Round Ball Australia 
Beattie Goad warming up for Melbourne Victory. Photo: TobyMcG - Wikipedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 cropped.
Each week during the A-League Women season, Round Ball Australia hands out a report card for the competition based on how the teams performed across the weekend’s fixtures.
Adelaide United vs Western Sydney Wanderers (1-0)
Adelaide United: B
Some inaccurate shooting kept this game a lot closer than it needed to be, as Adelaide’s attack ran roughshod over the Wanderers, who were not only able to find their way into the attacking third at will and amassed more than 30 touches in the 18-yard-box before their lone goal, but were able to get shots away as well.
The win puts Adelaide at the top of the middle pack of teams on the table in fourth place, five points behind Melbourne Victory as the league heads into the summer period of mid-week games to go along with the weekend fixtures as the action comes thick and fast for every side in the competition.
Besides the shooting, Adrian Stenta would have to be pleased with how his side performed on Friday, and with their next match against the Central Coast Mariners (who sit directly below them in fifth with one less win), there is a real chance here against a fellow finals contender for Adelaide to stake their claim that they are to be taken seriously.
Western Sydney Wanderers: D
Sham Khamis continues to prove week after week why she is the most valuable member of the Wanderers squad, as Adelaide piled on the pressure with 28 shots (11 on target), but only conceding one goal as a two-game streak of results was broken for Robbie Hooker’s side.
Injuries aside, this was not a good performance from the Wanderers as none of their outfield players had games to look back on.
Having now wrapped up their season series with Adelaide, the Red and Black will be rather happy to see the back of the Reds, a side they did not match up well against.
The signs have been there for the Wanderers this season, but putting it together as a unit for 90 minutes has been a rarity this year, and working out how to do so consistently needs to be a priority.
Poletti
Perth Glory vs Central Coast Mariners (0-1)
Perth Glory: D
Stephen Peters in recent weeks has made no secret of the improved mental fortitude his squad possess, mainly through defensive awareness being at a premium standard for the progress the squad has been looking to make.
With that in mind, the defensive blunder that gave away the result and the subsequent reactions internally from Casey Dumont and Naomi Chinnama tell a very important story of the work that is still required at Perth.
Elsewhere, the lack of a final product seriously hurt the team early on after sustained efforts were not enough to challenge the Mariners.
When all was said and done, a chance to break into the top six had been lost, a small win the club desperately could have used.
Central Coast Mariners: C-
Similarly enough to Perth’s lack of attacking options, the game was dictated through the Mariners having more of the ball, but they ultimately didn’t have enough to look likely to score for the overwhelming majority of the 90 minutes.
The saving grace arrived though, as the final blunder gave Central Coast the points on the day, and no one can deny their fighting spirit in manifesting such a result.
Though the reality is a lot was left to be desired, and the Mariners got away with three points from what by all metrics should have been a drawn affair.
Individually, Peta Trimis as she often does looked a delight on the ball and offered a spark for the Mariners even with the final product largely fledgling.
The weeks ahead will see the side sitting fifth on the table with a few things still to work out on the road back to the finals.
Matt Olsen
Sydney FC vs Melbourne Victory (0-1)
Sydney FC: D
It was yet another loss for Sydney FC this season, this time to their Big Blue rivals, and while they are only seven points back of sixth place Western United, it feels like a giant chasm between the two sides, and it is not clear how Sydney might chase down such a gap from last place on the ladder.
Yet if you ask Ante Juric, it is more than possible, who was thoroughly impressed with his side’s performance in defeat, and believes if they continue to perform like that, they will start to win, an assessment many observers would disagree with.
Despite having 10 shots on goal, only two were on target, and Victory never looked like they were under any sustained periods of pressure from the Sky Blues, despite holding a slender lead.
The defence was solid on Saturday and only allowed the Victory seven shots, but it is still susceptible, as several Victory players were allowed free reign of the pitch multiple times to set up attacks, even if they fizzled out.
They also need to find a way to improve their attack and fast if they want to make finals, who in the last two weeks have only amassed three shots on target for no goals.
Melbourne Victory: B
The star of the show was none other than Beattie Goad, who played her final game before retirement, and her performance demonstrated that Jeff Hopkins has a very big hole to fill in his squad with her departure.
Goad’s performance at left-back (which is not her natural position) was class, and she was at the centre of a lot of Victory’s attacking opportunities, finding ways to set the side up in the attacking third, even if the only goal of the game from a penalty, converted by Alana Jančevski.
Hopkins described the performance as really thorough and professional, and he gave a lot of credit to the defence.
It was not the prettiest of performances, but three points on the road against a rival is three points on the road against a rival, and with the win they have opened a five point gap on fourth placed Adelaide United.
Poletti
Melbourne City vs Wellington Phoenix (2-1)
Melbourne City: B-
As Melbourne City are known to do, they dominate the statistics in games, often controlling and dictating how the game is played.
