There’s no one way to go about assembling a strike force; there’s formations and tactical approaches to suit any squad of players, and the unique talent that lies within it.
In the Liberty A-League finals series, it’s two equally different yet effective approaches in attack which will go on display: the deadly duo and the spread.
Two teams utilise the former, and two the latter; former Canberra United spearhead Grace Gill says it’s tough to tell which will reap the most rewards in the first weekend of the finals series.
READ: FINALS PREVIEW – ‘GAMBLE PROVES COSTLY’ AS COONEY-CROSS MISSES REDS CLASH
THE FIXTURES
SYDNEY FC v MELBOURNE CITY
Leading goalscorers
- SYDNEY FC: Vine (6), Hawkesby, Siemsen, Ibini (5)
- MELBOURNE CITY: Wilkinson (12), Pollicina (7)
ADELAIDE UNITED v MELBOURNE VICTORY
Leading goalscorers
- ADELAIDE UNITED: Worts (13), Dawber (10)
- MELBOURNE VICTORY: Zimmerman (6), Privitelli, Williams (3), Markovski, Eliadis (2)
THE DEADLY DUOS
Of the four teams remaining in the championship hunt, Adelaide United and Melbourne City have relied heavily on the scoring output of a two-pronged attack to guide them up the Liberty A-League table.
It’s a tactic that’s served sides well in the past, with Matildas superstar Sam Kerr often at her devastating best with support in the final third.
“It’s not unusual to see a team with a really good strike partnership be successful,” Gill told KEEPUP. “I think if we look into the history books we can take our mind back to a Perth Glory that had Sam Kerr and Rachel Hill, a great strike partnership, or Sydney FC in the days they had Caitlin Food and Sam Kerr at the time – there’s maybe a common denominator there.
“To see the likes of Melbourne City’s Rhianna Pollicina and Hannah Wilkinson combining really well, and Adelaide with Chelsie Dawber and Fiona Worts, to me it’s unsurprising to see those teams have success.”
Adelaide United: Fiona Worts and Chelsie Dawber
A simply sensational season from the two Reds forwards saw Worts and Dawber combine for 23 goals this season. That amounts to 69.7% of Adelaide’s total of 33.
Worts won the league’s Golden Boot with her brilliant haul of 13, heftily bolstered by the five goals she struck in her side’s 8-2 win over Brisbane Roar, equalling the all-time Liberty A-League record for goals scored in a single game (alongside Melbourne City’s Hannah Wilkinson and former Perth Glory forward Kate Gill).
No Adelaide forward had ever scored 10 goals in a single season. Both Dawber and Worts surpassed that number together, in the same game (4-1 win over Wellington Phoenix). The Reds duo joined Kate Gill and Sam Kerr (Perth Glory, 2014) as the only pair of teammates to score 10 or more goals each in a single season.
Gill says the Reds are set to enjoy the individual form of both Worts and Dawber for as long as it lasts – but should the strike duo falter against Melbourne Victory on Sunday, to whom do they turn to for goals?
“From Adelaide’s point of view, with both Dawber and Worts I would query where their goals would come from if you took Fiona Worts out of the equation,” Gill said.
“She’s been spectacular for them this season. Besides just scoring goals, her actual work rate and her assists too, I think they’d be struggling a little bit more without what she’s added this year.
“If they have a game where they’re a little bit off, or if there’s a sense of reliance on them and they’re not producing in a way they have been in recent games, it can then leave the team scratching their heads a little bit as to where the goals are going to come from.”
Melbourne City: Hannah Wilkinson and Rhianna Pollicina
New Zealand international Hannah Wilkinson looked certain to stroll up and collect the league’s Golden Boot after putting five past Melbourne Victory. Her partner in crime early doors was Matildas youngster Hollie McNamara; the latter’s mid-season ACL injury meant responsibility fell to off-season recruit Rhianna Pollicina to shoulder the scoring load – and that she has.
Pollicina’s seven goals for the season, combined with Wilkinson’s 12, amount to 19 combined, and 65.5% of City’s total of 29.
Wilkinson’s departure on international duty with the Football Ferns in February stunted her league form and her ability to catch Worts at the top of the scoring chart. She finished just one goal behind Worts having played two games fewer than the Reds sniper.
