It seemed only fitting that Savannah McCaskill had the final say on Sydney FC’s rollercoaster Westfield W-League season.
Announced in Sky Blue on the eve of the campaign curtain-raiser, the American forward found herself engulfed in the teething problems that would scupper the new-look Sydney FC’s start.
Ante Juric’s side would lose three of their opening four matches and doubts over the Harbour City side’s capability of a repeat Grand Final achievement began to surface.
However, the 22-year-old would soon pull Sydney FC into gear and her fantastic debut year culminated in Saturday’s 4-2 defeat of Perth Glory.
“We put it together at the right moment,” McCaskill told www.wleague.com.au.
“This team just worked so hard all season no matter what – if we dropped a game here or there they’d come back resilient and just keep working.
“It’s a testament to every one of these girls that are on this team.
“It’s been an honour to train and play with some of the best players in the world. Every person showed up today which is what we needed to beat a great side like Perth.”
HEROIC MOMENTS: McCaskill treats special fans to Westfield W-League 2019 Grand Final fireworks
READ ALL ABOUT IT: Social media reacts to Sydney FC’s stunning Grand Final win
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Foord: ‘It shows the character within this team’
There is perhaps no greater emblem of Sydney FC’s late resurgence than Westfield Matildas forward Caitlin Foord.
The Westfield Matildas striker entered a rich vein of goal scoring form at the back end of the campaign, clinching back to back braces in January.
And although not on the Grand Final score sheet, a third Championship trophy would not have been possible without Foord’s goal scoring endeavours.
“We started off with a rocky start with a couple of losses but to bring it all together and to turn it all around shows the character within this team,” Foord told www.wleague.com.au.
“I said all year round we had the players to be able to do it, it just took a little bit to connect.
“And once it did obviously today shows what can happen. All credit to the team – it was our best game all season and we left it to the most important one.”
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514572001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6002899016001
Logarzo hails Sydney FC’s best game all season
Will Chloe Logarzo ever hit a ball sweeter than that?
The Westfield Matildas star put the icing on the cake for Sydney FC with a stunning curler from outside the box restore the Sky Blues’ two-goal buffer.
It was perhaps the contest’s decisive moment, but the Washington Spirit-bound midfielder believes it was her side’s ability to shackle Perth Glory’s attacking weapons that proved most critical to the outcome.
“I think it was the best game we ever played this season. It was really nice for the girls to come together especially in a Grand Final,” Logarzo told www.wleague.com.au.
“Perth have got the likes of Sam (Kerr) and (Rachel) Hill, they’re incredible players. We were able to contain them in this game and I think we were clinical in the front third.”
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514572001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6002898973001
Halting ‘out of this world’ Kerr key: Sydney FC skipper
Logarzo was not the only Sydney FC player to comment on how effectively they dealt with Perth’s deadly strike partnership of Sam Kerr and Rachel Hill.
The Perth pairing had spearheaded Glory’s charge to silverware all season but despite Kerr’s first half penalty, both the Westfield Matildas star and American hot-shot were admirably nullified.
That was a challenge that Sydney FC captain Teresa Polias relished on the afternoon.
“It was a huge task,” said Polias.
“We knew we had to try and contain her. It’s impossible to contain Sam for a whole game and you saw her antics yesterday.
“She’s just incredible – out of this world.”
“But not just that I think she’s been able to rally the rest of her team. They’re a young team and they have done an outstanding job this season. Huge credit to our defensive line yesterday.”
Meanwhile, Sofia Huerta also hailed the threat of Glory and the fight which Sydney FC displayed.
“Playing Perth is always a challenge,” Huerta told www.wleague.com.au.
“They have a really good team but they also have Rachel Hill and Sam Kerr, really dangerous players, Alyssa Mautz.
“Their whole team is quality so I think we knew we had to fight until the very end. Every goal was super important.”
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