WNPL Grand Final 2020

[Riggles64]

Why a year its been for us all and for the WNPL and the women's comp generally.

So Friday night we have the grand final between 2018 finalists Adelaide City and Metro United. It will be another great game between these two highly competitive teams.

In 2018 Metro finished top however, lost the final to City 0-1.

In 2019 City have led the pack and finished top. What will be the result here? Some say the tough extra time game against Salisbury will have a bearing upon Metro and that City are fresh from a week off. There is a school of thought that a team that fights its way through the finals is battle hardened and will bring that momentum and desire to the final.

City have do innate the year with brilliance on the pitch. A coaching change didn't impact upon its performances. Metro started the season well but post Covid struggled and had some heavy defeats. Heading to the season's end, Metro had some slender wins. It made it to the top 4 and there it remained until the finals.

One thing is certain, it will be a good game played in good spirits and with total team performances. I'm not brave to make a prediction.

All the best City and Metro players

[billy the kid]

two of the power houses of the WNPL once again do battle for the championship.

On paper and based on results this and past season places city as favourites to win. Metro not to be underestimated. How its has extracted so much from the players headed towards the end of their careers is something to marvel. Momentum and belief and total team football is a powerful thing. Metro has that. City have total team football. Something that eluded westies and salisbury for most of the year.

Metro to win 2-1. It will be an excellent game.

[In the way]

I admire your optimism and while Metro are the only team to beat Ade City this year, I worry that they played their GF last week, that was a battle of epic proportions . Ade city 5-2 .

[snow white]

Everyone loves the underdog, but City too much firepower all over the park.

City by three.

[paul merson]

Momentum is a very powerful thing in finals!
Bravo Tony & all at metro
Laura, Kristi, Ebbs were exceptional, but like every finals game the whole team delivered!

[professor]

An amazing 3 weeks by Metro just shows what a fully committed team can achieve- congratulations to Tony, his assistants & the players and also the hard working committee that keep that club going with limited resources.

[haywood djablowme]

Congratulations to Metro and all involved with the club, well deserved victory in the end.

Well done to Tony! After a tough session, with many a set back he set the girls up well week after week in the finals and tonight made them hard to break down and tactically it worked to get the desired result

Credit must go to Ebbs and Scalzi, marshalled their defence against arguably the 2 best strikers this week and last and came out on top against both

Enjoy the moment MUFC

[In the way]

how wrong was i and happy to say it, well done Metro takes strong mental effort to do what you have done, 3 weeks in a row - congratulations.

[scar]

Riggles64 wrote: ↑Sat Oct 03, 2020 12:52 pm
''My money is on the street fighter metro.''

Well done Riggles you're a far better judge than myself & a gigantic well done to Metro on their 'giant slaying' performance.

Btw I just can't comprehend why AC left one of their most experienced finals campaigners on the bench for the entirety.

[juniorsupporter]

Injury.

[Riggles64]

Thank you Scar, I do my best.

It was a brilliant night and as biased as I am (as a dad of a metro player, I will thank City for driving metro to be the best and to take our A game to the final last night. Without our opposition we are nothing. and without our best we could not have won. Respect to City.

The WNPL is the premier junior girls and women's sport in SA and Australia. Bar none.

Lets hope season 2021 returns to normality.

[scipio africanus]

Wow. Still in shock.

Congratulations to Metro. An amazing final series superbly marshaled by T Scalzi.

City might look back at the parting of ways with Max and the failure to appoint a 100% focused and committed coach there on. Puzzling when Max was sitting atop of the table.

Having star players is great but Metro is the classic example of what a very good coach brings to the table.

[juniorsupporter]

Nobody at City is second guessing the decision regarding Max. The appointment was untenable and not a good match at all. Max is a lovely man but not the right fit for the City squad. Nobody has any regrets.

And to suggest that Metro is somehow more of a team than City is totally ridiculous. City is the most cohesive playing group I’ve ever seen, or am likely to see. They’ve always played as a close knit team.

Credit to Metro for their win. They had a strategy and executed it well, they fought really hard and were obviously super motivated. City had many chances which they should have put away more clinically. Not their night. It was bound to happen at some point.

But let’s not let that one loss take away from what a singular squad City has been for the past four years. I‘m not sure the competition will see another one like it for a long time, if ever.

