Poletti 
Wellington Phoenix and Canberra United players try to get Annalie Longo's dog, Tiger, off-the-field during their Round 2 match. Photo: Daniel Phimphisane/X
Each week during the A-League Women season, Round Ball Australia will be handing out a report card for the competition based on how the teams performed across the weekend’s fixtures.
Round Two did not have the high goal-scoring prowess that Round One did, but it had just as much excitement in different ways. We were treated to an Olimpico, a pitch invasion, and a Peak A-League red card, amongst comebacks, draws, and surprising defeats.
Western United vs Central Coast Mariners (0-0)
Western United: C
Western United looked more like a shadow of themselves from Round One with their performance against Central Coast Mariners. They had the opportunities, they had the unceasing home crowd support behind them, but they had none of the cutthroat finishing ability that they had in spades against the Wellington Phoenix.
United racked up a total of 18 shots across the 90 minutes, with seven of those being on target. None of those being converted made for a very frustrating watch.
Young gun Sasha Grove looked to be much more settled this week, playing a strong defensive game, while still finding opportunities to push forward and link up with Captain Chloe Logarzo in attacking plays.
Considering that United play Melbourne Victory next week, they’re going to have to find their scoring boots before Sunday, as Victory are a team that will certainly look to punish a lack of conversion.
Central Coast Mariners: C
After beating the reigning Champions in Sydney FC last week 3-1, expectations were high for Central Coast Mariners to back up their win with more success. They instead fell rather flat on Friday night’s fixture against Western United.
Some of the Mariners’ most exciting football of the night came from their new English signings of Brooke Nunn and Jade Pennock, but neither player was able to make the most of their chances in front of goal.
The Mariners look to be building a solid midfield with Izzy Gomez, Taylor Ray, and Bianca Galic, all of which had very solid performances in the centre of the park. The only issue is whether the team ends up becoming too reliant on these players and winds up unable to function without them.
Central Coast come up against reigning Premiers Melbourne City in Round Three, and while we have seen what they were able to dish up against the league Champions, it’s hard to believe they’ll be able to have a repeat of that given what they put on show this week.
Burke
Melbourne Victory vs Melbourne City (2-3)
Melbourne Victory: B
They may have lost the derby from a winning position, but there is a lot to be hopeful for if you’re a Victory fan who watched that performance on Saturday.
Although Kayla Morrison and Claudia Bunge didn’t have their best games in central defence, the build-up play in transition was gripping at times and proved the amount of quality that Jeff Hopkins has at his disposal.
Emily Gielnik’s experience to win and convert the penalty as well as holding up the ball and presenting as a main target was excellent, while new signing Alana Jancesvski got on the scorehseet for the club she supported as a child, kissing the badge with pride.
If Victory can make better decisions with the final ball in attack and limit the amount of avoidable dfeensive errors, such as the horrid mixup between Bunge and Courtney Newbon, then this is genuinely a side to take seriously once again.
Melbourne City: B+
It was a bright start for City who took the lead after five minutes through prolific striker Mariana Speckmaier, who added a second to her account in the second-half.
However, it was all Victory after the opening 10 minutes, with City struggling to wrestle back momentum and possession in what was a frustrating first 45 minutes for the most part.
Yet, City took advantage of their opportunities in front of goal, and goalscorer Lourdes Bosch is one exciting prospect to keep an eye out for this season who caused havoc down the left-hand flank.
Two come-from-behind wins to start the season is not the prettiest way to commence and it certainly isn’t in the club’s DNA to win ugly, but that is a sign of a championship-winning team.
Christian Montegan
Brisbane Roar vs Sydney FC (1-0)
Brisbane Roar: C
It was a worse performance for the Roar when compared to their Round One match against Canberra, which they dominated everywhere except for the scoreline, but it is hard to find fault when you secure your first win of the season, and against the reigning Champions at that.
The midfield was great in controlling the way the game was played, stifling Sydney FC from generating consistent attack, winning the ball back in good areas of the pitch, and helping guide Brisbane to the three points.
The defence also had a strong outing, finding a way to stop the Sky Blues on the rare occasion they got the ball forward.
It was a resounding effort by Alex Smith’s side to bounce back after their close defeat to Canberra, and should give him hope that the side can find a way to win when required this season.
Sydney FC: D
Sitting on the bottom of the ladder after two rounds is not where you would have had Sydney FC in pre-season, but that is where Ante Juric’s side find themselves following a lackluster performance against Brisbane.
Sydney struggled through the midfield and on the rare occasions they got into the final third, could not do a lot with the ball, although they did look better than they did in Round One against the Mariners overall, which shows that perhaps the team has gelled slightly.
Goalkeeper Brianna Edwards was perhaps the most improved, despite the goal conceded, where the entire defence was at fault for not finding a way to successfully clear it on the goal line.
Sydney fans will try to take some hope from the marginally improved performance into the Sydney Derby on Saturday, a fixture they have not lost in the last nine contests (eight wins, one draw), with their last loss coming on December 20, 2019.