Gill says although Pollicina’s form is frightening, there’s a danger of her impact being minimised by a bit of extra focus from Sydney FC when the two sides meet on Friday night.
“I think for Melbourne City, the loss of Holly McNamara has exposed them a little bit in recent weeks,” Gill said.
“They’ve had to narrow their focus more on Pollicina, who has still produced and done really, really well, but I think what it proved was McNamara was providing a really good outlet in that she was so pacey and so creative on the ball that she was providing different attacking opportunities.”
“But when you have a really in-form striker such as a Pollicina, even if you put a lot of pressure on her and try to take her out of the game, when they’re in the kind of form they’re in they’ll still find a way to score goals or be successful. Or they draw so much attention from the defensive team in terms of drawing defenders in, they’ll draw one or two bodies in and suddenly open up space for other people around them.”
THE SPREAD
Goals come from all over the park when Sydney FC or Melbourne Victory are involved this season. For the Sky Blues it appears a deliberate approach, with Mackenzie Hawkesby leading the charge from behind a front three contributing evenly throughout the regular season.
For Victory, meanwhile, it seemed an approach taken more so out of necessity. With star forward Melina Ayres sidelined for all but a single substitute appearance in the last round of action, Victory boss Jeff Hopkins has called on a diverse cast of scorers to do the damage this season.
Gill says the spread has its benefits as opposed to the reliance on the scoring output of one or two players.
“Where it can be trickier (to contain) an opposition, look to Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory where the goals are coming from a few different areas of the field,” Gill said.
“It’s harder to hone in on one or two players to try and shut them down.”
Sydney FC
The Sky Blues have benefited from contributions in attack from across the board this season. Cortnee Vine scored a team-high of six for the season, from just 10 appearances. Mackenzie Hawkesby, Princess Ibini and Remy Siemsen all scored five each, Rachel LowE contributed four – as did Maria Rojas operating largely on the fringes. Emerging full-back Charlize Rule scored three and added two assists.
Hawkesby assisted eight goals to go with her five scored throughout the season. Gill says the 21-year-old’s contribution to Sydney’s success has been emphatic, defining the attacking approach which has brought Sydney so much joy this season.
“Hawkesby has been incredible for them this season with her goalscoring and assisting,” Gill said. “I think where Sydney have been really successful besides honing in on that specific player, is they’ve got a lot of players across the team willing to do the hard grafting work which Hawkesby leads the charge in.
“I think where Sydney have the edge over some of the other teams in finals is they’ve got such incredible depth as well in their squad. I don’t know the other teams quite have the even keel of quality coming off their bench and their depth.
“That’s what sets Sydney apart – not just the hard work of the girls on the field but the equal amount of hard work that comes off the bench as well.”
Melbourne Victory
After American import Lynn Williams’ departure early in the 2021/22 campaign, and with the club’s leading goalscorer from last season Melina Ayres sidelined with a hamstring injury all season, the end product had to come from elsewhere for Melbourne Victory.
Catherine Zimmerman topped the charts for Victory in the regular season with six goals from 13 games. The next best was Lia Privitelli on three, alongside Williams, then Maja Markovski and Tiffany Eliadis with two goals apiece.
Zimmerman, Alex Chidiac, Courtney Nevin and Kyra Cooney-Cross notched a team-best of two assists each this season.
They’re not the jaw-dropping numbers produced by the forwards of Victory’s three finals rivals – but Gill saw the return of Ayres off the bench in Victory’s final game of the season as a potential point of difference for the side winless in five heading into the post-season.
“Melina Ayres could be an unknown quantity coming into finals,” Gill said. “That’s not to say we don’t know what she’s capable of, because we definitely do, in seasons gone by we’ve seen what she can produce, she can shoot from distance and she’s got a great long-range effort.
“I was really unsure whether we’d see her at all in this campaign, but the fact she did come on, she got some match minutes, I think it’s perfect going into the finals.
“I’d be surprised if we saw her start but she could potentially come off the bench and look to be that game-changer.
“Victory have had a really rough trot in terms of injuries and turnover across their squad so to be able to bring someone like Melina Ayres on this late in the campaign, I think that’s going to really bolster their side.”
