Sydney FC Women 1 Wellington Phoenix 3
The wounded animal that is Sydney FC women’s team gave us a first half of hope and endeavour on Friday night at Leichhardt Stadium, but it all came crashing down as they reverted to their default mode and made it five home defeats in a row. A fabulous finish after a little bit of luck from Caley Tallon-Henniker had Sydney on their way early in the game, but ten minutes later it was 1-1 as the Sydney defence went walkabout. After a series of missed chances, whatever transpired at half time did nothing for the home team, and they went behind from a free header from a corner and then crumbled defensively to gift a third goal towards the end. There was little to cheer for the die-hard Sydney Women’s Cove, who sung throughout despite being outnumbered by away active fans, and the reactions from the players at the final whistle made unhappy viewing.
These 7pm after-work games are proving quite troublesome; with Michelle at a women’s football event in town and myself running a bit late, it was the most direct route via the M4 from the North West suburbs to the Inner West, parking up in the Oval parking behind the Cove and making my way in through the main entrance. There was already a decent turn-out of Wellington fans, swollen in number by the Matildas fans in town, and they took up their little corner of yellow in the main stand. Stickers and flags were handed out, Phoenix going to a lot of trouble for this one, and it looked as though we might get a decent crowd. Jada Whyman was spotted, back at her old stomping ground, Sydney welcomed back Shay Hollman and Kirsty Fenton into the squad, but there was still space for two reserve goalkeepers, and a brand new signing that was a big surprise, Claudia Valletta introduced in the team line-ups.
We Are Sydney was belted out, the toin coss had been lost, the scoreboard remained blank with no score or minutes displayed, and The Cove was just moving into another chant when Tallon-Henniker raced up the right onto a sweeping ball from Amelia Cassar. She had a lot to do up against her defender, but got the run of the ball and advanced on her left foot, curling a beauty past the stranded goalkeeper for 1-0. Absolute bedlam in the Cove, the rare sight of a Sydney goal sending the success-starved fans into raptures. Sydney continued to threaten – it was as though the players had been injected wth performance enhancing drugs as they played deliberate, direct football. They were unfortunate to concede though, when a delightful through ball found the tall Wellington striker all alone and she finished easily past Heather Hinz.
Sydney should have gone ahead again moments lateer when Amber Luchtmeijer was played clean trough, but her shot only found the Phoenix goalkeeper, the ball running just too far away from Abby Lemon who had joined the attack. It was a good chance, as was Tallon-Henniker’s soon after as she got clear on the right, but she took too long to find a shot and the deflection took the sting out of the effort. Luchtmeijer was again through, seemingly pushing he ball too far in front of her this time, but her pace got her there before the goalkeeper who held her up a little, and the Sydney striker couldn’t turn quickly enough to finish. There was a heart flutter as a Phoenix defender overhit a backpass that was cleared away by the goalkeeper to a big ‘woah’ from the crowd, before Luchtmeijer went to ground in a nothing tackle claiming a penalty, deciding to moan at the referee instead of gettng up and taking the shot from the free ball. This was not her night, and she would have been dreaming of having chances like those all season, only to waste the opportunities. Hinz made a smart save, plucking the ball out of the air and holding onto it as Phoenix threatened, and she had to punch crosses away, looking assured in an increasingly unassured defence.
Half time was welcome to have a short pause from the incessant volley of chants, the half-time heroes going about their small-sided games with parents watching on from the sidelines. The little corner of yellow was good in numbers, and the yellow shirts were enjoying this night out in Sydney.
Sydney made a change at the break, the ineffectual Cassar off for the new player Valletta. Teammate Clare Corbett controlled a ball and raked out a superb pass as Sydney started to look like a team with new-found confidence. That all evaporated from a corner kick when serial-offender Mackenzie Hawkesby put her corner behind the goal – that’s amateur-hour stuff that should only be seen in low-division park football. The impetus was lost and Sydney started to retreat. Lemon was having a tough day, her distribution more panicked and aimless than we’ve seen before.
Wellington won a corner on the right. In it came and without any meaningful challenge, the Phoenix defender leapt highest and planted a header past Hinz for 2-1. By now, Sydney had reverted to their old selves, Lemon playing a short ball in the vicinity of her teammate, who slipped and the ball went out. Forward passes were aimless and wasteful, more like lazy clearances than anything meant to find a player, and the ball into the midfielder consistently left the player under extreme pressure. The Sydney players were easily outmuscled by their opponents, and the Phoenix midfield was roaming free, like lions in a game park looking for their next meal.
A fizzing shot from the tall winger was palmed over spectacularly by Hinz, but she was beaten for a third time when Lemon lost her player, allowing a free shot on goal from a tight angle that squeezed between Hinz and the post for 3-1. The scoreline could have got worse too, Tori Tumeth doing well with a last-ditch tackle and Sydney survived more corner danger, never looking comfortable against their seemingly taller and more physical opponents. Kirsty Fenton finally came on and put herself about, at one point petulantly pushing her opponent in the back when conceding a corner, the referee giving her a lecture. She also went on a run, trying to do it all herself, but lost the ball tamely, and played an absolute stinker of a pass forward that wasn’t anywhere near any of her teammates. The rest of the game was a whimper from Sydney, Wellington just way too good for this malfunctioning team, the confidence from the first half now completely absent.
The final whistle was a relief, We Are Sydney continued for five minutes in defiance before the game ended with a Melbourne Victory chant in anticipation of next week’s Big Blue against the old enemy back here on Saturday. As the players took their time on the halfway line, interim coach James Slaveski made his way over to introduce himself to the Cove, explaining that they were down to the bare bones, and to thank the fans for their unwavering support. Heather Hinz followed it up by coming to say sorry – if she’s here next year, she hopes to put it all right. Some of her teammates came up to applaud, but there were no chants of encouragement, only reminders about who we’re playing next week and how important it is to end the home fixtures with something positive.
There were Matildas fans heading out afterwards, we did a detour via Leichhardt Bowling Club, and via Parramatta, before returning home some time around 10.45pm. This had been an encouraging evening for maybe thirty minutes; we could see the belief returning to the players, we could see the desire on the players’ faces. After missing a hatful of convertible chances, Luchtmeijer guilty as charged, Sydney faded, and the non-performance in the second half was alarming. The fans don’t even feel the defeats any more. We lose every week. You’re nothing special. Two more games to go in this horror season, we thoroughly expect to secure the wooden spoon, making a mockery of Sydney’s pedigree and standing in the A-League. See you back at Leichhardt next week when we’ll be crying out for more women’s football!
Forza Sydney FC!