Canberra United V Melbourne City Fc
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CANBERRA UNITED V MELBOURNE CITY FC 3 JAN | 4.05PM VIKING PARK CONTENTS COACH’S CORNER ........................................................................................4 HEARING FROM HUGHESY .........................................................................6 CLASSIC CLASH ............................................................................................9 TEAM LISTS ..................................................................................................12 MATCH PREVIEW .........................................................................................14 AUTOGRAPHS ..............................................................................................16 2 CT' 1 UI For full-time #employment, starting salaries, student support and... sporting fans. *Good University Guide (GUG) 2020 3 KUOC COACH’S CORNER Following a successful opening round of football, the girls have had some time for recovery, a couple of training sessions and are ready to get back at it again today. It was really good to get the three points in first round and the win gives us something to build on. While we had some good passages of play in the first half, Adelaide United made the most of their chances to take a 2-0 lead. The half-time break allowed us to reset and the players responded in the best possible way by scoring early in the second half. I am really proud of the character the players showed and their ability to dig deep and score the goals needed to secure the win. The way new and former players are working together is pleasing to see. The combinations between club debutant Demi Koulizakis and returning favourite Michelle Heyman was exciting to watch, while Kendall Fletcher led from the back, working with the relentless Jessika Nash. All of this bodes well for the future, but our main focus is to back it up when we take on Melbourne City this afternoon. It means a lot to us that so many of you made the trip to Viking Park to watch the game on Wednesday, and we can’t wait to see you all again! 4 Performance Matters Canberra's sports specialist travel company, and proud Corporate Sports Team Official Travel Partner Travel Events Touring to Canberra United. Get in touch 1-4/15 Tench Street 1300 186 877 Kingston 2604 ACT performance.travel [email protected] HEARING FROM HUGHESY A born and bred Canberran, Laura Hughes couldn’t be happier to back in the Nation’s Capital for her fourth season in green. “I think the fans for me have always been such a highlight, to play for Canberra United, they’re always cheering, they’re always supporting us,” she said. After spending a season over in the Icelandic League, Hughes has come back to Canberra with some new skills under her belt. “The W-League is very much more tactical and technical, but the Icelandic league is very physical, there’s a lot of big girls, big and strong. There’s a lot of quality in the league, the top teams especially played really good football as well. “I wanted to work on my physicality anyway so it matched well with what I wanted,” Hughes said. Now with the first game of the 2020/21 season under her belt, the 19-year-old has been able to showcase some of those new learnings. “I feel more confident in the air, I feel stronger when I get the ball, so I think that league really tested my physicality and I think I’ve felt the difference coming back home.” And let’s not forget that goal. Scores were locked at 2 all before the midfielder lobbed the ball right over Fryer- McLaren in the Adelaide United goal. “I said to myself that I wanted to make a difference in that game, and I wanted to score 6 that winner, so it was great I got the opportunity to face in front of goal and take my shot. “It paid off and I think it was a really crucial goal because it turned Adelaide around and gave us more confidence, and soon after that Michelle scored and that cemented our win,” she said. Now it’s about backing it up again today, when they go up against Melbourne City at Viking Park. “We want to start how we finished that second half in the Adelaide game. I mean the chances were created in that first half and the chances will come it’s just about putting them away and being clinical. “Obviously Melbourne City will play a different formation and ask different questions of us tactically, so it’s just about us focusing on that and making sure we’re doing the right things and in the right positions and