The Wellington Phoenix’s Inaugural A-League Women’s Season In Review
It’s not often that a team finishes last and you can still call the season an overwhelming success. One more reason why the inaugural Wellington Phoenix women’s team are such trailblazers. They may have returned home with a proverbial wooden spoon but the fact that they were still in with a chance of getting off the bottom of the table going into the final round was quite incredible given the circumstances of this campaign.
Once more for posterity: by the time the WahiNix were given the green light, every other team had pretty much finished putting their squads together. The Phoenix were told they could only sign a limit of New Zealanders yet all the best Aussie players were already signed by other clubs meaning they had to dip into players coming back from long term injuries or youngsters not quite at the level yet. Which also, given the intention behind the club, had the flow-on effect of the Nix being unable to sign any visa players (who’d have to come in at the expense of a kiwi).
The NZers that they picked up were overwhelmingly young. Only one had been capped internationally (Grace Jale). Only one had played A-League before (Lily Alfeld). As an expansion team they were building from a blank slate, giving them more work to do than anyone else, yet they had the shortest preseason in which to do so. Plus they’d have to play the whole term based in Australia and remember we’re talking about a squad of young pros some of whom hadn’t lived away from home before.
Realistically, that’s just too much to overcome. It was not an even playing field, not even close. Hence why the intention, wisely, pivoted to a development year which the Nix could use as a stepping stone into being much more competitive next season (when, hopefully, two more expansion teams will be added). Give some young players some valuable experience and set a benchmark for the club in terms of playing style, culture, fan presence, and all them good things. Focus on those week to week improvements. And forget about results in the short term.
But then they made such rapid progress that it got to the stage where winning games and continuing to make those weekly improvements became the same thing. A win was the next logical step. A win became the progress. They’d exhausted everything else.
A couple big fish got away, leads blown and chances not taken, but then finally they put the hurt on Canberra United for that first ever win and then added another three-pointer against Western Sydney Wanderers before it was all over. They ran out of steam in the final game of the season, going down 3-1 to Perth when a point would have lifted up a spot on the table, but you can forgive them for having an eye on finishing line given how much they exerted throughout the season.
THE SEASON THAT WAS
It began memorably. A 0-0 draw against Western Sydney Wanderers in an opening match-up that conveniently allowed the Nix’s aggressive defending to shine – serving up a handy dose of confidence to all those A-League debutants. They didn’t really threaten to score but earning a clean sheet at the first opportunity was massive.
Then they lost nine games in a row. There was a clear emotional hangover for the second match as they were pumped 5-1 by Newcastle United (although Ava Pritchard’s late consolation goal marked another club milestone). A couple games later they held Newcastle out until the 82nd minute when Jemma House scored the only goal in a 1-0 defeat... except on either side of that match were hefty defeats to eventual Premiers Sydney FC and then another big loss to Melbourne City.
At which point they’d scored one goal in six games, conceding 18 in the process. Not the most flattering return even if this was deep in the ‘results don’t matter’ period of the campaign. But in fairness, three of those games were against the two top teams and as bad as the first Newcastle defeat had been they were way better the next time around. All the while the WahiNix were winning fans across the league with their committed, positive approach... and eventually that began to pay off. One goal in six games... then 12 goals in the remaining eight. Only twice in those eight did they fail to find the back of the net at least once.
The switch began when Alyssa Whinham and Chloe Knott gave them a 2-0 lead over the Brisbane Roar inside 25 minutes. Fantastic start although harsh lessons were quickly learned. The SheNix did not manage another shot on target all game, conceded ten mins before the half, then about forty seconds after it, and ultimately lost to an 87th minute Katrina Gorry penalty. Next up they held Adelaide at nil-all until the 68th minute when Zoe McMeeken’s own goal doomed them to a 1-0 defeat. And the one after that they were 2-1 up against Perth Glory with ten minutes remaining only to lose 3-2.
Ruthless heartbreak after ruthless heartbreak. They actually played really well in the 2-0 loss to Melbourne Victory that followed but a Claudia Bunge masterclass denied them, making it seem like they’d taken a step back which wasn’t true. Clearly not, because at the eleventh time of asking they scored three lovely goals and kept a second clean sheet in beating Canberra United 3-0 for the club’s first ever A-League women’s victory.
