After seven rounds there are still myriad storylines unfolding up and down the league table, says Angela Christian-Wilkes
We are, as Bon Jovi have noted, halfway there – even with postponements and COVID uncertainty, the first few teams in the Liberty A-League are 50% of the way through the home-and-away season.
Yet the outcomes for both the race to the top and the stumble to the bottom remain elusive. When teams are well-matched and the football is cagey, fine margins can make the difference. Take penalties for instance, the ultimate setpiece and a key plotline this weekend.
After securing a narrow win last week thanks to Bryleeh Henry’s penalty, Western Sydney Wanderers swiftly experienced that what goes around comes around in suffering a just-as-narrow defeat. In her first start and first full game, Melbourne Victory’s Maja Markovski stepped up confidently for Victory and blasted the ball into the top left corner. The 1-0 win for Melbourne with bring much relief.
Two penalties bookended Wellington Phoenix’ first meeting with Brisbane Roar, a match that laid bare the ecstasy and agony of football for this baby-faced but boisterous Phoenix side. For the first spotkick, Phoenix captain Lily Alfeld not only stopped the penalty from Larissa Crummer but also maintained focus to block Mariel Hecher’s follow-up. The high-adrenalin moment injected Alfeld’s side with energy.
In the 19th minute, midfielder Alyssa Whinham scuttled away from Roar’s defence with her back to goal, finding some space to turn and hit the top left bins. Her response to putting Wellington in the lead for the first time ever was equal parts delight and confusion. Striker Grace Jale doubled the lead five minutes later, heading in the ball off Chloe Knott’s corner.
With her determination and lively style embodying the Phoenix’s wider dynamic, Whinham was a fitting player to deliver this piece of history. After initially not being selected for a contract, the 18-year-old received a call back from Lewis a week out from season kick-off. Minutes weren’t a guarantee as a scholarship player, but she has since appeared in every single game. With her delicate footwork and sharp intuition for the right pass, Whinham has made an impression.
The attacking drive sustained by the likes of Whinham, even during difficult losses, provides Wellington with a point of difference. Their persistence is even more impressive given the challenges the team has had to navigate since their inception. The effects of their rushed entry into the comp four months ago, far from the support networks of home, would no doubt have been experienced more sharply by a squad with an average age of 20.
It would be understandable if Lewis had opted to adopt a more defensive mindset, in turn protecting the psyche of a cohort on a steep learning curve. Instead, they have been playing exciting, proactive football; football which can disrupt and dazzle, but also leave them vulnerable.
And much like a toddler being handed a delicious yet precarious ice-cream cone, the Nix struggled with the pressure of a lead. The remainder of the match played out as a textbook example of why “2-0 is the most dangerous scoreline in football”.
Crummer avenged her missed opportunity by assisting Hecher, making it 2-1 at halftime. With, as Lewis noted, Phoenix appearing “more petrified than when they were 5-nil down at halftime,” Roar made sure to apply pressure fast after the break and Crummer equalised within seconds. Following an uncomposed half, Katrina Gorry’s successful penalty in the 87th minute punctuated a triumphant win for the Roar. It was the most devastating loss for Wellington so far, but one they will take important lessons from.
As demonstrated, penalties can shift momentum, secure wins. This was not the case for Sydney FC. Maria Cote Rojas’ conversion from the spot kickstarted her Saturday evening hattrick and her side’s 6-0 storming of Canberra United – and it’s safe to say the penalty did not make the difference.
The result suggests Sydney are unruffled by the departure of stars Remy Siemsen and Cortnee Vine. Compared to their other substantial thrashings so far this season, the league leaders started slow – well, that is if you consider opening the account in the 28th minute, and not the 4th, to be slow. The drubbing can also be attributed to Canberra’s own unsound performance: poor back passes, lacklustre marking on corners, and the use of a high defensive line that Sydney breezed past.
The remaining fixtures in the league were lop-sided. Second-placed Melbourne City secured a knotty 1-0 win over fourth-placed Adelaide United who, while energetic, struggled to break down City’s physical and focused defence. The round ended with Newcastle Jets hosting Perth Glory. Hana Lowry put Perth up within 20 minutes, before American Elizabeth Eddy scored her debut in the 77th minute to make it 1-1 – an evidently disappointing result for both sides.