putting on a show.” 7 - W E A R E O N Y O U R - TEAM CLASSIC CLASH V Canberra United 2 (Mulaudzi 57’, Carpenter 85’) def. Melbourne City 0 Canberra United defeated reigning Champions Melbourne City 2-0 thanks to second half goals from Rhoda Mulaudzi and Ellie Carpenter to start the season with a win at McKellar Park on Sunday. New signing Mulaudzi impressed the local crowd after the striker started her Westfield W-League campaign with a goal and an assist, the first South African to score in the competition’s history. United were somewhat fortunate to go into the break level after City defender Rhali Dobson passed up a golden opportunity to open the scoring and struck the cross bar with an uncontested header at the back post. United’s first goal came in the 57th minute when Refiloe Jane put the ball over the City defence to put Mulaudzi through on goal and she chipped the bouncing ball past advancing goalkeeper Lydia Williams to put the home side ahead. United continued to pile the pressure on the visiting defence with Nicki Flannery creating headaches for her opposite number down the right wing, forcing a number of corners as she drove hard towards the baseline. City looked to have equalised with 13 minutes to play as the ball ended up in the net from close range, but the goal was waved away for offside, a decision which did not impress Rado Vidosic. Teenage star Ellie Carpenter sealed the win with five minutes to play as Mulaudzi made a good run down the right flank, and she kept her composure to cut the ball back to Carpenter who finished calmly from six yards out. 9 Canberra captain and Scottish international Rachel Corsie impressed the 1,679 strong McKellar crowd with a strong performance at the back, while Nikola Orgill and Tash Prior were busy alongside her. After the game, Irish midfielder Denise O’Sullivan thanked the crowd for their support and their role in the win. “We just want to thank them,” she said. “We could hear them every second of the game, they were like the 12th player for us.” Heather Garriock praised O’Sullivan for an exemplary performance in the middle of the park and also paid tribute to the Canberra faithful. “She can turn the ball on a dime, I think she is quality,” Garriock said. “Wow, that [crowd] is awesome,” when told of the figure. “We hear them all the time, and when we scored that roar from the crowd was simply unbelievable.” TEAM LINEUPS V 1.Keeley RICHARDS (gk) 1.Teagan MICAH (gk) 2.Emma ILIJOSKI 3.Teigen ALLEN 4.Kendall FLETCHER (c), 5.Tori TUMETH 5.Lauren KEIR 7.Julia SARDO 6.Bianca GALIC 8.Hollie PALMER 7.Rachael GOLDSTEIN 10.Chinatsu KIRA 8.Laura HUGHES 11.Rhali DOBSON 9.Demi KOULIZAKIS 12.Harriet WITHERS 10.Grace MAHER 13.Sarah CAIN 12.Hayley TAYLOR-YOUNG 14.Margot ROBINNE 13.Paige SATCHELL 17.Sam JOHNSON 14.Jessie RASSCHAERT 18.Leah DAVIDSON 15.Jessika NASH 19.Tyla-Jay VLAJNIC 18.Izzy FOLETTA 20.Lia MULDEARY 19.Nicki FLANNERY 21.Jenna McCORMICK (c) 20. Sasha GROVE 22. Naomi CHINNAMA 22.Sally JAMES (gk) 23.Melissa BARBIERI (gk) 23.Michelle HEYMAN 12 Proudly supporting Canberra United and the Canberra community. ccfa.com.au 13 MATCH PREVIEW The first bricks of the fortress have been laid and they’ll be hard to knock down at Viking Park, following Canberra United’s incredible opening round win against Adelaide United. Canberra’s never say die attitude and their relentless efforts at both ends of the field saw the home side steal the win from Adelaide United, snatching a 4-3 victory after being down 0-2 at half time. Fans flew from their seats at Viking Park when Laura Hughes scored a pearler from outside the box to put United in front, before Michelle Heyman earnt her fairytale return, completing a hattrick against her former club in the 93rd minute, sending spectators wild. It has set the scene for a tantalising Round 2 match, up against a Melbourne City outfit who are no doubt hungry for their first win after their Round 1 draw. City’s goalkeeper Teagan Micah will be one to watch, making several great saves against a star-studded Brisbane Roar, while a number of league and club debutants, including Sarah Cain and Jenna McCormick will have settled into their roles and will be looking to return City to their usually formidable outfit. An injury time penalty from Emily Van Egmond was the difference between the sides when they met in Canberra last season, but with a number of City’s stars heading overseas Canberra will consider themselves a good chance to overturn that result on Sunday afternoon. 14 15 AUTOGRAPHS 16.