Similar to their first game, there was a hangover game straight afterwards in a 4-1 loss to Adelaide – albeit a rampant Adelaide who were scoring goals for fun at that stage with Fiona Worts getting the third on her way to a Golden Boot title with 13 bangers for the season. A relevant fact because she topped NZ’s Hannah Wilkinson (12 goals) by one. If only Wilkie hadn’t missed two games for international duty, aye?
However the bounce back was immediate as the SheNix subsequently beat Western Sydney Wanderers in a thrilling 3-2 result for a second win – thrilling by reputation, since the rescheduled fixture wasn’t actually broadcast live to watch. Highlights looked good though.
Then the Perth loss in the last game. No dramas. Still scooped up two wins and a draw from their fourteen matches, only coming last thanks to the poor goal difference that they were lumped with after those initial couple months of adaptation. For reference, Perth Glory had a wooden-spoon rebuilding season last season without winning a single game. Lily Alfeld could tell you all about it because she was a part of that team (it took her until her 23rd A-League appearance to win a game, damn). Meanwhile the Phoenix bagged two wins without a run-up. That ain’t exactly small change.
PROOF OF PROGRESS
You don’t have to search too deeply to find evidence of this team’s growth. The way that Gemma Lewis set this team up from the start never changed. Identical in formation, identical in approach. They were a high-pressing team, hence why Chloe Knott kept playing striker despite being a natural central midfielder – that was all about mobility and fitness. The high press did lead to some bad finishes as they tired themselves out in first halves and struggled to hold on the rest of the way. Their record in the final half hour of games was 4 goals scored and 13 conceded. But with more games came higher fitness levels, and more big game experience, and that became less of an achilles heel.
That fitness also helped their defensive aggression across the rest of the park because this was not a team to hang back on their heels. If the ball was there to be won then they had licence to get stuck in and win it. The midfield were superb at that - Wisnewski, Gomez, and Jones – but it was a tendency present in the backline too. Lots of really good ball winners there. As the season went on they had more and more success with it. Plus there was also an aim to make the most of their set pieces, corners in particular. All of those traits were clear from the very first game and never wavered.
That gave them a stable platform through which to make those incremental improvements. The plan didn’t change so it was easy to compare from week to week. Repetitions made it clear for all to see the progress that they were making.
Things that they struggled with initially, such as decision-making when in possession, steadily got better. And there’s only one ball, right, so when you’re holding possession more effectively and creating more in attack then that’s going to have a direct inverse reflection on what the other team gets up to. Note how the point at which the team began legitimately challenging for results (the Brisbane game) was when they started closing the possession gap...
Strange times in that Adelaide game where the Nix had 57% of the ball... but that was part of the plan from Adelaide. They didn’t want to play into the Phoenix’s hands against the press so they let Wellington have a lot of possession and then targetted their mistakes. Which worked a treat. This was the one where McMeeken scored an own goal from almost halfway with a backpass to reserve keeper Brianna Edwards (also the game for which Lily Alfeld was away with the Football Ferns).
With a lead at the break, Adelaide’s midfield sat deeper but their front three remained high for the counter attack and that was how the next two goals came around. However you could see that as an undercover compliment as it was maybe the only game where it felt like an opposition team had deliberately and significantly adjusted their tactics to face the Phoenix. A backhanded sign of respect. Adelaide always had a bit of the counter attack about them, to be fair, but compare that number to the first time these two teams met and it’s drastic.
Some of the Phoenix’s pass accuracy numbers were similarly affected by the state of games. The 5-0 loss to Sydney was 5-0 at half-time so the Nix were allowed to pass the ball around at the back all second half as Sydney chilled out on their way to an easy win.
Instead it’s when you compare the Nix’s pass accuracy to their opponent numbers that it gets funky. Without a doubt that Brisbane game signalled a crossing of the threshold... all the way to where the Nix were the more successful passers in each of their final five matches. Granted the next step is what you do with those passes and Adelaide and Perth in particular were way more potent. But still, it’s progress...
Here’s a total pass graphic as well. Sort of the in between stat of those previous two...
