Sydney FC Women 2 Adelaide United 3
The most rousing finish to a football match saw our embattled Sydney FC roar back from a two-goal deficit only to throw the game away with almost the last kick of the game. Scenes of devastation fell upon Leichhardt Oval as the players trudged disconsolately to the home end to thank their raucous fans, but every Sydney FC fan will have been encouaged by what they saw in the closing stages and will be looking forward to seeing that effort and determination for the rest of the season. An amazing spectacle that was preceded by an hour of turgid football as the visitors out-fought and out-thought the reigning A-League champions, and perhaps the result was the correct one, but oh how close we came.
Friday night footie for Sydney FC women! We left home at 4.30pm and, after parking up and seeing Caley Tallon-Henniker’s hair-braiding session in the Leichhardt Leisure Centre car park, we were in our traditional pre-game boozer The Orange Grove Hotel just afer 5pm. A little more than an hour later, the Women’s Cove regulars were walking out of the pub with their spoils after a super-successful meat raffle. We were already winners tonight, this was maybe the day when everything went right.
The personal touch of the Sydney FC membership manager greeting every fan as they walked through the main gate is always something that sets this club aside from the others, and after seeing Shea Connors in her club tracksuit, it was clear that she had been omitted from the matchday squad. Tough to see a talented striker overlooked.
We were earlier than usual, and that gave us a chance to catch the end of the warm-ups, the Sydney FC players disappearing down the tunnel with a spring in their step after a final drill had them hollering and whooping. Our expert Cove drummer for the day was undergoing final checks to see if he was match-fit; the crowd was incredibly sparse for a Friday evening, the hill bare apart from a clump of picnic blankets in front of the scoreboard. But the mood felt good and we were hoping to see Sydney FC finally turn the corner and play some attractive football.
From the very first kick off we knew that was not going to be the case. Sydney FC kicked off and immediately played the ball to absolutely no one in blue, and there were already groans from the crowd. The first 20 minutes were perhaps as bad as Sydney have played all season, and that’s saying something. A string of misplaced passes, balls played aimlessly in the general direction of a teammate, and it was horrible to watch. Adelaide’s right wing back was having a field day, Faye Bryson absent on more than one occasion, and that led to the first goal. Lucia Leon played in a teasing low ball towards goal. Brianna Edwards, who had already flapped at a couple of dangerous crosses earlier, was caught in no man’s land when she could have been assertive and smothered the ball, the ball instead ricocheting off Margaux Chauvet and landing perfectly at Emily Condon’s feet for her to stroke the ball into the empty net for 1-0. The knowledgeable souls in the main stand were crying for offside for the initial through ball for Leon, but it was in vain and ultimately meaningless without VAR.
So, a goal behind, Sydney looked to get back into the game, and were dangerous down the left with birthday girl Princess Ibini lively, but the end product was absent and any effort on goal was fielded easily by the under-employed Adelaide goalkeeper. The Cove songbook got a work out and, despite some timing difficulties with the percussion section, there was plenty of atmosphere. A goal behind at the break was definitely the right scoreline, but the visitors had not exactly been world-beaters themselves.
The second half was underway once the half-time heroes left the field, and it was more of the same, and no surprise when Abby Lemon, Bryson’s replacement at the break, was comprehensively beaten on the right, and Edwards pushed a tame shot right to the feet of Condon who rolled the ball into the gaping net for two. Echoes of Central Coast away on the opening day. Absolutely horrific defending from the Sky Blues, and just as we were mid-song too, which is never a good time.
That’s when something came over the Sky Blues. It was as though the team collectively took in a sharp breath and said “Fuck it, let’s go for broke.” Millie Farrow almost got lucky, charging down a goalkeeping clearance that went behind for a goal kick instead of in the goal. Super captain Nat Tobin galloped upfield when the Adelaide midfield parted, Princess Ibini took over, looking to cut in and shoot, but instead played the ball to the far post for Indiana Dos Santos. Time stood still as the Max Burgess-like trickster took the ball down, side-stepped the goalkeeper and rifled the ball into the net to halve the deficit. Sydney FC were on fire now. The grit and guile that has seen them beat all-comers in previous seasons had returned. The players looked a yard quicker than their opponents. Ibini shot over, Mackenzie Hawkesby left a through-ball for Dos Santos when she was well-placed, the ball instead running out of play. Late substitution Tallon-Henniker tried as she might, but she couldn’t win a corner on the right, the ball somehow staying in twice to deny her good work. Dos Santos swung in a corner from the other side which was hacked off the line. Time was running out.
All of a sudden, a speculative clearance by Lemon saw Farrow turn her player, and she was off on a run. If you’ve ever seen the 1981 FA Cup final replay between Tottenham Hotspurs and Manchester City (watch here), you’ll understand when I say that Millie Farrow was possessed by the spirit of Argentinian star Ricky Villa and weaved her way into a shooting position to slot the ball home to equalise two minutes into injury time. Farrow was off and running after scoring, the bench trying their best to restrain themselves to the technical area. It was a wonderful moment. Sydney back on level terms after being dead and buried half an hour earlier.
Of course the scoring wasn’t over, despite the clock ticking further into added time. Sydney FC had their tails up, they were going for the win. There was just about time. Tallon-Henniker was suddenly through, but couldn’t find the final ball. As quickly as Sydney had equalised, they were behind again though, and it was once more that damned self-destruct button. Shay Hollman delayed a ball upfield and instead tried a risky ball inside that went straight to an Adelaide player. It looked ominous as the Reds broke upfield, and when Chelsea Dawber received the ball, she turned inside and shot from the edge of the area, Edwards slow to get down and then looking on in horror as the ball beat her at her near post and Adelaide had snatched a dramatic win from the jaws of defeat. What a finish to the move. What a finish to the game.
Naturally there was disbelief in the home end. The players couldn’t believe it, and Farrow was distraught as the final whistle blew. Ante Juric had to help her up. Her big moment was in tatters. The Cove continued to sing defiantly despite a horrible feeling of deja vu, and the players awkwardly came across to thank their active fans, who had sung noisily as the players pushed hard in the second half. So noisily in fact that they had been told to turn down the volume as the swearies could be heard to clearly. The players watched on with tears in their eyes as they were serenaded and told in song and in spoken word by our fearless capo that the Cove will always be here for them.
Princess Ibini’s happy birthday rendition fell on deaf ears as her happy birthday banner had done earlier, but the mood was lightened when the players realised they had to do the meet and greet with the junior members at the front of the main stand, and tears of frustration turned to smiles. Chelsea Dawber was interviewed and looked thrilled. Millie Farrow was then interviewed and was understandably less so.
We had seen something special here tonight. An hour of low-quality mistake-ridden football followed by the awakening of the Sydney FC beast that sent blood coursing through the veins of every player and had the fans on their toes for the final pulsating thirty minutes.
Sydney FC’s run of dreadful form continues though. Individual mistakes cost us again and it’s hard to say, but the lack of confidence shown by our number one goalkeeper is affecting her performance and spreading to her teammates. Whilst Nat Tobin and Jordan Thompson were as solid as ever in their duels, there were times when you’d be asking where they were and how the Adelaide attack had so much space. At least we saw goals scored, and if anyone gets a good shot of Mia Farrow’s face after she scored, it has Marco Tardelli written all over it.
After picking up our raffle prizes from the pub on the way home, we were back home in the Northern suburbs by 9:45pm, and the first steaks were on the table by 10. A fantastic evening’s entertainment, and more to come tomorrow as the men also take on Adelaide at Allianz Stadium in the late afternoon slot. We hope for drama of a different kind. See you all there.