Canberra united in attack and defence

Canberra United pleased their home crowd of 1,007 with a dominant 2-0 victory over the depleted Western Sydney Wanderers on Sunday.

Canberra United’s defence was strong and easily able to repel any attacking raid that the Wanderers could muster. Michelle Heyman proved her brace from the first match of the season was no fluke and bagged a goal and an assist, showing some clinical finishing which was missing last season.

The real standout for United though was their entire midfield.

Playing a 4-5-1 formation allowed Stephanie Ochs, Ashleigh Sykes, Lori Lindsey, Grace Gill and Kendall Fletcher to run amok through the centre.

Lindsey and Fletcher both displayed great strength and poise on the ball, fending off tackles easily and providing the pivot points for Canberra to switch quickly from defence to attack – usually with a wide, switching ball to speedsters Sykes or Ochs on the wings.

Canberra may have lost the lightening fast Hayley Raso to Brisbane, but they have arguably gained a more cohesive forward unit that is still one of the quickest in the league.

If anything, Heyman needs to pull back at times when Ochs and Sykes overlap so that she can provide a clear target for the cross rather than being flat with the keeper.

Western Sydney’s zonal defence on Heyman was not tight enough to restrict her and great ball control and calm finishing from Ochs saw her net her debut goal for Canberra after an angled ball from Heyman provided her with a run on to goal with only the keeper to beat.

The defensive lineup was an unsettled question for Canberra coach Liesbeth Migchelsen in the offseason, but Catherine Brown at centre back and Sally Rojahn on the right have proved to be reliable and creative teenagers, linking with the experienced Ellie Brush in central defence and captain Nicole Sykes at left back.

Canberra still has Sally Shipard to return in coming weeks and the squad has not suffered any major injuries. Their only disappointment will be that they did not put more goals past Western Sydney given the number of goal mouth opportunities and knowing how important goal difference is come finals time.

The Wanderers suffered their first defeat of the season after a casualty ridden journey to Canberra and with key players such as Heather Garriock, Servet Uzunlar and Alanna Kennedy still to take the pitch this season, it was always going to be a tough outing for the young squad.

Their reserves bench was called upon in the second half when Tori Huster and Jessica Seaman were both injured and the Wanderers will be relieved there is a break next weekend to make way for the Matildas v China clash, in order to heal their wounded stars.

For the Wanderers, Emily Van Egmond was imposing but her touch on the ball was not as clinical as it needed to be against the discipline of Canberra.

Tori Huster was a shining light, playing a number of perfect through balls early while Canberra settled their nerves, but a strong but fair 50-50 challenge from Ochs saw Huster jar her knee and take a seat on the sideline in the second half.

Teigan Allen was frustrated against a speedy and tenacious Ashleigh Sykes and lashed out to give away some telling free kicks. Dimi Poulos was excellent in goals and kept the Wanderers from suffering an embarrassing scoreline.

Jenna Kingsley beat the offside trap a few times in the first half, causing Nicole Sykes to turn and chase, but having Lydia Williams as vocal custodian has added cement to Canberra’s backline, and other than one shot that grazed the cross bar, Western Sydney Wanderers did not trouble the keeper at all.

The Wanderers are obviously awaiting the debut of Garriock and Co, but in the meantime they should look to work more closely in both their defence and midfield lines, and to sharpen their passing to get out of trouble in the back third if they are to build any attacking capacity.

Canberra United will enjoy an extra week of respite due to the postponement of their match against Sydney FC due to the sky blues’ involvement in the World Club Championship in Japan. The Wanderers host Brisbane Roar on 1 December at Marconi Stadium.