Sydney FC have been crowned Liberty A-League Champions for a record equalling fourth time after a comfortable 4-0 win over Western United in front of a record crowd at CommBank Stadium.
Two goals from Madison Haley, plus strikes from Captain Natalie Tobin and Princess Ibini secured the win to complete a remarkable second ever Championship and Premiership double for the Sky Blues.
The win is the largest in A-League Women’s Grand Final history.
Sydney FC 4 (Haley 4’, 90’+1’ Tobin 18’, Ibini 63’ pen) def. Western United 0
Moments That Mattered:
HALEY GOAL – 4’ – Hawkesby’s right wing corner is perfectly lofted to Haley at the back post who forcefully places a downward header into the goal.
TOBIN GOAL – 18’ – Another right wing corner from Hawkesby is met by Haley at the back post, but it’s headed away from goal to Tobin who heads it back into the net.
WHYMAN SAVE – 36’ – The ball bobbles in the box and eventually falls to Cummings who shoots from the right edge of the box but Whyman is down to smother despite a deflection.
WHYMAN SAVE – 37’ – Western United break and Keane shoots towards the far post but Whyman
WHYMAN SAVE AGAIN – 38’ – The ball falls to Taranto in the box to shoot but Whyman is out brilliantly to shut down and block from close range.
VINE CHANCE – 53’ – A ball over the top from Hawkesby to Vine puts her clear but Beal is equal to her shot.
IBINI GOAL – 63’ – Ibini hauled to the ground in the box and steps up to slot the penalty home.
HALEY GOAL – 90’ + 1’ – Haley finishes off the night by slotting home from close range.
What They Said: Ante Juric: “I’m just so proud of the girls and I love seeing the smiles after a couple of tough let downs.
“Today the girls were ready from in the warm ups to the change rooms and I knew we would win today.
“We did talk about not getting bullied and we stood up against a lot of team this year but it is in us and we showed today and were strong and competed for everything.”
Match Report: Sydney FC have defeated Western United 4-0 in the Liberty A-League Grand Final – the largest win in the history of Women’s League Grand Finals.
Madison Haley opened the scoring in the fourth minute with a header from a Hawkesby corner kick before Captain Nat Tobin scored in similar fashion from a corner on 18 minutes.
Western tried to hit back and some fine saves from Jada Whyman thwarted their attempts on goal to take Sydney FC in 2-0 at the break.
The second half was all one way traffic with Vine and Hawkesby having chances before Ibini was felled in the box and scored from the resultant penalty.
American Haley notched the fourth goal late on to cap off a remarkable and much deserved winning season.
Sydney FC: 1. Jada WHYMAN (GK), 3. Charlotte MCLEAN, 5. Kirsty FENTON, 6. Sarah HUNTER, 8. Rachel LOWE (21. Shay HOLLMAN 77’), 9. Madison HALEY, 11. Cortnee VINE (25. Rola BADAWIYA 88’), 12. Natalie TOBIN (C), 15. Mackenzie HAWKESBY (22. Indiana DOS SANTOS 88’), 19. Charlize RULE (16. Deborah-Anne DE LA HARPE 90’+2’), 20. Princess IBINI-ISEI.
Unused Subs: 30 Katie OFFER (GK).
Yellow Cards: Vine 22’, Rule 34’.
Red Cards: None.
Western United: Western United: 21. Hillary BEAL (GK), 2. Stacey PAPADOPOULOUS, 4. Jaclyn SAWIKCI ©, 9. Hannah KEANE, 10. Kahli JOHNSON (25. Tiana JABER 81’), 11. Emma ROBERS, 13. Danielle STEER (16. Melissa TARANTO 55’), 15. Adriana TARANTO, 19. Tyla Jay VLAJNIC, 20. Sydney CUMMINGS, 22. Alana CERNE.
Unused Subs: 1. Alyssa DALLOSTE (GK), 14. Natasha DAKIC, 24. Julia SARDO.
Yellow Cards: Cummings 23’.
Red Cards: None.
Venue: CommBank Stadium.
Referee: Casey Reibelt
Attendance: 9,519
