These are the key talking points from Round 20 in the Liberty A-League.
The Premiership was decided in the final round and landed in Sydney FC hands as the top-four hunt went right down to the wire – while a Matildas attacker dominated in a sensational 60-minute outing on Sunday evening.
Western United’s Hannah Keane also settled the Golden Boot race with a double against Western Sydney Wanderers.
With a lot to dissect, here are the key talking points from Round 20 of the Liberty A-League.
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Holly Mac is back in business – dominant hour puts league, national team on notice
If you needed a reminder of just how damaging Holly McNamara is when she’s up and running, go watch the first hour of Melbourne City’s 3-3 draw with Canberra United.
McNamara was everywhere in her 60-minute appearance against Canberra, setting up both Hannah Wilkinson and Rhianna Pollicina for their first two goals before scoring a lovely goal to in the second-half to open up a 3-1 lead.
READ: Six-goal thriller locks in Week One Liberty A-League finals matchups
In fact, it was her first goal since returning from a year-long knee injury, dinking the ball over Canberra keeper Chloe Lincoln with expert precision.
The City attacker quite simply was unplayable, leaving the Canberra defence with little answers for her speed and skill.
Her assist for Wilkinson to open the scoring felt like a script we had seen time and time again before she was cut down with injury last season – as she burnt down the right before putting the ball on a silver platter for the Football Ferns striker.
If that wasn’t enough, assist number two for Pollicina was an exact carbon copy.
She was quite simply playing on a whole other level – before being substituted seconds after her maiden goal of the campaign.
In her five games since making a comeback, McNamara has fit seamlessly into City’s star-studded front-line. Now, she’s timing her run to perfection ahead of the Liberty A-League finals series in a fortnight’s time.
Before then, she has some business to take care of, returning to the Matildas squad for the first time since January 2022 for their clashes with Scotland and European champions England next week.
And after star attacker Caitlin Foord suffered an injury overnight for Arsenal, there’s every chance the 20-year-old could build on her three caps.
“She’s jumping on a flight tonight at 2.30 in the morning, going to London,” City head coach Dario Vidosic said post-game.
“She was probably one I considered (substituting) at halftime but then she said ‘don’t take me off.’ So we had to come to an agreement.
“She’s been excellent. She’s probably given us more than whatever anyone could hope for, for someone that’s been out for that long.”
Her performance put coach Tony Gustavsson on notice, putting her hand up for minutes in the most emphatic way possible as she looks to pick up where she left off last season and continue to mount a case to be part of the Matildas’ final FIFA Women’s World Cup squad come July.
When McNamara was on the sidelines with her knee injury, she spoke about not looking too far ahead and focusing only on getting back for City in the best shape possible, having torn her ACL twice and sustained a major stress fracture to her foot in between.
“Going to a World Cup is every footballer’s dream,” she told KEEPUP in November.
“For me, I don’t want to put a timeline on it. If I ever do get to play for the Matildas again, that would be the best thing ever but I’m not putting pressure on myself because this is such a different injury that can just disrupt and be detrimental for your career.
“I know that, setting a goal like that is something that isn’t good but it’s always my dream. 100% my dream… Hopefully, I can make an impact with Melbourne City first then I can see how it goes after that.”
If this run coupled by her immediate recall into the Matildas squad is anything to go by – then her dream is on the brink of coming true.
And if she can keep her purple patch up in finals, there’s every chance City could come away with some silverware come late April.
Sydney FC’s Premiership dynasty: ‘Has there been a more dominant side in this competition?’
As Teresa Polias watched her former side clinch the Liberty A-League Premiership she was asked a question by 10 Bold commentator Taryn Heddo that left her well and truly stumped.
“(They’re) the first team to ever secure three Premier’s Plates in a row,” said Heddo. “Has there been a more dominant side in this competition?”
“That’s a great question – and a hard one to answer,” replied Polias.
The 157-game Liberty A-League veteran spent more than a decade in Sky Blue; in that time Polias became a champion at Sydney FC, and watched a ruthless Melbourne City burst onto the scene and win three-consecutive A-League Women championships.
But in those three Championship campaigns, City only won the regular season title once.
“I think definitely in this new A-Leagues era, possibly the last three years, the new composition of the league, I’d certainly say (this Sydney side has) set the standard,” Polias said. “They’ll be the best team for a number of years if they can keep everyone together.
READ: PREMIERS! Sydney FC notch historic three-peat in style: Now ‘they want the double’
“If I look at the league from day dot, I couldn’t tell you. I’ve been lucky enough to play (in) some amazing Sydney FC teams, and against some wonderful teams like Melbourne City too. So that’s a tough one.”
But as Ante Juric’s side celebrate clinching their third-straight premiership – the fifth in club history and eighth piece of A-League Women silverware overall – it’s hard not to put them right up there in the conversation.
You would think that all there is left for this current Sydney FC side to do in order to cement their legendary status, is to seal the premiership/championship double for the very first time in club history.
