It’s straight back into the action for the CommBank Matildas who qualified for Paris 2024™ in Melbourne midweek, as the A-League Women approaches the business end of the season.
Read our preview of all of the action below.
On Friday night, Western United ensured they would stay top of the table for another week, defeating Canberra United 4-2. American striker Hannah Keane scored a hattrick – the first of which was close to, or equal to, the fastest goal in competition history – and Chloe Logarzo chipped in with a goal and assist of her own.
Michelle Heyman started on the bench for Canberra after featuring in both games during the international window but made her presence felt in the second half, scoring a stunning goal in stoppage time.
The Saturday fixtures get underway at 5pm AEDT with a massive Sydney Derby between Western Sydney Wanderers and Sydney FC. For Sydney, it is an opportunity to continue to put pressure on the teams at the top of the table, whereas a win for the Wanderers could see them finish the round back in the top six – they currently miss out only on goal difference.
Sydney’s Cortnee Vine and Jada Whyman will be hoping to have a big impact on either side of the pitch as the champions try to mow down league leaders Western United. Meanwhile, Sophie Harding will be hoping to take the lessons she learned from her first CommBank Matildas call-up to take down her cross-city rivals.
Tameka Yallop’s Brisbane Roar will host Melbourne City on Saturday, 6pm AEDT. The Roar find themselves six points out of the top six. They are certainly not out of the finals race, but a win against an out-of-form City could be essential to their chances.
City will have to contend with the loss of three Young Matildas in Tijan McKenna, Naomi Chinnama and Daniela Galic, the latter of whom has contributed six of their goals this season. It is certainly a difficult situation after previously losing Kaitlyn Torpey and Canadian goalkeeper Lysianne Proulx to NWSL clubs, and with American Julia Grosso still out injured. It is shaping up to be a fascinating contest as a result.
Melbourne Victory kickstart the Sunday fixtures against Wellington Phoenix at 2pm AEDT. Victory will be the happier of the two sides, sitting in fourth place, and seem to have finally clicked into place after a barnstorming victory against the Western Sydney Wanderers before the international break. Phoenix fans will be hoping that the break gave their team a chance to regroup after a poor recent run of form and give them the impetus to climb back into finals contention.
Elise Kellond-Knight, Alex Chidiac and Emily Gielnik are expected to start the match for Victory. Lydia Williams remains unavailable after undergoing ankle surgery.
The Newcastle Jets will host Perth Glory in Maitland on Sunday, 4pm AEDT. This game could be crucial to which team sneaks into the finals race – three points for either side, both sitting on 23 points in sixth and eighth respectively, would be enormous.
The Jets go into the game as slight favourites on account of their recent form, and particularly the form of Philippines international Sarina Bolden, who has scored 11 goals in 12 games this season. However, it is yet another game in an astoundingly tight competition that is difficult to predict.
Finally, Kyah Simon’s Central Coast Mariners take on Adelaide United on Sunday, 4pm AEDT. The Mariners have been the surprise package of the season so far, currently sitting in fifth place, two points clear of fourth. Three points could see them rise as high as third. Meanwhile, Adelaide will be more focused on looking over their shoulder – they are only one point clear of bottom-place Canberra.
Simon is expected to start the match in front of home fans, continuing to build her match fitness after her return to the matchday squad.
You can watch all of the A-League Women's action on 10Play, or Paramount+.