[scipio africanus]

Nobody at City is second guessing the decision regarding Max. The appointment was untenable and not a good match at all. Max is a lovely but not the right fit for the City squad. Nobody has any regrets.

From my perspective, the final outcome of Max was predictable. So we are in agreement there. But My point was the clubs failure to appoint a fully focused, 100% committed replacement. Someone who takes every training session and match day.

I also have no doubt that the playing group wanted max gone, but the sentiment wasn’t shared in the broader city community, particularly outside of the women’s stream with discussions I’ve had with individuals from your club.

Adriano did what he could and has a great football brain but his focus is elsewhere.

[juniorsupporter]

The solution that was arrived at was the least worst option. There was no perfect solution. Seriously, who were they going to get mid season who would have been up to the task?Perhaps it had an impact on Friday night- we’ll never really know.

[scipio africanus]

The solution that was arrived at was the least worst option. There was no perfect solution. Seriously, who were they going to get mid season who would have been up to the task?Perhaps it had an impact on Friday night- we’ll never really know.

The biggest club in the state with a 70 year history and ex player base at the highest level couldn’t find someone internally to fill a NPL role for 3 months with almost guaranteed silverware?

Where there is a will, there is a way.

Hubris might have played a role. Not my words, but from within your own club.

[juniorsupporter]

Women’s football. No pay. Seriously?

[scipio africanus]

‘Seriously’? The club with the most expensive junior fees and connections with some of adelaides more successful business’s can’t afford to pay a coach for 2-3 months? How bad have things been Mis-managed? How much was over spent in previous regimes?

Out all of the ex high profiles ex players, not one was prepared to help the club for a short period? Not a good sign for a club with such a long and rich history.

Ironic that these points I raise come largely from ‘internal’ feedback. I’m just passing on what I’m told.

[Riggles64]

Made a few edits to clarify my comments.

Interesting discussions about the coaching merry go rounds at City and whom at City ought to have stepped up to coach. Did that account for their loss Friday night or was the opposition playing a tough style of football that come from the 2 previous do or die games? (City have played exceptional football all year and on GF night the game had it all however, the result did not go their way. Same thing in 2018 when metro finished top and lost the GF 1-0) Metro had been building in the few weeks prior to the finals. Yes, they lost and won some games however, as a supporter I saw things I looked. Total commitment to the coach's game plan. Players stepping into roles they were not accustomed to and playing their role. Injuries to key players. A very strong internal commitment between players to keep going. (Please read this a "in the lead up to the finals" as I said)

When you come upon against A team (City, west, salisbury, fulham, etc etc aside) that don't have the above, you can defeat them.

From City's point of view, whilst the team is undoubtedly the best we've seen for a long time, they have raised the bar very high. This is very good. It has caused many clubs to review their structures and develop a plan that reflects that which City has implemented. Can City continue with increasing financial pressures? (financial pressures will affect all clubs - sponors doing it very tough)

The coaching situation is unfortunate. Max was a known. No secrets about his capabilities and areas for improvement. City wold have gone into the selection process with eyes wide open. As I explained to a City supporter, Max did not appoint himself. The club did. Any criticism ought to be directed to the club. Was Max the easy choice?

Whether money was an issue, a stand in coach was required. No arguments. To think that the team can self manage through to the end was interesting. Looked like it was working. What about when it doesn't? How do you manage internal conflicts amongst the team? how do you counteract an opposition game plan? (I have no idea about City's coaching. My comments were prefaced on other commentary herein).

The City coaching situation had zero to do with the loss. Desire and a total team effort brought the win (if it went City';s way - City took the game to the level I expected) . I read above that that metro had a strategy and implemented it. Hmm. Doesn't every team have one? Did City go into the game on Auto Pilot whilst Tony S went in with a plan to negate the free flowing game AND stop the influence of certain key play makers? Answer: YES. Could the City coach have dealt with that? I would reckon he did.

All in all. city have been a good team however, metro did their homework and the players executed the plan. Was it a surprise that they won? To some yes however, remember Metro are an equal powerhouse to city. Their Record speaks for itself.

Enjoy the moment as women's football is a winner. Season 2021 must continue.

[juniorsupporter]

To suggest that Metro had more of a team commitment is rubbish. Metro was better on the night. Well done. But I stand by my comments above. And to suggest that there was or is internal division in the City squad is also incorrect. They are a very tight-knit group. Sometimes great teams lose. Doesn’t make them any less great.

