The Wander Women have their final match of the season at home in a hugely exciting double header at CommBank Stadium against Canberra United.
It has been a difficult season, with many factors going against the side that were out of their control, but they will look to end with a flourish and signal to the rest of the competition that their young but talented side means business for next season.
The Wanderers come into the match knowing they can’t improve their ladder position, but will take buckets of confidence from their fighting spirit present in their stellar comeback against Brisbane last Sunday.
Down 3-1 after 67 minutes and having goalkeeper Sham Khamis sent off, the Wanderers fought back to 3-3 thanks to goals from Holly Caspers and Maddy McComasky, only to concede a goal straight after.
They didn’t give up, and earnt a deserved share of the points when Sophie Harding, off the bench as she continues to return from injury, scored a 92nd minute screamer from the edge of the area as the game ended 4-4.
It is the second time the Wanderers have played in a 4-4 draw this season, and coach Geoff Abraham’s will take plenty of encouragement from what he saw from his side at Perry Park.
The fact Harding came off the bench due to injury sums up the Wanderers’ season; Caspers has been forced to play a bit part role off the bench after back to back injuries, McComasky missed a big chunk of the season after breaking her collarbone, and Paige Hayward missed time due to injury, and then missed the rest of the season due to being on maternity leave.
That said, it has allowed other young stars to shine in a sign of what will come next season.
Sienna Saveska has had a breakout year, scoring seven goals and getting three assists in the season, whilst Bronte Trew has also had a strong second half of the year, getting herself three goals.
Talia Younis continued her development in the side in midfield, whilst Amy Chessari and Ella Buchanan cemented themselves as key players in the team.
Backed by a strong home crowd, they will home to end the season on a high note against Canberra, who themselves are on a high after qualifying for the finals.
Their win combined with Western Sydney’s draw was enough to secure their place, but they will want to get a win that could give them a home final.
They have been led by the goalscoring exploits of Michelle Heyman, who recently played her record 200th game in the A-League Women, but overall have a weak attack, having scored less goals than the Wanderers.
They mastered the art of a narrow win, as the Wanderers found out in the reverse fixture; Sofia Christopherson scored right on half time to give them a 1-0 win, though the star of the show was goalkeeper Sally James, who made a number of top saves to deny the Wanderers.
The Wanderers will hope Harding, Caspers and Saveska can combine one last time this season, and they will hope to repeat their exploits from their last double header back in December.
On that day they hosted Western United, and secured their equal biggest win in history as a Saveska hat-trick underlined a 5-1 victory.
Danika Matos also scored her first ever professional goal in a brilliant moment, and the Wanderers will hope for more of the same as they end the 2024-25 season.
