinson.
Stott’s inclusion is a comeback of the personal kind as she returns to the Ferns for the first time since her Hodgkins Lymphoma diagnosis, and her subsequent treatment and remission. While presenting a notable gap for City’s midfield and leadership team, it is Wilkinson’s departure that provokes more questions tactically. Wilkinson has played every available minute available this season, with no apparent apprentice in the wings ready to step up as striker in her absence. It seems possible that coach Rado Vidosic will reshuffle his current attacking threats. These include Rhianna Pollicina and Holly McNamara who both scored with style in Sunday’s 4-0 win over Perth Glory.
For Perth, the loss was a steep decline from a hard-fought win over Adelaide United mere days earlier. In that game Mie Leth Jans had put her side up within six minutes, astutely heading in the ball off Deborah De La Harpe’s corner into the goal. Adelaide’s Fiona Worts countered quickly to equalise, but the goal was chalked off, taking the air out of their sails. Reduced to 10 players in the second half, Perth sat back and defended fervidly. The Reds, on the other hand, were sluggish, unable to cohesively link up and through the lines – a disappointing score line after a consistent run.
In preserving the 1-0 score line, Glory demonstrated a trademark stubbornness that has seen them protect leads and scrape back into tight contests so far this season. However, it is a lack of personnel rather than psychological grit that saw them fall to Melbourne City and which could keep them out of the top four.
Adelaide, on the other hand, regrouped to administer an 8-2 thrashing over Brisbane Roar. Hell apparently hath no fury like a Fiona Worts scorned, as she netted five to equal the record for most goals scored in a single game, joining Kate Gill and Hannah Wilkinson.
The emphatic return is important for Adelaide on several fronts. First, as their exclusion from finals last year proved, nothing can be taken for granted so a ruthless attitude in front of goal is required. Second, it points to reserves of resilience within the squad; an ability to bounce back – and quickly. The capacity to quickly turn their situation bodes well for what could come if they do secure a spot in the finals.
Finally, the performance highlighted tactical adaptability. Paige Hayward, who has been present in their front three all season, was ruled out due to injury. Instead of supplementing the gap left by Hayward with another winger, coach Adrian Stenta adjusted the formation to have Emily Condon at the top of a midfield diamond, with Worts and Chelsie Dawber roaming up front as a pair.
While the change was risky, especially coming into a game that they realistically couldn’t afford to lose, successfully pulling it off will boost the team’s confidence while providing a new tool in the arsenal as they push on.
The only team to go two from two was Melbourne Victory. They started the week with a 1-0 win over Newcastle Jets, defender Brooke Hendrix converting off a corner in her first start. Jeff Hopkins has carefully been building his side back up to full strength, with Catherine Zimmerman and Harriet Withers both returning from injury.
The conservative yet crucial win over the Jets was just the warm-up for a more comprehensive 5-0 thrashing over Western Sydney Wanderers days later. Not only was it one of Victory’s most dynamic attacking performances, but it was also one of their most joyful – eptomised by Cooney-Cross grinning, face down in the grass, after having seared away on the counter, dancing around Sarah Langman and popping the ball in the back of the net.
Wanderers had a more productive showing in the final third comparative to recent outings, and they tallied more shots than their opponent. However, Victory’s defensive composure, as well as a strong shift from keeper Casey Dumont, kept the gulf intact. With four clean sheets in a row, it’s hard to believe that defence was once a pressure point for Victory.
Sustaining momentum will be important as they head into one of the hottest games of the season: the grand final rematch. Sydney will have the (relative) advantage of fresh legs at the Big Blue on Wednesday, having only played one game in the past week to Victory’s two. The Sky Blues closed out the round with a cagey 0-1 win over Newcastle. Following a fantastic performance in her own goal, keeper Clare Coelho converted off a corner in the final seconds. Euphoria turned to shock as the goal was disallowed due to keeper-on-keeper contact, cancelling out the draw– a frenetic conclusion to a thoroughly chaotic round.
