So very impressed with that performance. What changed ? Midfield shape suited knott and hassett for sure. Hassett was of course incredible but I'm sure you don't need me to say that. But phx looked impotent around the box for the 1st half until the goal finally game. Those two things certainly helped their confidence after that, and wow,what a change. Clegg came of age , and with satchells runs they put Canberra on the back seat. Fosters delivery was fantastic,we really need to capitalise on the balls she puts in. And well done Edwards,no one enjoyed the win or clean sheet more than she did. If you weren't at the game you should have been as I've just watched the most entertaining 2 games back to back, for a great afternoon
Blimey. Going tohhave to miss more matches being at the beach with results like that!
Yeah same here. I didn't make much effort to arrive on time for their game and it turned out the bus was also really slow anyway so we ended up missing most of the game - anti-jinx in full effect! Yahoo though - great result.
Bottom of the table, still no win coming into this game, weren't sure where our goals were going to come from, and now currently holding the biggest win of the ALW season so far, a 5-0 smashing of a team well above us on points and in the top 6, just, WOW.
May have already been covered elsewhere, but last night I heard a TV story talking about the 'She-Nix'? Is that really the new moniker for the women's team? Smacks for what the NZ Herald called the national women's rugby team back in the day - "The Gal Blacks'. That name died a quick death.
Just watched the highlights and man it can't be understated how much this win is owed to Brianna Edwards.
She makes a cracking save when in it was nil all. She screws that up and its 1-0 and it could have easily been a loss or a draw.
Football can be such a confidence game and she did so damn well in the box to let the team build their confidence.
Hot damn what a game. Still buzzing.
As I think SN touched on, one player who likely came back from her first Ferns camp on a bit of a high. Just being up close watching the Ferns & USWNT games, knowing that could be you one day, would be a buzz.
I really felt for Robertson who has been one of the best on the pitch in recent weeks to then be dropped to the bench. Current form and effectiveness should be an important part of why a player should start a game ... not because they are a 'fern'. If a player isn't performing; then they should be moved to the bench. This is professional football. If they can't perform for the phoenix, naturally they won't be good enough for the ferns... We seem to have a weird system in New Zealand where the goal that you scored three years ago will not only get you in a squad, but it will get you on the field.
One fern that did really stand out was Hassett who was surely the MVP. She is definitely more suited to the attacking mid role. Will be a good little battle between the midfielders now with Gomez (? - shirt 6) coming in and looking strong as well. That holding-mid role still potentially up for grabs? I hope when they play Rolston again; it is when she is fully fit/ready and is in the striker role.
if there was a reserve team Rolston would be in it.
Firstly,on the Robertson issue, effectively she was dropped for Hassett wasn't she? Pretty hard to argue with that call,before or after yesterday's game. I think the plan was always a half for Satchell and half for Robertson,which wasn't such a bad plan, and I'd say it worked. I like Robertson but her crossing isn't as good as say Foster or Lancaster.
So Clegg replaced Rolston, which seemed like a reasonable call before the game, and an even better one after it.
So let's address Pritchard. She did some good stuff yesterday no doubt, but she clearly isn't near the finished article. Her control skills are very poor in some areas, particularly when the ball is in the air. Eg Gomez when she came on showed she was a league apart in that aspect. Let's hope Pritchard can benefit from her chances and improve
Rolston, an experienced international, really ought to be a better target at the momen . But as others have pointed out,that doesn't seem to be certain at the moment. And she's suspended again I think.
Robertson was suffering from illness, hence why she was on the bench probably more than anything. Heard her say she had been sick leading up to the game and she was still slightly unwell on game day
Gomez is our best holding mid and has been missed sorely. She has great skills along with aggression. She was injured at the start of the season with a bruised foot or something. But she played all 14 games last year. She should be in each game day squad. But maybe don’t change a winning team after that performance and see if everyone can back up to those levels. Clegg was the catalyst for that performance and Hasset showed why she is not a defensive mid- the performance we thought we would be getting earlier in the season. The squad seemed to have really gelled socially too which is awesome to see. Edwards is making good on her statement of making it hard for Alfeld to get the number 1 spot back. Pritchard had her best game ever for the Nix. Her runs were great but stills has to work on her offsides. Her hold up play and pass to Clegg was super too. She had a shot on target that was blocked early on that was a great connection. Hopefully she can keep that up and build on her performance as that was what we need from our striker. Well done to her. Unknwn Quantity
I really felt for Robertson who has been one of the best on the pitch in recent weeks to then be dropped to the bench. Current form and effectiveness should be an important part of why a player should start a game ... not because they are a 'fern'. If a player isn't performing; then they should be moved to the bench. This is professional football. If they can't perform for the phoenix, naturally they won't be good enough for the ferns... We seem to have a weird system in New Zealand where the goal that you scored three years ago will not only get you in a squad, but it will get you on the field.
One fern that did really stand out was Hassett who was surely the MVP. She is definitely more suited to the attacking mid role. Will be a good little battle between the midfielders now with Gomez (? - shirt 6) coming in and looking strong as well. That holding-mid role still potentially up for grabs? I hope when they play Rolston again; it is when she is fully fit/ready and is in the striker role.
Also you could hear on the commentary someone in the stand saying lift for the last five minutes before half time- was about 44.37 or something. The team obviously responded well to that!
May have already been covered elsewhere, but last night I heard a TV story talking about the 'She-Nix'? Is that really the new moniker for the women's team? Smacks for what the NZ Herald called the national women's rugby team back in the day - "The Gal Blacks'. That name died a quick death.
Just like the media calls the ring of fire "the caketin" doesnt mean what they call the team is what the fanbase calls them.
We seem to have also dropped the tactic of playing out from the back every single time the keeper has the ball. Not even Man city do that. It’s great to be able to contest in midfield and then enjoy more possession in the mid and final third. Maybe if they had gone long from the keepers hands earlier in the season we would have seen more success and the opportunity for a coordinated press from the team instead of being under pressure so much. I’m sure our defence would have had far less touches this last game than others and so given less chances for the opposition to win the ball in our defensive third like in the game against Perth. I’m happy if we go long more often, score more goals and get more points and the players will enjoy their football even more. We still can play out from the back when we have the match won and can play with a bit of swagger. Next game will be tough against the wingers of the roar and Gorrie. I like our chances against their defence though. Hopefully they can build on that last performance and Pritchard has another good performance building on her runs in behind the defence and her hold up play like the ball she released to Clegg. She connected well with a good looking shot that was blocked in the first half too. Just needs to watch her offsides though.
