Sydney FC Women have defeated Adelaide United 3-0, meaning that a win against Canberra United on Wednesday would secure them a record breaking fourth consecutive Premiership.
Goals to Tallon-Henniker, Hawkesby and Vine secured the win and a 16th consecutive semi-final berth.
Sydney FC 3 (Tallon-Henniker 9’, Hawkesby 24’, Vine 78’) def. Adelaide United 0
Moments that Mattered:
9’ TALLON-HENNIKER GOAL – Abbey Lemon releases the ball across the box. It finds the feet of a running Caley Tallon-Henniker, and she slots it into the top right corner.
24’ HAWKESBY GOAL – Cortnee Vine tees the ball to Mackenzie Hawkesby, and she hits the ball into the roof of the net from 25 yards.
32’ WHYMAN SAVE – Sarah Morgan fires the ball from a long distance, and Jada Whyman pushes it over the bar in spectacular fashion.
64’ CONNORS CHANCE –Vine lays the ball off to a bursting Shea Connors, but her shot finds the feet of Annalee Grove.
72’ VINE CHANCE – Hawkesby chips the ball over the Reds’ defence and finds Vine on the angle. But her shot is lofted over the bar by Grove.
78’ VINE GOAL – Minutes later, the Sky Blues sealed the game when Hawkesby threaded the ball through to Vine, and she tapped it around Grove before slotting it into the centre of the net.
What They Said: Mackenzie Hawkesby: “It was a good win today. Adelaide were quite good to be honest, and they dominated patches, but in the end, we got the job done.
“I remember the ball coming my way, and I just said, ‘I’m going to hit it’, and I got a good connection.
“I think we knew that if we won today, we could win the Premiership in Canberra.
“[The Canberra game] is another game, and we sort of just have to focus on getting the three points. We have some heads that we have won the premiership with, so we know what to do.”
Head Coach Ante Juric: “Obviously, it’s a positive that we got the three points, but I don’t think we were at our best as our intensity wasn’t there. In saying that, we have had a lot of games recently and have travelled.
“We’re training tomorrow, but it’s going to be pretty light. Hopefully, we can see how that goes and recover. But we’ll go from there.”
Match Report: The Sky Blues have two matches to secure two points and win their fourth consecutive Premiers Plate, after they collected all three points against a predictable Adelaide United outfit.
Goals to Caley Tallon-Henniker, Cortnee Vine, and a stunning Mackenzie Hawkesby finish, saw the Sky Blues run out 3-0 winners, moving back to the summit of the Liberty A-League Women.
Adelaide started the match dominating possession, but it was the Sky Blues who called the Reds keeper Annalee Grove immediately into action.
Nine minutes in, Caley Tallon-Henniker slotted Sydney FC’s first when Abbey Lemon found the forward after lofting the ball over the Reds’ defence.
The Sky Blues continued to capitalise on United’s sloppy play in the final third, and it worked in their favour when Mackenzie Hawkesby fired the ball from outside the box, doubling the lead.
Sydney FC were relentless, keeping a solid defensive line, restricting the Reds to shots outside the box and Jada Whyman was in fine form to prevent Sarah Morgan, as the Sky Blues went in 2-0 at the break.
The second half began similarly to the first, where Sydney FC let Adelaide move the ball around and restricted them from creating any shots on goal.
As the hour mark passed, Ante Juric deployed substitutes, which saw the Sky Blues immediately shift into attacking gear. One of the substitutes, Shea Connors, almost beat Grove minutes after coming on.
The Sky Blues continued to sniff at the Reds goal, and the most significant opportunity fell to Vine, but Grove denied her as she pushed the ball over the net.
After searching for an elusive third, Vine was the one to find it when Hawkesby released the ball to the forward, where she dribbled around Grove before finishing.
Ante Juric’s side cruised in the final ten or so minutes, to see out the three points and secure a clean sheet.
Sydney FC will return on Wednesday afternoon when they take on Canberra United, where a win would see them clinch the Premiership for an A-League record fourth consecutive time.
Sydney FC: 1. Jada WHYMAN (GK), 2. Margot CHAUVET, 3. Charlotte MCLEAN, 4. Tori TUMETH, 11. Cortnee VINE, 14. Abbey LEMON, 15. Mackenzie HAWKESBY (21. Shay HOLLMAN 81’), 16. Jordan THOMPSON, 18. Taylor RAY (26. Maddie CASPERS 62’), 20. Princess IBINI © (22. Indiana DOS SANTOS 81’), 24. Caley TALLON-HENNIKER (9. Shea CONNORS 62’).
Unused Subs: 40. Jasmine BLACK (GK).
Yellow Cards: None
Red Cards: None
Adelaide United: 1. Annalee GROVE (GK), 2. Emily HODGSON, 5. Sarah MORGAN (8. Emily CONDON 61’), 6. Hannah BLAKE, 10. Chelsie DAWBER (23. Alana JANČEVSKI 71’), 11 Isabel HODGSON ©, 12. Nanako SASAKI (17. Zoe TOLLAND 83’), 13. Ella TONKIN, 14. Jenna HOLTZ, 16. Dylan HOLMES (3. Meleri MULLAN 71’), 19. Maruschka WALDUS.
Unused Subs: 21.Claudia JENKINS (GK).
Yellow Cards: Morgan (2’), Blake (24’)
Red Cards: None
Referee: Kelly Jones
Venue: Leichhardt Oval
