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26 of the 2020-21 W-League season’s best performers assembled in Sydney on Tuesday for the first day of a Women’s Talent Identification Camp organised by Football Australia to provide a potential pathway to the Matildas for domestically based talent.
Unable to be selected for the national team’s recent training camp in the Netherlands and friendlies against Germany and the Dutch, the four-day bivouac looms as one of the best, and last, opportunities for domestically-based players to break into Australia s 18-player squad for the coming Olympic Games.
Matildas boss Tony Gustavsson not able to attend in person, assistant coach Andreatta has taken charge of proceedings - the former Brisbane Roar boss also having overseen the first Talent ID camp staged back in November - and has been encouraged by the early signs on display.
W-League completes unpredictable regular season with Sydney FC as minor premiers, setting up finals series
By Samantha Lewis
SatSaturday 3
AprApril 2021 at 7:17pm
Sydney FC clinched the minor premiership on the final game day of an unpredictable W-League season.
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It would have felt strange, after the year Australian football has had, for the 2020/21 W-League season to conclude in a simple, straightforward way.
After four months of delays, postponements and reschedules brought about by border closures and extreme weather events, the competition s 14-round regular season has finally been completed, with Sydney FC claiming their third minor premiership on the last possible match day.
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Teresa Polias netted with a superb strike just on the half-hour mark and Princess Ibini tucked home a penalty midway through the second half to virtually end the contest.
Victory gave the Sky Blues a late scare with a goal from Kyra Cooney-Cross deep into added time, but it was too little too late for the Melbourne side.
The 2-1 victory secured a first premiership in a decade for three-time champions Sydney FC.
The win pushed the Sky Blues three points clear at the summit at the end of a 12-match campaign and sets up an Easter weekend semi-final against Canberra United.
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Whereas the early exchanges of the season were marked by their chaos, those still realistically in the hunt for a chance to play off for the 2020-21 W-League title are largely familiar names to long-time followers of the women’s game: current league leaders Sydney FC and Brisbane Roar accounting for five titles between them. Canberra United also have two domestic titles to their name and Melbourne Victory was 2018-19 Premiers and have gone to back-to-back semifinals.
Notable in their absence, however, are reigning champions Melbourne City. The four-time W-League champs will miss finals for just the second time in their history this season after proving unable to replace the exodus of Matildas and international stars that departed the club following their record-setting 2019-20 Championship winning season.