Plus the massive increase in goals and attacking threat (speaking relatively since they comfortably allowed more shots/chances than they created in almost every single game, including the two wins) which came around, not coincidentally, with the closing of the gaps in those passing graphs and progress was undeniable. That and of course the good old fashioned eye test did the trick too.
THE PLAYERS
All twenty players in the squad got games, how about that? Across fourteen games there were opportunities for all. Cushla Rue was the last to feature and her two games for 22 total minutes were both team lows... but she still won the penalty that led to Grace Jales’s sixth goal in the latter stages of the final game of the season. Everybody had an impact in some way.
Chloe Knott and Ava Pritchard were the only two players to start every single game. Isabel Gomez and Alyssa Whinham played in all 14 but came off the bench once or twice (Whinham’s emergence into the starting team definitely had a lot to do with the team’s increased potency by the way) and there were plenty more who got close. Lily Alfeld who missed one game due to international duty. Kate Taylor missed one through injury, same deal with Zoe McMeeken. Saskia Vosper and Te Reremoana Walker featured in 13/14 though did so with a mixture of subs and starts.
Mackenzie Barry missed two with a midseason ankle injury (if she’d played the Brisbane game they might well have held on to win, who knows?). Same deal with Grace Jale who dealt with a knock for about a month early on which aligned with WPX’s worst stretch of results. Also shout out to Talitha Kramer who didn’t play game one as a late signing but featured in the next ten in a row before missing the closer due to suspension after four yellow cards – the first WahiNix player ever to serve a suspension.
The formation was always a 4-3-3 with two eights and a ten in the midfield triangle. When everybody was fit the ideal line-up probably looked like this:
Alfeld | McMeeken, Barry, Taylor, Kramer | Gomez, Wisnewski, Whinham | Jale, Knott, Pritchard
Naturally not everybody was always available. Saskia Vosper began the season at left-back but got injured and lost her spot to Talitha Kramer, SV instead operating as a wide utility sub coming on at either side at FB or on the wing. Te Reremoana Walker was always available to slide into CB when Barry or Taylor couldn’t go. Hannah Jones made a pretty solid case to be starting in midfield once she got her opportunity and did exactly that in the three games that Grace Wisnewski missed. One of the great what-ifs of this campaign is what might have been had Kelli Brown been able to play more than six games (and more than 55 mins in any of them) given the added element she provided an attacking group where there was clearly less depth than in other areas. So it goes.
Thus football being football, that presumed top strength eleven actually only all started one game together. Go on and try guess which game that was. The answer is: this one.
Interesting looking at the minute totals to see the kiwi players largely dominating the top spots. Of the ten most frequent players, nine are NZers. Of the ten least frequent only four. Probably gotta accept there would be some bias towards Aotearoa players for an Aotearoa team (with funding from NZ Football) though also that’s a reflection of how the roster was put together.
The Aussies they signed were those not wanted by other teams for whatever reason – in this case mostly youth and inexperience. The kiwis they signed were mostly of a similar age but that’s the inefficiency: Aussie clubs weren’t gonna sign a dozen of the best emerging NZ players all at once when they already have academies nurturing their own local talent. There are way more Aussies at that level of ability but in terms of players without A-League contracts there was a better quality of kiwi player being overlooked. Hence the necessity for a Welly Nix Women’s team.
Lily Alfeld – Captain and keeper, stepped up with plenty of excellent saves. Her leadership and experience in the ALW last season, especially for a wooden spoon team, was massive. Loved the willingness to be an option in build-up play even if it’s not completely natural to her. It’s hard to judge a keeper when there’s such an abundance of shots sent her way hence how she managed to make the third most saves yet still concede the most goals in the ALW. But Alfeld was always a reliable presence and her form did earn a call-up to the national team.
Saskia Vosper – SV started the first five games but didn’t start again until the final match when McMeeken was injured and Kramer suspended. It was injury that cost her the spot but she had been having trouble dealing with pacey attackers which is what kept her out. A pity, since Vosper’s the best attacking option of those fullbacks (although ZM has the most potential). Luckily that did allow her to make plenty of cameos off the bench further forward giving the team a valuable energy boost later in games.
