Just three games this week in the Westfield W-League as Sydney FC wrapped up their stay in Japan for the Mobcast Cup. More on that later on, but for now lets take a look at how things shook out in Australia this weekend.
Melbourne Victory 6 (Friend 31’ 42’ 68’, Koca 34’, Barilla 52’ 70’) – 0 Newcastle Jets
The Narrative: Ouch. Its been pretty well known that this is a “rebuilding” season for Newcastle, but that doesn’t mean losing 6-0 isn’t going to sting a little bit. Newcastle had been fairly holding their own thus far in the W-League despite having no wins, but this result is certainly a few steps back. As for Melbourne, they’ll be happy with yet another offensive outpouring. Considering neither Lisa De Vanna or Jess Fishlock got their name on the score sheet, it’s pretty scary to think about just how much scoring depth is seems Melbourne has.
The Player: The 6-0 score line was good enough for Melbourne’s largest ever victory in the W-League and considering Caitlin Friend scored half of those goals, she is easily my player of the game. Friend has had a pretty good season so far and seems to be gelling well with De Vanna and Fishlock, who teamed up to help assist Friend’s second goal of the match.
Worth A Shout: No goals for the dynamic forward Lisa De Vanna in this one, but she was all over the field creating plays for her team. De Vanna assisted on two of Friend’s goals during the match and their partnership for Melbourne seems to be blossoming. It’s good to see De Vanna working to help set up goals, even if she isn’t scoring any herself. For a lot of forwards they often seem to disappear from the game when they aren’t scoring goals.
Perth Glory 1 (Sutton 89’) – 0 Adelaide United
The Narrative: After losing two in a row at home, Perth bounced back with a late late goal to earn themselves a win and stop their losing streak. It seems that late goals are becoming a trend for Perth, as they’ve had two games this season where a goal has been scored in the last ten minutes of the game. Unfortunately for Adelaide, they probably did deserve to lose this one in the end, as Perth dominated much of the match. It seemed as almost a matter of time before Perth capitalized on one of their many chances throughout the game.
The Player: Collette McCallum played a huge role in this game and was clearly focused on helping her team earn their first home win of the 2013-2014 W-League season. Before garnering the winning assist of the game, McCallum dominated the play in the midfield for much of the match. The captain had a couple good looks on goal herself and helped ensure that Adelaide didn’t have any shots until the second half.
Worth A Shout: Rosie Sutton did have the game winner in this one, so she definitely deserves some recognition. However, Sutton had several other chances to win the game in this one. Sutton missed a couple easy chances, and also missed a 1v1 chances with Adelaide keeper Melissa Barberi. For a team that has struggled to score since their five goal outburst in their opener, Sutton will need to find her finishing ability.
Canberra United 0 – 1 Brisbane Roar (Kellond-Knight 8’)
The Narrative: The battle between these two first place teams was an even contest that probably should have ended with both teams heading home with a point. However after falling behind early, Canberra couldn’t take advantage of their opportunities, including failing to convert a penalty kick in the first half and earned their first defeat of the season because of it. Brisbane continued their impressive form and paid Canberra back for beating them in Round One, and with their three points now sit atop the table with the Melbourne Victory.
The Player: Katrina Gorry has had a big couple weeks, scoring a hat trick last week and scoring for the Matildas against China. Her form has been fantastic, and has earned her W-League player of the week honors. While Gorry did give up a penalty to Canberra early in this game, she recovered quite nicely and helped hold down the midfield for Brisbane during a big game both defensively during several surges from Canberra, and helping to push the ball forward for offense.
Worth A Shout: Another game and another big clean sheet for Brisbane’s back up ‘keeper Kate Stewart. German international Nadine Angerer was just named to the FIFA player of the year shortlist, however is still out for Brisbane due to injury. In Angerer’s absence, Stewart has kept two clean sheets and allowed one goal in three games for the Roar, all of which were victories.
Team Of The Week: Brisbane Roar
The win streak continues for Brisbane and as a result not only are they tied atop the league, but they are also once again my team of the week. In their current three game win streak, Brisbane has scored eight goals while allowing just one. They also became the first team to score this season against a defensively sound Canberra side. All of this is being done without star keeper Nadine Angerer, so its hard to imagine this team’s winning ways ending when she does return.
Next Week’s Game to Watch: Sydney FC vs Melbourne Victory
Sydney FC returns to W-League action after a two-week absence and they don’t have an easy task on their hands. The undefeated in league play Sydney FC will be taking on a Melbourne Victory team that has won three straight games after their 5-1 opening loss against Sydney. This rematch will be fun to watch, as Melbourne looks for revenge and Sydney looks to reclaim a spot on top of the W-League table.
Sydney FC Finish Third in Mobcast Cup
The Sky Blues return home after a successful trip to Japan for the Mobcast Cup, a tournament serving as the unofficial Women’s World Club Championship. After falling to Chelsea in an exciting 3-2 mid-week game in the semifinals, Sydney FC took on South American Champions Colo Colo in the third place match this past weekend. Despite leading 3-1 late, Colo Colo battled back to tie the game and sent it into a penalty shootout. The shootout only went through four penalties with Renee Rollason, Anna Green, Nicola Bolger and Samantha Kerr all converting. Colo Colo missed one penalty wide, and had another saved by goalkeeper Casey Dumont. It was a massive showing for Sydney FC during this tournament. They won two matches during the tournament (after defeating NTV Beleza 1-0 in the opening round) and gave the viewers of this tournament a real glimpse of the quality that is being showcased week in and week out in the Westfield W-League.