Sydney FC Women 1 Brisbane Roar 1
Sydney FC were given a pre-Christmas dose of reality at the beautiful Leichhardt Oval on Friday night as they were made to work hard for a point against Brisbane Roar. The visitors had taken a surprise early lead through Ashlee Brodigan, Cortnee Vine had touched home to equalise, and despite the tide and the wind turning the home team’s way in the second half that decisive goal wouldn’t come. In the end, the Sky Blues had the referee to thank for both denying and saving them, and a draw was about right.
Having secured a Christmas ham in the Orange Grove Hotel’s raffle, the day could not possibly get better, but the familiar walk through the streets of Leichhardt to the Oval gave something of a nostalgic feel to this final game before the festive period. The warm sun would play its part in the early stages of this game at least, and the crowd numbers looked fabulous on entering this magical venue, the field looked pristine and the queue for food stretched halfway up the main stand. The Cove were stationed up a level at the usual far left, great for acoustics, and there was a decent turnout of familiar faces who would cheer on their beloved Sky Blue women for the full 90 minutes. Some holidaying former Sydney FC players were spotted in the stands, and there were rumours of further Matildas stars being in the crowd today too, Mackenzie Hawkesby keeping a low profile as she watched on nearby.
Roar had familiar Matildas faces Tameka Yallop and Jenna McCormick, but the vast majority of the youthful crowd was here to see one player and one player only, and every time Cortnee Vine got anywhere near the ball, excited squeals preceded her first touch. Sydney FC semed to be in the ascendency early on, although there was good endeavour down the right for Brisbane, and when the ball was struck from distance by Brodigan, there still seemed no danger. Incredibly the ball nestled into the goal with Jada Whyman somehow beaten at the near post and a shock was on the cards. Maddie Caspers again showed maturity beyond her years with some superb running and movement, but with the blustery wind in Brisbane’s favour, there were nervy moments in the Sydney FC penalty area.
Kirsty Fenton showed bravery to win a tackle out on the left and joined the attack. When she jinked past her defender, she crossed low and hard into the danger zone, where there was only one player moving, Vine stretching out her boot to divert the ball into the net for an equaliser – from our angle we had to wait a second to see the ball hit the net as the connection didn’t seem true, but when it did the cheers intensified and normal service was resumed.
The second half had a couple of talking points. The referee had a difficult moment when Fiona Worts was played in, her defender leaning back and handling the ball to prevent the one-on-one with the keeper – the Sydney fans with the ideal view were screaming for justice, but the ball was still alive. Any advantage was wasted by the profligate Sydney attack and it was just too long a moment to bring play back for the handball, and what could easily have been a red card. From that moment on, the referee was public enemy number one, and when she finally awarded a free-kick to the home team, it was accompanied by ironic jeers.
To make up for that moment, a swift break by Roar saw Whyman collect a threatening cross, but run into a Roar player, and she spilled the ball into Shay Hollman who couldn’t sort out her feet and knocked the ball into her own net. There looked to be nothing wrong with it, but the referee’s whistle sounded and the Sky Blues had got away with one, a decision that was maybe born from the non-decision earlier in the half.
All this was taking place while the Cove chuckled over the drum that seemed to have a mind of its own, and it took a ‘Give it here’ moment from capo MMTV to tame the wild beast of an instrument and get the beat back on track.
In truth, Sydney FC couldn’t finish. For all of Vine’s running, getting to the byline and shooting, there was little to threaten Jordan Silkowitz in the Brisbane goal, and it was no surprise to see the game end level. Worrying signs as Yallop ended the game on the far touchline in distress, but this had been a fine performance from the Matildas star and her valiant team.
Naturally, Vine was the centre of attention from the frenzied Sydney FC fans after the game, and it was great to see old teammates taking the time to catch up after the game, the young Sky Blue fans waiting patiently for Charlotte Mclean to unfurl from her hug, not knowing that the hug was with Matildas and WSL star Charlie Rule, trying her best to be incognito. Deborah-Anne De la Harpe also caught up with her old teammates, and it was lovely to see everyone smiling post-game and giving some festive cheer to the crowd.
We were ushered out, leaving at the same time as Jada Whyman, who simply joined the crowd heading out of the stadium, such is the respect afforded to our football stars, and we headed back to collect our meat prize from the pub, back home nice and early with only a 20-minute drive back to the burbs. Despite the underwhelming result and the unconvincing display, this had been a fantastic occasion – difficult not to be happy for Brisbane for their result, and we are left to contemplate how much longer we will see Cortnee Vine at Sydney FC with overseas interest surely at an all-time high.
Merry Christmas to you all!