It was another busy weekend for the Commonwealth Bank Matildas in the A-League Women's as Sydney FC secured the first silverware of the season.
The action once again began midweek with Melbourne City defeating Newcastle Jets 2-0. It was a record-breaking night for Jet Cassidy Davis who played her 110th consecutive match, a feat not seen before across the men's or women's competitions.
Unfortunately, it wasn't to be her or her team's night with Kaitlyn Torpey's neat finish and Hannah Wilkinson's header enough to give City the three points.
Wellington Phoenix notched up their second win of the season, beating Western Sydney Wanderers 3-2 in the other midweek clash.
Ashlie Crofts' header got the Wanderers off to a good start but goals to Kate Taylor, Ava Pritchard, and Grace Jale put the Nix in the ascendency. A late own goal gave Western Sydney a second but it wasn't enough to snatch a late draw.
Friday night saw two matches with finals ramifications kick off simultaneously. The equation was simple: Melbourne Victory only needed a point to confirm their spot in finals. But if they lost to Canberra and Perth beat Wellington, the Glory would finish fourth instead.
Perth executed the element within their control to perfection with a Wellington own goal giving them the lead. Cyera Hintzen finished from close range before Aideen Keane beat Phoenix 'keeper Lily Alfeld 1-v-1 to make it three. A late Grace Jale penalty was mere consolation for the Nix in the final game of their inaugural A-League Women's campaign.
While the Glory were getting the win, Victory and Canberra were playing out an enthralling scoreless draw. The team in green had several good chances with Michelle Heyman and Margot Robinne in the thick of the action.
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Courtney Nevin and the Victory defence were up to the task. Down the other end, Alex Chidiac and Kyra Cooney-Cross tried both in combination and individually to give Victory a goal to eliminate the pressure being heaped on them by Canberra's relentless attack.
The pair, and Catherine Zimmerman, combined with Chidiac thinking she had scored an audacious backheel only for the goal to be ruled offside. A tense final 10 minutes saw the score remain goalless and Victory book passage to the finals.
Katrina Gorry played a big role in Brisbane Roar's 5-1 win over Newcastle Jets but the night belonged to Larissa Crummer. The 23-time Commonwealth Bank netted her first ever hat trick in Brisbane's big win.
Gorry assisted one of Crummer's goals as well Anna Margraf's opener. Hollie Palmer put the icing on the cake with a spectacular strike after Lauren Allan's consolation goal.
Emma Checker and Wini Heatley's Melbourne City had the chance to snatch the premiership from Sydney FC in the final round. While they would need a favour from Adelaide they also had to defeat Western Sydney which they did 2-0.
Hannah Wilkinson and Rhianna Pollicina were unstoppable, scoring a goal apiece in the victory.
Unfortunately for City, Adelaide could not help them out in their quest for silverware with the Reds going down to Sydney FC 1-0.
However, for the Sky Blues, it was back-to-back top of the table finishes. The front trio of Remy Siemsen, Princess Ibini, and Paige Satchell was a handful for Adelaide's defence. Ultimately, Satchell's swivel and shot was the lone goal in a tight game.
Dylan Holmes was once again important in the Reds' midfield while Chelise Dawber and golden boot winner Fiona Worts tested Jada Whyman and Charlie Rule on plenty of occasions.
There are only two matches remaining in the season with Brisbane needing to play catch up matches against the Jets and Canberra before the finals football begins!
