Sydney FC land second-half sucker punch to sink City and claim fifth championship

1 week ago 8

Sydney FC person announced themselves arsenic the top A-League Women’s squad aft winning their 5th championship, the astir of immoderate nine successful the competition’s history, and securing back-to-back titles connected Saturday astatine AAMI Park with a 1-0 decision of Melbourne City.

It was a conflict of giants, 1 and 2 connected the regular-season ladder, which resulted successful an arm-wrestle until Sydney landed the sucker punch successful the 2nd half.

Shea Connors of Sydney FC scores during the expansive final.

It was substitute Shea Connors who broke the stalemate successful the 69th infinitesimal aft City dominated possession for the bulk of the match. Melbourne threatened to equalise – and had a fig of chances to precocious – but couldn’t find the backmost of the net.

The lone extremity of the lucifer came erstwhile 16-year-old Junior Matilda Indiana Dos Santos picked the shot up from the centre ellipse and unleashed a long-range pass, which sliced done City’s antiaircraft units to find the feet of Connors. From there, Connors toed it past Melbourne’s goalkeeper Melissa Barbieri, which elevated the strength of the stadium, filled with 7671 fans, the 2nd highest A-League Women’s expansive last attendance aft past year’s 9519-strong crowd.

Connors had replaced Princess Ibini 2 minutes earlier.

Both goalkeepers, Melbourne’s Melissa Barbieri and Sydney’s Jada Whyman, produced immoderate awesome and important saves passim the game. Barbieri, who astatine 44 came successful for her archetypal expansive last to regenerate Barbara, who was retired with a quad wounded from past week’s semi-final.

Melbourne City respond to a missed accidental successful the expansive final.

Sydney present person the trophies to spell on with the estimation of having agelong acceptable the benchmark for the women’s competition. In the 16 seasons of the A-League Women’s, they person ne'er missed finals and made the expansive last for 7 consecutive years, and 11 times overall.

However, successful each their appearances they had claimed the rubric conscionable 4 times earlier Saturday, having bowed to City connected 3 erstwhile occasions. Their revenge made each the sweeter implicit Melbourne, who pipped them connected the past time of the regular play for the premiership plate.

The Sky Blues boast the youngest line-up successful the competition, impacted by an injury-hit season, and diagnostic immoderate of the competition’s biggest names, including Matildas’ Cortnee Vine of Women’s World Cup fame, nationalist broadside fringe goalkeeper Jada Whyman and rising prima and Junior Matilda Dos Santos.

Despite the loss, the expansive last quality and ascendant regular play ushes successful a caller epoch for City.

Shea Connors celebrates her match-winning extremity for Sydney FC.

Their rebuild is implicit aft a erstwhile epoch of dominance. City came into the contention successful 2015 and subsequently made finals 4 retired of the adjacent 5 years, claiming the rubric 4 times. That broadside was littered with talent, including present Matilda fan-favourites Ellie Carpenter, Steph Catley, Kyah Simon, Emily van Egmond and Lydia Williams.

In 2020, the home contention was deed with a wide exodus of talent, coinciding with the COVID pandemic, which included the nonaccomplishment of the aforementioned Matildas stars to large European clubs, forcing City to replenish their stocks.

Now, captained by seasoned Rebekah Stott, who was portion of City’s three-peat of old, the nine boasts a slew of rising stars, who each had an power against Sydney, including 20-year-old Bryleeh Henry, 23-year-old Julia Grosso and Junior Matilda 17-year-old Daniela Galic, who threatened to interruption the crippled unfastened connected a fig of occasions.

Sophie Harding takes retired Julie Dolan Medal

Western Sydney Wanderers prima goalscorer Sophie Harding has been crowned the champion subordinate of the 2023-24 A-League Women’s season, taking retired her archetypal Julie Dolan medal. She received her accolade astatine the half-time awards ceremonial during Saturday’s expansive final.

The 24-year-old Harding scored 12 goals and had 4 assists for the Wanderers and got the attraction of Matildas’ manager Tony Gustavsson, who gave her the call-up to the nationalist squad successful February for their past Olympic qualifiers aft Cortnee Vine withdrew owed to idiosyncratic reasons.

Sophie Harding of the Western Sydney Wanderers took retired the 2023-24 Julie Dolan medal.

City’s Galic was awarded the Young Footballer of the Year award, portion Canberra United skipper and Matildas’ striker Michelle Heyman took location the Golden Boot aft her 17-goal haul. This season, the United prima became the archetypal subordinate to scope 100 vocation goals successful the competition.

Wellington Phoenix’s Alyssa Whinham took retired Playmaker of the Year and Perth Glory’s Morgan Aquino claimed Goalkeeper of the Year. Newcastle Jets skipper Cassidy Davis was awarded Goal of the Year for a long-range onslaught successful circular three, portion Phoenix’s Brianna Edwards took retired Save of the Year for a dive successful circular 15.

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