This week’s Liberty A-League lessons examines how Sydney FC have come to dominate the competition, to the point of keeping a clean sheet against their nearest rivals on the weekend.
Every game this Liberty A-League season has felt like a statement of intent from Sydney – their statement being that they will be walking away with the double. At the time of writing, they are undefeated. Over a period of three games, they managed to score 15 of their 26 goals. They haven’t conceded since Round 1 – and even then, it was a single goal. While Sydney FC have always been in the mix, this season are the side to catch before they slip out of reach.
On Saturday night, they hosted Melbourne City. Second on the ladder, the visitors seemed to be best placed to besmirch the league leaders’ dominant record. Furthermore, the game could have been considered a grand final preview given their current standings as well as the comprehensive catalogue of finals appearances the two clubs have (which have often featured the other.)
Yet the 3-0 win for Sydney, on paper, suggests that even City have little chance of slowing them down. How have Sydney done it? How have they become untouchable in what otherwise would be one of the most competitive ALW seasons to date? Some possible answers to that question may be answered by looking back to nearly two years ago, when Melbourne City and Sydney FC met at the grand final in 2020.
The starting eleven included Scottish international Clare Emslie, three-time ALW championship winner Lauren Barnes, World Cup winner and Japanese international Yukari Kinga, and six mainstay Matildas including Emily Van Egmond, Ellie Carpenter and Kyah Simon. Thanks to an early Steph Catley goal, Melbourne City claimed their fourth championship in front of an empty stadium – an eerie anomaly that would soon become a regular occurrence in sport.
After securing their silverware, all six of these national players would head overseas – part of a larger movement within the league that can be best understood as “the Matildas exodus”. For Sydney, the bandaid had already been ripped off in time for finals: Caitlin Foord and Chloe Logarzo had departed Sydney earlier that season for the English FA Women’s Super League, leaving significant gaps in the Sky Blues’ attack. At the time, this was a disadvantage. However, it was in the spaces left behind by Logarzo, Foord and, eventually, Alanna Kennedy, that fresher faces and lesser-known names would have an opportunity to embed themselves into the squad.
For example, Mackenzie Hawkesby came off the bench in the 2020 final to replace Taylor Ray for the final five minutes. This season, both have been integral in Sydney’s dominance. Hawkesby has played every minute and been the constant in a rotating midfield group that has afforded Sydney impressive depth. Ray’s industrious work in defensive midfield would have meant a call up to the Matildas had it not been for COVID. Princess Ibini and Remy Siemsen – who is currently in India – are another two players on that teamsheet who have since shifted from developing to core players. Stalwart centre back Natalie Tobin also played in that final, accompanied by one of the competition’s most consistent full backs in Ally Green.
Therein lies the source of Sydney’s strengths. The bulk of this squad have been at the club for at least one full season, some for even longer. Moving beyond an “add talent and stir” approach that has proved fruitful in previous renditions of the ALW, Juric’s side boasts a homegrown cohesion that is difficult for oppositions to infiltrate and is even harder for them to replicate. After simmering for a while, Sydney FC seem to have finally hit a rolling boil.
While a 2-0 lead at the break was reflective of the game’s complexion, City were still able to show why they are the ones nipping at Sydney’s heels. They returned after the break with renewed intensity and, in the first fifteen minutes, provided goalkeeper Jada Whyman with possibly the busiest stint of her season so far – including a near call with a disallowed goal from City skipper Emma Checker.
Whether Whyman has been one of the best keepers in the league this season has been up for her debate. Unlike her peers, questions around her capabilities haven’t been prompted by on-field mishaps or patchy performances. Rather, it’s been the opposite. Buffered by a sturdy defence, there have been three games where there hasn’t been a single shot on target for Whyman to bat away. Put simply, she hasn’t had to do a whole lot.
Even when taking into consideration the small sample size, her stats are admirable, pointing to the precious capacity as a keeper to remain focused through untested stretches and engaging when it matters most. In this game, she rose to the occasion, staying across chances from the likes of Kaitlyn Torpey and Hannah Wilkinson.
Bar Sydney being outrageously good, scorelines remain elusive and exciting elsewhere in the league. The opening game of Adelaide United against Wellington Phoenix proved to be a more even-handed affair. Following their rise and fall last week, Wellington seemed intent on rising from the ashes, delivering another gritty performance. Adelaide would have been smarting at not having scored by halftime, and it wasn’t until the 68th minute that Paige Hayward’s pushed the ball around Zoe McMeeken to put them ahead 1-0.
Western Sydney Wanderers continued their streak of fine margins, losing 1-0 to Perth Glory. Both sides have replenished their stocks, with tenured striker and mid-season signing Leena Khamis making her first appearance in purple while Wanderers alumni Alexandra Hunyh returning from a year and a half playing overseas. Deborah De La Harpe was the player to split the difference with her debut goal.
