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On that March afternoon - the stands emptied of all but friends and family as the scope of the COVID-19 pandemic began to become apparent - Steph Catley’s 15th-minute strike powered City over Sydney and to its fourth W-League title in five seasons; the Matildas’ star captaining an XI that featured ten senior internationals and had set new records for domination in the proceeding season.
Thursday was the first meeting between the two foes since and, with the last-minute determination that the surface of Frank Holohan Soccer Complex was unsafe, proceedings once again took place behind-closed-doors at AAMI Park.
Whether Sofia Sakalis is playing on home soil or out on international fields, she gives every game her all. Her Melbourne City FC team biography describes her has “a creative attacking midfielder with a knack for scoring goals”.
The 18-year-old from Melbourne has had to take some time to heal after an ACL injury put her out of the game for the last season, but has been working hard to get herself back onto the green.
Despite being such a young player on the pitch, Sakalis has already seen a shift in women’s sport in her time.
“When I was younger I would play with boys from the age of five, so there wasn’t even that exposure to girls teams and playing with a lot of girls…Nowadays girls watch women’s sports. I think it’ll just keep improving and keep growing and that’s really exciting to be a part of it as well at such a young age and I’ve still got time to see it grow,” she told
David Davutovic 1610103213,1610103212
Fatherly inspiration continues in Australian football with at least 17 father-son – and father-daughter – combinations set to feature in this season’s A-League and Westfield W-League competitions.
Melbourne City captain Scott Jamieson’s connections trace right back to 1977, when the National Soccer League kicked off and dad Alex lined up for Sydney Olympic before joining Parramatta Eagles, playing 83 games in five seasons, including a return to Scotland in between.
In total, 50 such combinations have taken the field and at least 17 (14 male and three female) whose dads played NSL and even A-League are set to feature this season.
That number will almost certainly expand with famous names such as Costanzo, Cassio, Markovski and Kim to reappear in the top tier of Australian football.