What they are not known to do is to give the ball away in dangerous areas under pressure from the opposition, but occurrences like this are starting to become slightly more frequent, and Olivia Fergusson was able to capitalise when goalkeeper Malena Mieres was not able to control and save the initial shot on goal.
But any side that has the ability to bring on the likes of Rhianna Pollicina, Holly McNamara and Mariana Speckmaier off the bench in the second half is rarely out of a game, and it was two goals in the space of three minutes that ensured victory for the home side.
If City can find a way to stop conceding the first goal and having to execute a comeback, and find a way to lead from the get-go, they will be near unstoppable as the season rolls on.
Wellington Phoenix: C+
When you come up against a side like Melbourne City away from home, you know exactly what their game plan is and how they plan to execute it. The key is being able to stop it.
For two-thirds of this game, Paul Temple’s side were able to do just that, scoring first, but ultimately falling short after a brief goal-scoring blitz saw City walk away 2-1 winners.
The intent is there for Wellington to perform each week and do well in this league, as shown by their recent four game unbeaten streak, broken by this loss, but taking it to the tougher sides in this league when they are at or near full strength will be a challenge.
They were lucky to get Brisbane at home without Sharn Freier or Tameka Yallop and took advantage a few weeks ago.
With some very winnable games coming up, the next few weeks will show us whether Wellington are serious finals contenders.
Canberra United vs Newcastle Jets (0-0)
Canberra United: C-
Not finding a goal against a team that last week conceded six against Brisbane either speaks realms to an improvement in Newcastle, or more likely to the fact Canberra’s attacking creation and conversion is significantly adrift of the top sides.
Canberra did create some chances through the combination of Michelle Heyman and Maja Markovski including Heyman essentially missing an open net twice.
In what is an all too familiar story for United fans, Canberra were overall the better side, with the better opportunities, but only took a point at home.
You have to feel the side from the Nation’s capital have left somewhere in the realm of four to seven points on the table across their last five games, enough points that they could be comfortably in the top six.
Things only get tougher from here with their next clash away to the in-form side of the league in Brisbane.
Newcastle Jets: C-
Newcastle can take some positives from the fact that despite conceding more attacking chances they kept a clean sheet. They will also surely take away the reflection that they gave up so many attacking chances, including multiple open looks at goal such is the duality of the Newcastle Jets currently.
The Jets came close in the second half as their captain, box-to-box midfielder Cassidy Davis turned creator and somehow wove a ball through a porous Canberra back line for Lauren Allen in the second half, however in classic Jets fashion they couldn’t convert.
Tiahna Robertson could be argued to be one of the positives out of this match as the pint sized keeper stood tall on a number of occasions. However you could also argue the contrary as she was caught out of position a number of times and almost navigated past by Michelle Heyman.
It certainly looks based on the Jets defensive structural and goalkeeper woes that it may be time for coach Ryan Campbell to reconsider whether he continues to persist with his sweeper keeper role.
Western United vs Brisbane Roar (2-8)
Western United: F
A late Grace Maher free kick which forced an own goal from Holly McQueen who was trying to clear the ball away was of little consolation to the home crowd who watched Western United concede eight goals on Sunday night.
Despite amassing 13 shots, only two were on target, and the attack looked rather lifeless, while the defence was near non-existent, and the only thing stopping the scoreline from being worse was a comedy of errors and Brisbane being unable to be slightly more accurate.
Not only was this the biggest defeat in Western United’s short history in the competition, it is also their third defeat by three or more goals this season, just eight rounds into the competition, as they currently sit in sixth place with a -8 goal difference.
There is certainly time to turn things around for Kat Smith’s side, but in a very tight middle of the table, goal difference could be crucial, and they will need some heavy victories to wipe it away, which is something that Western do not look capable of this season.
Brisbane Roar: A+
… and breathe. Words will do very little justice at describing this Brisbane performance, which was near flawless as they dominated Western United from the opening whistle.
Laini Freier, in just her second start, scored back-to-back hat-tricks, becoming the first player to do so in competition history, with her sister Sharn scoring two, while Leia Varley scored her first A-League Women goal, making up for the penalty she gave away moments earlier.
Another Momo Hayashi free kick thunderbolt was joined with a Tameka Yallop goal, as Brisbane went all out on attack, but perhaps most remarkably was how well their defence performed, only giving up two shots on target and two goals, being a penalty and an own goal from a free kick.
Sitting just two points behind undefeated league leaders Melbourne City, having only lost to Canberra in Round 1 (away), and Wellington in Round 5 (away) without Sharn Freier or Tameka Yallop, Brisbane Roar are firmly in the title hunt, and their next three games of Canberra (home), Melbourne Victory (home) and Melbourne City (away) will go a long way into telling us just how well placed they are to contend.
Poletti