Western Sydney Wanderers’ Amy Harrison says her team’s self-belief has never been higher as they return to Westfield W-League action this weekend.
The second-placed Wanderers are flying this Westfield W-League season ahead of this weekend’s clash with Brisbane Roar – already setting a club record points tally for the season on the back of a six-match unbeaten run.
The home fixture against Roar will be the first in 17 days for the Wanderers in the Westfield W-League following their Round 8 bye.
However, Dean Heffernan’s side have avoided the risk of going stale during the league lay-off after defeating China PR 1-0 in a friendly match on the Gold Coast last weekend.
Westfield Matildas midfielder Harrison scored the match-winner for the Wanderers in that game and says the side is ready to continue building on their best ever Westfield W-League season.
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“The win against China was super important to us for our confidence and camaraderie and that is going from strength-to-strength,” Harrison explained.
She added: “It’s such a great group of girls and we could be anywhere and make the most of it, but obviously the Gold Coast was a great success.
“It was a like a mid-season trip for us to have another little mini pre-season and get going for the second half of the season.”
The result against China comes after the Wanderers followed up a 5-0 demolition of Sydney FC prior to Christmas and a 4-0 win over Canberra United on Boxing Day – the team’s first ever clean sheet away from home.
Wanderers’ American defender, Sam Staab, is in her first Westfield W-League season and described the win over a Chinese side ranked 15th in the world as ‘huge’ for her side.
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She said the challenge now is to bring the team’s momentum into the new year at Marconi Stadium, where the Roar have claimed the points on their past four visits dating back to 2015.
“I think it will be great to get back to Marconi,” Staab said.
“We haven’t played here since Round 1. It will be a big game and it will be a good start to the decade.”
To further emphasise the high spirits in the squad, Harrison and Staab also took the opportunity this week to immerse themselves in Marconi’s traditional Italian heritage with a crash course in pizza making.
“I only burned myself once, so it was good,” Staab joked of the experience.
The Wanderers won their previous clash with the Roar 3-1 back in November in Brisbane on the back of a hat-trick from Kristen Hamilton.
Round 9
Western Sydney Wanderers v Brisbane Roar
Sunday, 12 January 2020
Kick-off: 4pm AEDT
Venue: Marconi Stadium
Broadcast: ABC TV, FOX Sports
Stream: MyFootball Live App, Kayo Sports, ABC iView