Kate Taylor – Absolutely insane that she’s only 18 years old. Then again, Kate Taylor gave that impression as a 16 year old for Canterbury Pride too. Just one of those players, like Libby Cacace for the men’s team, who looked fully formed as soon as they got to this level, as if they had a decade of professional experience already (hence she was made vice captain). Taylor’s committed defending also drew comparisons to a certain namesake who used to play for the men’s team. Plus she’s very skilled in possession (albeit the decision making got exposed once or twice) and popped up with a goal and assist along the way. Never once got booked. Kate Taylor has the makings of a Complete Central Defender and put up a genuine case for Player of the Season status. Immense.
Mackenzie Barry – The Duchess of Tackling, don’t you forget it. Taylor got a little more of the spotlight but Barry outperformed her over the last month as KT dealt with injury niggles. Great athlete who times a challenge as well as anyone in the entire league. With her and Taylor the Nix have a CB partnership with the potential to absolutely dominate the A-League in a few years... supposing they’re both still around then.
Jordan Jasnos – Played quite a bit in the first half of the campaign but only made two very late subs appearances across the last six. Aussie attacker who didn’t quite find her role, playing mostly as a wide forward. Started the first two games so you know she’s decent.
Isabel Gomez – A proper midfield enforcer, never pushed around, always willing to stick a leg in. Three yellow cards along the way. Started all but one game and at her best she was a genuine defensive presence in the middle. Underrated passer too. Only drama was that her yellow cards and her fitness maybe held her back as games went on, only three times lasting ninety mins (and two were in the first three games), but she had some blindingly good games. Hope they bring her back next time.
Chloe Knott – A midfielder by trade who was tasked with starting every game at centre-forward. At times that meant a false nine thing, but to be fair at other times she was deployed like a legit striker. The reason for the positional change was to have a tireless worker up there to lead the press and Knott did that superbly, scoring twice and setting up three more goals. Led the team in minutes. Surely led them in distance covered too. At 25yo she was one of the older heads in the squad and you could always tell that from the assured way she played.
Grace Wisnewski – The headlines came about from Wisnewski’s brave admission of anxiety issues which caused her to skip three games throughout the season... although that narrative’s kinda been overplayed tbh. Nobody makes a fuss if a player misses a game with a strained hamstring and mental health hurdles are surely just another form of injury right? Regardless, still impressively mature of Wisnewski to acknowledge it. Not many young pros would. However the focus also needs to be on a series of tireless midfield performances, winning the ball and distributing it forward, never leaving anyone in any doubt when she was out there. Played every minute she was available for. Couple bookings in there too. Add in a few more late runs into the area next season and there’s a proper midfielder.
Ava Pritchard – Despite being the scorer of the Nix’s first ever goal, it wasn’t until late in the season when Pritchard began to truly flourish. Her issue was that she was too well-rounded, no obvious weakness in her game but also no stand-out strength either. Jack of all trades, master of none styles. That meant it took longer to figure out where she’d find her success but she got there in the end, setting up two of the goals in the win over Canberra with a knack for showing up in the right places at the right times. All up she logged two goals and two assists in 14 games and you could possibly argue for another assist given it was her deflected cross that led to Grace Jale’s goal in the 4-1 loss to Adelaide too.
Grace Jale – Mentioned it already but the Nix’s worst stage of the season aligned with Jale’s injury. When she came back, everything changed. Suddenly they had a player who could hold the ball up in the attacking third, someone who also happens to be the best finisher in the team. The form she found once she got that fitness going was nuts and she finished the season on a four-game scoring streak including goals in both wins. Six bangers all up for a team that only scored 13 in total. That combination of strength and skill was an instant success. Pretty confident she’ll add to her four international caps sooner rather than later.
Kelli Brown – Brown’s penchant for a long range wonder goal could have really come in handy had she been more available. But a recurring ankle injury and then a six-game absence for concussion meant that it wasn’t to be. Still showed glimpses and very nearly scored against WSW after she came back. The party at Kelli Brown’s will just have to wait ‘til next season. Cuts a mean snow/hail angel though...
