Melbourne Victory host Adelaide United in Round 7 of the Ninja A-League on Saturday, December 13, kick-off 4.50pm AEDT at AAMI Park.
The weekend’s contest cannot come quickly enough for Jeff Hopkins and his players, who will be fired up to right the wrongs of last Friday’s 1-3 loss to Canberra United in Bundoora.
At the Home of the Matildas, Victory let slip their 100% home record despite going ahead in the fourth minute, so supporters can expect them to bring extra fire when they face off against Adelaide.
The Girls in Blue
Melbourne Victory have won eight of the last nine ALW meetings with Adelaide United, only ever losing once to the Reds at home, and never under the stewardship of Head Coach Jeff Hopkins.
They will, though, be guarded to the reaction of a United side, who also went down 1-3 last weekend, as they lost to second-placed Brisbane Roar at Coopers Stadium.
Fortunately, with history and an AAMI Park crowd on their side, Victory will head into their final home outing before Christmas as many people’s favourites to take all three points.
And their chances are set to be boosted by the availability of winger Nicki Flannery. She has missed the start of her second season in blue due to a leg injury, but is back in the mix after returning to training in time for the Original Rivalry.
The addition of her attacking invention will be music to the ears of striker Kennedy White, who has already profited on five occasions from her teammates’ ability to pick her out.
The competition’s leading scorer was cruelly denied a sixth goal in as many games when Victory’s opener versus Canberra was awarded as an own goal.
Round 7 Squad: 1. Courtney NEWBON, 3. Claudia BUNGE, 5. Sofia SAKALIS, 6. Taylor RAY, 7. Ella O’GRADY, 9. Holly FURPHY, 11. Nickoletta FLANNERY, 10. Rhianna POLLICINA, 16. Kennedy WHITE, 17. Poppy O’KEEFFE, 18. Kayla MORRISON, 19. Zoe McMEEKEN, 23. Rachel LOWE, 24. Laura PICKETT, 27. Rosie CURTIS, 30. Payton WOODWARD, 41. Jessica YOUNG, 66. Alana JANCEVSKI, 81. Grace MAHER
Ins: 11. Nickoletta FLANNERY
Outs: 14. Fiorina IARIA, 20. Leyla HUSSEIN
Unavailable: 4. Chelsea BLISSETT (injured), 8. Sienna SAVESKA (medical)
The Reds
Redemption may well be the buzzword on the lips of Adelaide United’s players when they return to the city where their 2024/25 Finals dreams died back in May.
The Reds had only finished one place behind Melbourne Victory on the regular season ladder, but suffered a 6-2 aggregate defeat at the hands of the Girls in Blue.
Both of their goalscorers in that semi-final clash, Erin Healy and Isabel Hodgson, remain on the books, but only the former has netted so far this term, scoring in the loss to Brisbane Roar.
On target in their sole win to date, a 2-1 win over Canberra United in mid-November, were Emily Condon and Matilda McNamara – two of 11 players who re-signed going into the current campaign.
This busy off-season included the appointment of Head Coach Theo Tsiounis on a two-year, full-time deal. He boasts coaching experience in South Australia’s National Premier League (NPL) and State Leagues.
Run it back
Last meeting in the second leg of the 2024/25 A-League Women’s semi-final at the Home of the Matildas, Melbourne Victory successfully knocked Adelaide United out of the Finals.
Already possessing a 3-1 first-leg advantage after defeating the Reds in South Australia, an early goal from Rachel Lowe, following up on Alana Jančevski’s powerful free kick, was the perfect start for the Girls in Blue.
A composed finish just inside the box from midfielder Sara D’Appolonia, 60 seconds past the hour mark, helped reinforce the lead before Lowe completed her brace after being found in the box by Holly Furphy in the 78th minute.
The Reds would at least be able to celebrate a consolation goal in the final minute of the match following a well-placed volley by Isabel Hodgson, but Victory marched on to the Grand Final 6-2 on aggregate.
Last time out
Aiming to extend their perfect record on home soil against Canberra United, Melbourne Victory got off to a perfect start last Friday night, with Holly Furphy’s cross into the box flicked on by Kennedy White being ruled as an own goal in the fourth minute of the match.
But the visitors did not let their heads drop and found an unlikely equaliser in the 22nd minute through Nanako Sasaki. A perfectly-placed finish by Sasha Grove early in the first half granted Canberra the lead, while a late third that last came off Victory Captain, Kayla Morrison, saw Antoni Jagarinec’s visitors come away with the win.
Adelaide United suffered an identical result in Round 6 to Victory, suffering a 1-3 loss on home soil to Brisbane Roar.
First-half goals from Grace Kuilamu and Bente Jansen had the Roar leading at the break, but a powerful 51st-minute strike by Irish international Erin Healy gave the Reds hope of a comeback.
However, a counter-attacking move by the Roar in the 67th minute was finished off by Jansen, with the former Ajax attacker netting a double and sealing all three points for her new side.
