Melbourne City are through to the semi-finals of the 2024-25 AFC Women’s Champions League after a 3-0 win over Taichung Blue Whale at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Taiwanese club Blue Whale travelled to Melbourne to take part in history on Sunday, as City hosted the very first Women’s Champions League game on Australian soil.
Having topped their Champions League group with three wins from three games, City earned hosting rights for the quarter-final clash and eased past Blue Whale with a professional performance in front of a strong home crowd.
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Mariana Speckmaier was credited with an opening goal due to her touch on defender Taylor Otto’s flick-on from a corner routine, before an unfortunate Li Pei-jung own goal gave City a two-goal lead at half-time.
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Holly McNamara made it 3-0 on the hour mark from the penalty spot having won her side the spot kick; Leticia McKenna missed a second penalty awarded to City in the second half but it mattered little to the home side as the reigning Ninja A-League Premiers sailed past Blue Whale and into the final four.
City are through to the semis – what happens next?
Having progressed past Taichung to the final four, City will now prepare for a four-day “finals” campaign, with the four semi-finalists set to meet in a centralised location to play out the remainder of the tournament in May.
With the location of the finals yet to be determined, City are set to play South Korean side Incheon Red Angels on May 21 for a place in the final scheduled for May 24.
AFC Women’s Champions League – Finals structure
- May 21: Semi-Final – Melbourne City v Incheon Red Angles
- May 21: Semi-Final – Ho Chi Minh City v Urawa Red Diamonds OR Wuhan Jianga
- May 24: Final – Winner of Semi-Final 1 v Winner of Semi-Final 2
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The prize money
City have already accumulated roughly AUD 450,000 in prize money for progressing through the group stage to the semi-finals; should the Ninja A-League side make the final but fall short, as runners-up they would receive an additional USD 500,000 (AUD 750,000).
The winners, however, would receive an additional USD 1 million (AUD 1.5 million), taking the winning club’s total winnings to USD 1.3 million (AUD 1.95 million).
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A dazzling display by McNamara on the eve of Matildas squad selection
Holly McNamara was pivotal to Melbourne City’s success on Sunday afternoon. The star winger has 10 Ninja A-League goals to her name in 2024-25 having recovered from the third anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear of her career, and carried that clinical form into Asian competition with a stellar 63-minute display.
Fluctuating between the roles of a central striker and winger, McNamara’s positional fluidity caused all sorts of problems for Blue Whale. The 22-year-old was denied a clinical finish into the bottom-left corner in the first half by a Tsai Ming-jung but McNamara’s work off the left flank led to City’s second goal.
McNamara’s cutback cross hit Blue Whale defender Li Pei-jung on its way over the line.
McNamara won and converted a second-half penalty to make it 3-0 and was substituted just minutes later – but not before suffering an injury scare.
Having suffered three ACL injuries at this early stage of her career, there is always great concern when the highly-rated winger hits the deck and on this occasion, hearts went to mouths as McNamara began to rub her right knee after making a challenge on Blue Whale forward Maho Tanaka.
Concern turned to relief, however, when McNamara got to her feet and walked to the touchline unassisted as the injury appeared to be nothing more than minor.
After recovering from her third ACL injury, McNamara made her CommBank Matildas comeback in February, coming off the bench against Japan at the SheBelieves Cup in what was her first international appearance in 1,119 days.
McNamara’s City form since returning from the SheBelieves Cup has been outstanding and with Matildas interim head coach Tom Sermanni set to announce his next international squad for April’s two-game friendly series against South Korea, the City winger will hope to earn a spot among the playing group and continue her international return.
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