Brianna Edwards – Only got the one start and conceded four goals but looked decent in those spare opportunities. You could tell she’s loved within the group too by the cheerful reaction Lily Alfeld had to being replaced by her in the MVC match. Too soon to judge Edwards as a keeper but while she has been a part of extended Aussie youth squads before she could be a sneaky selection for the NZ U20s coached by her Phoenix coach Gemma Lewis thanks to a kiwi dad. One to watch out for.
Te Reremoana Walker – Would have liked to see more of her in midfield as Walker’s passing range off both feet is such a weapon. But also gotta praise how well she did filling in as the backup central defender... including 42 mins replacing Taylor in the Canberra win. Walker’s poise on the ball was always a benefit. Stepping up through the press with ease. TRW’s footy development has mostly come in Australia but she’s been a regular in NZ youth sides and you can expect to see that trend continue.
Cushla Rue – Didn’t see a lot. Injury and depth got in the way of the Aussie winger’s A-League debut for a while there... but even in two mere sub apps she still showed plenty of promise. Most notably winning the penalty in the last game. One assist in 22 minutes is quite the strike rate.
Zoe McMeeken – The youngest player in the squad so naturally one of the most raw, yet there’s a reason she started all 13 games she was available for. McMeeken is a superb athlete (literally: she’s a youth track and field champ) whose natural gifts allowed her to hang about. Her inexperience was always gonna be a factor and it’s hard to separate that from the fact that she scored two own goals... however she soon found her feet defensively and by the end of the season she was beginning to show a much more assertive self going forward too. She’s a good crosser, just gotta get into those areas more. Only 17 years old so this season will have done wonders for her development. Imagine where she’ll be with two more A-League campaigns under her belt (at which time she’ll still only be the same age as Grace Wisnewski and Isabel Gomez are now).
Hannah Jones – Was only even in the matchday squad once across the first five games but burst onto the scene when they lost 3-2 to Perth. A couple others in the squad had broken team rules and were demoted for one match and Jones took her chance and ran with it. She’s pretty tiny but she covers a heap of ground and has a great knack winning possession with a well timed tackle or intercept. Played a key role in a couple of the goals in the Canberra win, played the full game in the WSW win. Featured most prominently when the Nix were at their best. Obviously this team had an advantage when it came to scouting kiwi players but gotta say their success rate with Aussie prospects was pretty onto it too.
Talitha Kramer – The oldest player in the squad and the last one signed. Took a couple weeks to get into the mix but when she did Kramer quickly became a fan favourite with her combative fullback play, earning the starting left-back role as the season progressed and also earning the honour of the first Nix Wahine to serve a suspension. Four yellows in 12 appearances. Get in there.
Annabel Martin – Once turned down a Big Bash contract and her dad was an AFL player... but we didn’t get to see a whole lot of Annabel Martin as a footballer. Signed on a recommendation from Annalie Longo, Martin was coming back from an ACL injury and never quite got it going. She was included in most squads up until an injury towards the end (probably would’ve started the last game had she been fit) but never got more than 20 mins in a match. Maybe next time.
Charlotte Lancaster – One of two NZ scholarship players added to the squad, Lancaster didn’t make the bench for any of the first eight games but she stuck at it and ended up making five appearances across the last six. Granted, only one of them was anything more than a last minute cameo. Lancaster’s got a good left foot and can play LB or LW. One for the future.
Alyssa Whinham – The other scholarship player... who ended up playing the seventh most minutes. Too much has been made of Whinham not getting signed initially. As Coach Lewis has explained it, they were on a tight schedule to put the squad together and Whinham was considering going to uni in the USA instead. It wasn’t a snub (except by the other A-League clubs who were offered the chance to swoop in before the scholarship deal became an option). Anyway, it all worked out in the end. Two exciting cameos off the bench had Whinham basically demanding to start and she did exactly that for every subsequent match. A true number ten, the way she links up between the midfield and attack was essential for this team and her skill and trickery are amazing from any kiwi player let alone one so young. Now that her first pro season is out of the way, gotta wonder how soon she gets a phone call from the national team coach given how the exact same thing that the Nix were looking for when they promoted her to the starting line-up also happens to be something that the Footy Ferns are missing. Won that ALW Young Player of the Month award for January too. Significant areas. And along with everything else, Alyssa Whinham also rates 10/10 on the excitement scale.
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