As for the appointment of Max- when you have people unfamiliar with the women’s game Making appointments, shit happens. There were many on the women’s side who could have said that it was a bad fit. But nobody asked. As I’ve said, Max is a lovely guy. He is experienced and looks good on paper. Talks the talk. He just wasn’t Right for this particular job. The club is definitely responsible for what happened. Like I said though, there aren’t a ton of capable coaches jumping up and down to coach women in SA.

[snow white]

To suggest that Metro had more of a team commitment is rubbish. Metro was better on the night. Well done. But I stand by my comments above. And to suggest that there was or is internal division in the City squad is also incorrect. They are a very tight-knit group. Sometimes great teams lose. Doesn’t make them any less great.

As for the appointment of Max- when you have people unfamiliar with the women’s game Making appointments, cabernet happens. There were many on the women’s side who could have said that it was a bad fit. But nobody asked. As I’ve said, Max is a lovely guy. He is experienced and looks good on paper. Talks the talk. He just wasn’t Right for this particular job. The club is definitely responsible for what happened. Like I said though, there aren’t a ton of capable coaches jumping up and down to coach women in SA.

Bit harsh to criticise those people who made the Max appointment because they 'were unfamiliar with the women's game', especially after they bankrolled those lucrative three year player contracts some time ago which has underpinned City's success.

I also believe Max was the best qualified of those who applied, unless you know someone else who was better but was denied the opportunity??

Unfortunately for Max, it seems that some players had made up their mind even before the first training session. History will show that he was forced to part ways when the club was top of the table and yet the club ended up losing.

[juniorsupporter]

Lucrative three year player contracts? That’s funny.

Ended up losing? They lost one game at full strength. By one goal. Won the minor and the cup. Completed the season with a goal per game average of 5.3. Whether Max was there or not had nothing to do with any of that.

[snow white]

Lucrative three year player contracts? That’s funny.

Ended up losing? They lost one game at full strength. By one goal. Won the minor and the cup. Completed the season with a goal per game average of 5.3. Whether Max was there or not had nothing to do with any of that.

You need to talk to you own people. The stories start from the inside, especially when you publicly criticize those within your own club about decisions made.

Max was selected as the best candidate. Again I challenge you to name a superior candidate who applied for the job? It seems player power forced a top of the table coach with an impressive resume in the women's game to part ways.

City lost the only game that counted and a game that they should have won hands down given the roster at their disposal. Bookies were paying 20 to 1 plus odds for the Metro win. No one talks goals per game and minor premierships today let alone in 10 years time.

[united92]

Metro could have a huge turnover in the off season. Tony's got his work cut out for him that's for sure.
Stella Rigon announced her retirement via social media today. I can imagine she won't be the only one.
Will be interesting to see who they replace some of the potential 5+ players that could very well retire

[Crisps]

Wouldnt be womens football if people werent arguing over the past pointless things that no one can change.

Metro won and are the champions. Congratulate Metro and get over yourselves Adelaide City.

[scar]

Sometimes great teams lose. Doesn’t make them any less great.

Bigger & better teams have disappointed on 'the big stage' & this AC side is not the first nor will they be the last.
Only takes a few players to be down on their form in the match that counts the most & an upset can easily happen.

Without going thru the entire AC team some of the poor performances that stood out for me during the final were Dani Di Bartolo (yes she did manage to score) but I fear she may have concussed herself during her goal celebration that went awfully wrong bec for the rest of the match she couldn't stay on her feet continually sprawled on the ground. Dani normally an excellent player but unfortunately was having a game to forget. Meanwhile the spearhead to the AC attack Tian Powell was like an 'immovable object' & did little to trouble the Metro defence when a striker with real pace was very much needed to break through the stubborn resistance. Nanako Sasaki (the taller of the two sisters if I've got it right) has been so good this season that I was genuinely thinking she should be getting a gig with AU but unfortunately proved not her usual effective self with so many misdirected passes. These passes btw were not creative searching type passes which I can forgive but balls along the ground to a teammate 8 - 10 metres away, very uncharacteristic but nonetheless for her a performance to also forget.

For all that went wrong for AC in the WNPL final the fact remains for me they are by far the most enjoyable team to watch & I remain confident they will bounce back from this disaster with a real vengeance next season.

Congratulations to all this season's WNPL participants in what has been a season like no other & a final we will long remember.