The Sky Blues have ventured to each of the last five title deciders, winning just one.
“To know we have created history and become the first team to win the Premiers Plate three times in a row is an achievement which will live with us all for a very long time,” said Sydney captain Natalie Tobin after Saturday’s 4-0 win over Newcastle.
“I’m so proud of our squad and every one of our girls. It has been a privilege to captain them.
“It’s very special and a great record to have but our goal is to win the Championship and we intend to keep going and complete the double.”
READ: ‘I don’t think we get the credit for it’: Sydney boss defiant after ‘unheard of’ achievement
Juric added: “These girls thoroughly deserve this accolade. They have worked hard and I hope they get the recognition and acknowledgement this achievement merits.
“We’ve had a lot to deal with this season but our players have overcome every hurdle put in their way and I’m delighted for them.
“It is extremely hard to continue to be successful as everyone steps up against us and wants to beat us so to become the only team in A-Leagues history to win three consecutive Premierships is a remarkable feat.
“There is more work to do and we are more determined than ever to ensure we finish the season on a high in the Finals Series.”
Western find their groove at the right time but a rising star celebrates a first
Western United needed a confidence-boosting result heading into their maiden finals campaign and the new girls on the block got just that on Saturday, edging Western Sydney Wanderers 2-1.
A Hannah Keane double inspired Western, who forced rivals Sydney FC to go out and win their final regular-season fixture in order to clinch a record third successive Premiership.
It also saw American striker Keane claim the Golden Boot with 13 goals, pipping Canberra’s Michelle Heyman to the scoring honour.
READ: Keane’s candid Dub Zone interview lifts the lids on her own struggles & Western’s form
While the Wanderers ended their campaign with defeat at City Vista Recreation Reserve, it was a memorable outing for rising star Sienna Saveska.
The 16-year-old came off the bench in the 61st minute and scored her first A-Leagues goal 19 minutes later.
Saveska has only amassed 50 minutes of action across seven appearances in 2022-23, however, the highly rated teenager has made an impact in the short time on the field having made her Liberty A-League bow against Melbourne City in January.
The Wanderers midfielder, who developed into an NPLW1 first-grade player aged 15, was selected by Wellington Phoenix as a train-on player at the end of 2021 before joining Western Sydney.
Saveska was initially drafted into an elite match for Rae Dower’s Australia Under-17 side and she continues to represent the Junior Matildas.
In March, she played alongside Melbourne City sensation Daniela Galic, Adelaide United’s Emilia Murray, Sydney FC’s Indiana Dos Santos, Kahli Johnson of Western United and Melbourne Victory’s Jessika Nash as the Young Matildas kicked off their 2024 AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup qualifying journey.
Perth come agonisingly close to finals… again: ‘That’s going to sting’
Last season, Perth Glory heartbreakingly missed out on finals football on goal difference after finishing level on points with eventual champions Melbourne Victory.
This season has seen another nail-biting race to finish in the top four and once again, the Glory fell agonisingly short despite a 1-0 win away to Brisbane Roar – finishing a solitary point adrift.
Gabriella Coleman struck in the 72nd minute at Perry Park, where legendary Perth defender and two-time champion Kim Carroll retired after 159 matches.
The Glory have not competed in the Finals Series since 2018-19, when a Sam Kerr-led team ended the campaign fourth and lost in the Grand Final. Carroll was also involved in that run to the decider.
READ: 159 and out – A-Leagues legend says goodbye to a career she didn’t think she’d have
“She’s an iconic player. Football’s not going to be the same without her,” Glory head coach Alex Epakis said of Carroll.
“I’m just really pleased she gets to go out a winner.
“We’re not going to get the opportunity to play finals, and that’s going to sting because… we feel like we can compete with those top-four teams.
“But nonetheless, we’ve had a really strong and solid season.
“Players have progressed, the team’s progressed, and we’re certainly heading in an upwards trajectory.”
The Victory collapse that almost proved fatal
Leading 2-0 at half-time, two-time reigning champions Melbourne Victory were just 45 minutes away from booking their finals ticket.
READ: Victory boss can’t hide his disappointment after last-gasp equaliser
But bottom side Wellington Phoenix had other ideas at Sky Stadium on Saturday, overturning the two-goal deficit to earn a share of the spoils thanks to a chaotic 99th-minute equaliser.
The Phoenix threw a spanner in the works with virtually the last touch of the game as Victory were left shell-shocked and with their finals position up in the air. Though City’s 3-3 draw with Canberra spared their cross-town rivals.
Victory captain Kayla Morrison said the late drama “sucked the air out of the room”, with the skipper attempting to pin-point where it went wrong on Dub Zone.
“I think we sat off them,” she said. “I think we should’ve kept going at them.
“I think there were more goals to be scored. They couldn’t handle our press in the first half.
“Maybe we just got tired. It felt like we started to give them too much respect and that didn’t work for us. We let them pump balls into the box and we were just defending for our lives.
“I take responsibility for that too. It’s up to me to make those decisions on the field.”
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