The tears flowed freely for Sydney FC goalkeeper Jada Whyman as she stood on the AAMI Park turf to reflect on the season that was, and what her side had just achieved: the defence of their Liberty A-League Championship.
Whyman was a core contributor to Sydney’s second-consecutive Grand Final triumph on Saturday evening, keeping a clean sheet in the Sky Blues’ 1-0 win over Premiers Melbourne City in the title decider.
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Post-game, Whyman joined Network 10’s Tara Rushton to reflect on the accomplishment, leading to. an outpouring of emotion from Sydney’s No.1.
“It’s amazing, honestly,” Whyman said. “I think I was crying a bit too much there. It’s just been a really hard season, a proper battle and I just (couldn’t) be more proud of these girls, all the way to the end.
“City are a great team and they were on top of us for the majority of that. To just get that one moment we needed is a bit like poetry in motion to be honest.
“I’m trying to build my confidence back a little bit this year. It was up and down for myself. I’ve had a hard year outside football… but coming to Sydney every day and being around these girls really uplifts you, and keeps you going.
“I just can’t be more grateful for the support from these girls that I’ve had, just to rebuild my confidence, but a lot of these girls it’s their first Grand Final and I’m just so happy to be a part of that with them.
“And also for Prinny (Princess Ibini), she captained us through this whole season and I just want to say she’s done an absolutely fantastic job for us this year without Nat being in. A lot of credit to her as well for helping us be there.”
Rushton ended the interview by asking Whyman to summarise how her late great-grandmother Francis might have reacted to watching her clinch the 2023-24 Liberty A-League Championship.
Whyman was the focus of this week’s episode of A-Leagues All Access in which she opened up on the devastating loss of her great-grandmother, who passed away on the eve of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
“I know she’d be looking down on me today,” Whyman replied.
“A lot of my family were here today to watch me play. I just can’t be more happy for my squad. You’ve asked me a really emotional question there, Tara!”
