‘Have no fear’: Mastrantonio’s message ahead of Wanderers’ historic first finals match

Ella Mastrantonio has experienced the full gamut of emotions when it comes to playing in the Westfield W-League Finals Series during her career.

From winning Premierships and memorable wins in Semi Finals, to the agony of penalty-shootout defeats and a Grand Final loss.

But it’s those experiences the classy midfielder will try and pass on to some of her teammates ahead of Western Sydney Wanderers’ first-ever finals match on Sunday.

Dean Heffernan’s side created their own piece of club history in 2019/20 as they reached the final four for the first time in the Red and Black’s history.

And they will rely on the composure and winning mentality of the 28-year-old as they look to pull off a shock against unbeaten premiers Melbourne City.

“I’ll tell them just to have no fear. It’s finals football and anything can happen,” said Mastrantonio when asked the message she would give to her teammates.

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“We are playing City who have stacks of full internationals, but on any given day anyone can win.

“I have full belief we can beat anyone and go all the way.

“I feel the young girls are a bit quiet some of the time. Sure, a few of us are experienced heads in the camp, so we will be willing to give any advice any time and try to lead by example.”

While the likes of Kristen Hamilton, Lynn Williams, Amy Harrison, Denise O’Sullivan and Kyra Cooney-Cross have generated plenty of headlines this season, Mastrantonio has been a key figure in the side’s success.

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She played all but one of the 12 regular season games (missing it through suspension) while she will play finals football with her third different club in her 12^th Westfield W-League campaign.

“I’m pretty excited…it is the first final for the club and everyone is buzzing,” said Mastrantonio.

“We are all so excited to even get to this point. We had the weekend off, so we all refreshed mentality and physically and we are ready to go.

“For me, there’s a real sense of pride because it was one of the goals I wanted to accomplish when I came to the club at the start of the season.

“I am glad as a team we have done that and that goes back to all the staff and everyone from the top to bottom. Hopefully, we can keep creating more history for the club.”

The Wanderers played City once during the regular season, with the premiers prevailing 4-0 in Melbourne back in Round 13.

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