Round Ball Australia 
Chloe Lincoln in action for the Young Matildas at the U20 Women's World Cup. Photo supplied by Football Australia
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.
Wellington Phoenix vs Brisbane Roar (2-1)
Wellington Phoenix: C+
It is now two straight victories for Wellington, following a 1-0 victory over Adelaide United at Unite Round, and a 2-1 victory over the Roar, as Paul Temple’s side look to make finals for the first time in just their fourth season.
Annalie Longo made her return to the side from injury and scored both of Wellington’s goals, with the attack capitalising on a defensive error for the first goal, albeit there was a hint that she might have been offside, but it was not called.
The second was more of a goalkeeper error, but Longo will not complain about how it crossed the line.
The defense, besides a momentary lapse in concentration which allowed Emily Pringle to score just before half-time, was remarkable in this game and able to frustrate the Roar, with the centre-back pairing of Mackenzie Barry and Tiana Jaber standing out.
Mebae Tanaka continued her rise to prominence in her first season, and had some good opportunities to score, but is still waiting for her first A-League Women goal after her attempt in Round 1 was marked as a Sasha Grove own goal.
If she continues to perform as she has so far this season, it might not be too far away.
Brisbane Roar: C-
Coming in, even with the absences of Tameka Yallop and Sharn Freier due to Matildas duty, Brisbane certainly would have expected to leave Wellington with a result.
Instead, they fell 2-1 in what was a very even contest, and might have lost their starting striker in the process, as Evdokiya Popadinova suffered an apparent hamstring injury while giving chase to a loose ball early in the second half.
The Roar struggled in this game when they got forward, finding difficulty in getting past the back-line of the Phoenix apart from Emily Pringle’s effort just before half-time as the Nix defence appeared to switch off, allowing Pringle to score with ease.
With a match against the Mariners in Round 6, Yallop and Freier will be welcome returns for Alex Smith, as the Roar look to return to winning ways and try to regain their spot at the top of the table.
Poletti
Western United vs Sydney FC (2-1)
Western United: B+
This was an impressive performance from Western United, who in years past might’ve dropped points in these types of high-pressure games against quality opposition.
We know the Sky Blues haven’t set the world on fire thus far this season, but Kat Smith’s approach should be commended as she recognised Sydney’s vulnerable defence and tried to exploit them at every chance possible.
Aside from the 2-1 win, the most striking aspect was how well Western United controlled the game when they needed to, with Melissa Taranto contributing a brilliant shift in the centre of midfield.
Their depth on the bench is also fantastic, as Kiara De Domizio scored the winner in the 88th minute while the likes of Emily Roach and Isabel Dehakiz slot into the system perfectly when called upon.
Chloe Lincoln also played the entire 90 minutes for Western United less than 24 hours after making her Matildas debut against Chinese Taipei, becoming cap #233 after replacing Mackenzie Arnold in the second-half of the 6-0 win for Australia.
Sydney FC: C
At times there were flashes of brilliance, yet we are stuck here asking the same question of when Sydney FC will click into gear.
On paper, they’re blessed with endless talent from Princess Ibini to Indiana dos Santos to Mackenzie Hawkesby. Add in arguably the best coach in the competition in Ante Juric, and this team should in no way be third-bottom of the standings.
Sydney struggled to wrestle the game on their terms, constantly playing catch up and with that, continually rushing their build-up into the final third that seemed to break up far too easily, although young gun Amber Luchtmeijer was able to force a defensive error to get her first goal in the A-League Women.
It’s obviously too early to write them off after five games. However, concerns and doubts are expectedly growing for Juric’s side.
Christian Montegan
Adelaide United vs Newcastle Jets (2-0)
Adelaide: B-
What more needs to be said than the fact that Adelaide did what was needed to ensure they claimed three points at home despite having the minority of possession.
The Reds were more disciplined and more clinical, they stuck to their structures and whilst their first goal was scrappy it was well earned from a set piece that came after an error from their opponents thanks to Adelaide’s consistent structured attacking raids.
Fiona Worts claimed the second goal with a clinical finish as she continues to build an impressive return to his best form that will undoubtedly warm the hearts of Adelaide fans as she keeps herself right in the contest for the A-League Women’s Golden Boot.
Plenty of credit also deserves to be shared with Claudia Jenkins who had to scramble and make tough scrappy saves to keep her clean sheet after some defensive lapses.
The takeaway for Adelaide is that despite three points going their way and two goals they will know that there is more improvement required if they are to consistently compete with the leagues top side. The positives however; three points and the fact that there is clearly more room to grow and develop with the squad they have.
Newcastle: D
It appears Ryan Campbell has two Newcastle Jets sides on his hands this season, and the one who turned up in Adelaide was not the better of the two.
Whilst we have seen some disjointed Jets sides in recent memory, this one has not slumped to those levels just yet but they clearly are missing a spark and it showed as they were outclassed on the road by Adelaide.
Campbell will undoubtedly be happy with the fact the Jets achieving one of his goals here with a clear statute of maintaining the majority of possession achieved, however turning said possession into shots on goal and converting shots on goal were challenges.
The Jets appeared to have more spark once Gia Vicari came on in the second half which may be a trigger for them to look at how they get more time with Vicari and Sheridan Gallagher on the pitch together, which may allow for a more attack minded flow.
Two major areas of concern for Jets fans would be that fact the team outside of Gallagher looked quite gun shy when chances to shoot in the attacking end. Whilst at the other end the clear tactic of a high pressing goalkeeper who takes things on outside the box nearly brought Danielle Krzyzaniak unstuck for a second time this season as she picked up a yellow card this time for handling outside the box.
Here is hoping the Jets can rediscover their spark that we saw glimpses of earlier in the year and build some consistency of appearances for the “better” version of their side.
Chris Macpherson
Perth Glory vs Melbourne Victory (0-1)
Perth: C-
Hot conditions at the Sam Kerr Football Centre certainly hampered Perth Glory’s efforts to get a result against the Melbourne Victory, as they fell 1-0 to close out the split Round 5.
With 10 shots in the game from the hosts, only one was on target from Kelli Brown, who was not able to find a good angle for the shot, resulting in a routine save for Courtney Newbon.
For the Glory, whose only win of the season is against a 10-player Newcastle Jets with a goalkeeper prone to defensive errors, this result has to be frustrating, given they were four minutes away from what would have been a well-deserved point, particularly after Casey Dumont’s penalty save.
Dumont, in her 150th A-League Women appearance, had a good game overall, despite the stoppage-time goal in which she lost sight of the ball in the sea of players in front of her, and dove just a little too late to try and save it.
A high-flying Adelaide will make the trip west in Round 6 as the contests only get tougher, and the ongoing project from Stephen Peters continues.
Victory: C+
With no Emily Gielnik or Alex Chidiac because of Matildas duty as part of the split round, any result would be considered a good one for Jeff Hopkins.
However, the Victory are making a habit of leaving it late this season to get points, and it is one they will want to snap out of soon.
In tough conditions out west, the visitors managed to frustrate the hosts into committing 11 fouls, as well as dictating the pace of play through the defensive and middle thirds of the pitch.
A poorly taken penalty from Rachel Lowe, who went off a single step, was easily saved by Casey Dumont, and looked like it was going to haunt the Victory until Alana Murphy rocketed a strike from nearly 30 metres out to seal the three points in second-half stoppage time.
The result puts Victory into second on the ladder, just a point behind rivals Melbourne City, and gives them a good base on which to build their season and compete for silverware.
Poletti