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Oz Blog: State Of Origin For Brisbane Roar And Sydney FC Women

Goal.com's Fiona Crawford casts a brief eye over a big clash in Australian women's football.

Oct 21, 2009 2:41:11 AM

Brisbane Roar Women (Photo: Bryan Crawford)

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Brisbane Roar Women (Photo: Bryan Crawford)

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All eyes might be on the Sydney FC v Brisbane Roar A-League match this weekend, with it being anyone’s guess whether Sydney will recapture the top spot that it’s been sharing, musical chairs-style, with Melbourne and the Gold Coast, or whether the of-late-derailed Roar will resurge under their new coach.

But an equally anticipated and fiercely contested state of origin encounter will be preceding the match, with Sydney FC Women taking on Brisbane Roar Women in an A-League curtain-raising round four of the Westfield W-League.

Boasting the largest number of Matildas—or national women’s team players—in their ranks, Roar Women won season one and look equally strong in season two.

But Sydney FC too have the lion’s share of Matildas players as well as some international players in their ranks and, despite a shock loss to the Central Coast Mariners in round one, are tipped to be the team to most trouble the Roar.

Roar Women captain Clare Polkinghorne is certainly is expecting a tough, physical encounter. “Every time we play Sydney, there’s a bit of rivalry there, no matter who’s on the pitch,” she told Goal.com.

Sydney FC’s Sarah Walsh concurs, saying that the teams are fairly evenly matched and it’s always a battle between them. “It will probably be Sydney’s toughest game,” she says, “even though we’re just four games in.”

She anticipates the first 15 minutes to be both frenetic and crucial to the end result.

“It’ll come down to—to borrow the old cliché—of who wants it most,” she says. “That’s been our problem the last few games. We’ve been a little bit casual. We haven’t played our best football yet and we’ll really need to lift our game against Roar Women. If we bring anything less, they’ll wipe us off the park.”

So does that fact that most of the players are also Matildas team mates change anything?

Neither thinks so. Familiarity with playing styles will be in the back of their minds, but their own game plans will be at the front of them.

Walsh says she’ll catch up with a few of the Roar Women players over dinner the night before but, off-field friendliness aside, she’ll be completely focused for the match.

And given that the Asian Cup, which also doubles as a qualifying competition for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup, is coming up in the next few months, every one of the players will be hoping to play well and impress the attending national coach, Tom Sermanni.

Sydney’s international players lend the team a certain unpredictability and extra challenge for defenders such as Polkinghorne, and Walsh pays tribute to the internationals.

“In my opinion, Cathrin Paaske is one of the best Danish players,” she says. “And she’s still finding her groove. We haven’t even seen her best yet.”

With Paaske already proving one of Sydney’s key playmakers and having so far scored one goal of her own and had a hand (or foot) in some of the others, Roar Women will have their work cut out to keep her, in-form striker Walsh, and season one golden boot Leena Khamis quiet.

It’s likely that captain Polkinghorne will mark up against Sydney FC captain and livewire Heather Garriock—it’s a challenge that Polkinghorne is looking forward to, she says, but wearing the armband won’t have any impact on the contest—while Walsh will aim to add to the two goals she scored in the first two rounds.

Both players are also conscious that playing the curtain raiser to the A-League is an opportunity to showcase women’s football talent to an audience that might not otherwise seek it out and look forward to the larger crowd support they receive as A-League supporters filter into the stadium.

And, as more than a few Brisbane Roar fans have noted, should they win, Roar Women might just be able to give attending and longsuffering A-League Roar fans something to smile about.

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W-League Round 4 Match Draw:

Adelaide United v Perth Glory (Televised on ABC1)
Saturday, 24 October 2009, Hindmarsh Stadium, 2.30pm local (3.00pm AEDT)

Newcastle Jets v Central Coast Mariners
Saturday, 24 October 2009, Wanderers Oval, 4.00pm local

Canberra United v Melbourne Victory
Saturday, 24 October 2009, McKellar Park, 5.00pm local

Sydney FC v Brisbane Roar
Sunday, 25 October 2009, Sydney Football Stadium, 2.15pm local

Fiona Crawford, Goal.com

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