Poletti
Wellington Phoenix vs Canberra United (0-1)
Wellington Phoenix: C-
The star of the match has to be Annalie Longo’s dog, Tiger, who invaded the pitch just after the resumption of half-time to the delight of the crowd at Porirua Park, which was one of the few bright sparks as Wellington succumbed to their second defeat of the season.
In terms of players, the best performer was probably Alyssa Whinham, who was responsible for a lot of the shots Canberra faced, and had several on target, although failing to find a way past Sally James.
Overall, it was a tough performace for the Nix faithful to watch, as they had 68 per cent possession and over 200 more passes than Canberra, but failed to do anything with it on the scoresheet, and got caught out on the counter several times.
Rarely will Paul Temple’s side be allowed to play the way they want as they did against Canberra, so these are the sorts of game the Phoenix need to be able to win this season if they want to play finals in 2024/25.
Canberra United: B
It was a solid performance required by Canberra in Round Two, and much like the week prior against the Roar, held their own and walked away victorious.
One factor between the two games stood out, and that is the partnership between Michelle Heyman and Maja Markovski striking on the break, with Markovski assisting Heyman for her 100th goal in Canberra United colours after drawing the keeper in.
Sally James was strong in goals when called upon, as we was peppered with shots in the second half with Wellington chasing the game, continuing her good start to the season.
The defence, which Antoni Jagarinec has a lot of faith in given their 37 per cent (vs Brisbane) and 32 per cent (vs Wellington) possession stats, was also strong and not faltering in the face of pressure, finding a way to clear the ball and supporting James when required.
Canberra are settling in well under Jagarinec, and if they can continue to play the way they want, could prove difficult for a lot of sides this season.
Poletti
Western Sydney Wanderers vs Adelaide United (0-2)
Western Sydney Wanderers: C-
Despite conceding two goals, the first being an Olimpico and the second coming just after the resumption of the second half, the Wanderers defence was resolute in their loss to Adelaide, preventing a blow-out to the scoreline in the process, in which the Reds racked up shots for fun.
The Wanderers midfield struggled, and their attack was lacking, managing only eight shots with two on target.
With a Sydney Derby awaiting in Round Three, the defensive lessons from this game will be the only positive to take from this game, and one would imagine there will be some shooting practice at training this week.
Adelaide United: A
It was a performance not quite worthy of an A+, but that is mainly because of Adelaide’s wastefulness in front of goal, managing 25 shots (13 on target) but only two goals to show for it, something which has been a long-standing criticism of fellow A-League Women side Melbourne City.
Up and down the park though, you could not ask for a better game of the side which “won” the wooden spoon last season.
The defence was strong, Claudia Jenkins was up to the task on the rare occasion she was called upon, the midfield was able to advance the ball up the pitch with will, and the attack found a way to get them the three points in windy conditions at Wanderers Football Park.
A tough test against Canberra United awaits, but a strong Round One performance against Melbourne Victory improved upon in Round Two against the Wanderers will have Adelaide, and their fans, excited for the match in the nation’s capital.
Poletti
Perth Glory vs Newcastle Jets
Perth Glory: B-
As much as you might like to credit Perth here, they were far from clinical against a disorganised traveling side, failed to capitalise on a player advantage for 27 minutes of game time, and almost let the 3 points slip.
There were certainly good things to take from this game, most notably a win after last week’s fade out on the road to Melbourne City.
When you look a little more under the surface however it looks much more concerning for the Perth fans, as two goals from defensive lapses added to Perth’s tally and may have papered over the cracks. That said, you do need to convert even when those mistakes come.
However, more concerning for Stephen Peters may well be the fact that similar to last week, Perth clearly faded late and you can’t help but feel that a 10 player Newcastle side may have snatched a point had they had much more time despite Perth having almost all of the advantages.
They will certainly need to turn up for the full 90 next week if they want to take points away from a Brisbane team playing back to back home games and coming off a longer rest after their win against Sydney FC on Saturday.
Newcastle Jets: C-
Two absolute screamers, a brain fade from their keeper, and a disjointed showing sums up a disappointing trip to the west for Newcastle.
After last week’s strong second half performance we would have expected to have seen a little more across the 90 minutes from the Jets, but another slow start saw them fall behind early and they were chasing the game from there.
The side looked a lot less cohesive than in last week’s come back and sharing of points with Western Sydney, and they also seemed to have more defensive challenges, especially on the counter attack. When Perth pushed forward hard on the fast transition Newcastle started to struggle, conceding one goal and losing their goal keeper to a Red Card.
Danielle Krzyzaniak will be wanting to have her time over again after she got caught out of her box which lead to conceding the third goal, before she quickly thereafter found herself well outside her 18 yard box and decided to punch an attempted lob over her, and was immediately issued with her marching orders, which will be one to forget for the Canadian shot stopper.
Some positives for Jets fans as they head back home next week were two long range stunning strikes, one in the first half to youngster Josie Allan (her first A-Leagues goal), and a first goal in Jets colours for much vaunted cross-code striker Sheridan Gallagher in stoppage time.
Chris Macpherson