2008–09 Canberra United FC (W-League) season

Canberra United
2008–09 season
Chairman	Mel Patzwald
Head Coach	Robbie Hooker
Stadium	McKellar Park
W-League	3rd
W-League Finals	Runners-up
Top goalscorer	Caitlin Munoz (4)
Highest home attendance	1,637; vs. Central Coast Mariners; (9 November 2008); W-League
Lowest home attendance	712; vs. Queensland Roar; (27 December 2008); W-League
Average home league attendance	1,029
Biggest win	3–0; vs. Central Coast Mariners (A); (13 December 2008); W-League
Biggest defeat	0–2; vs. Queensland Roar (A); (17 January 2009); W-League Grand Final
	2009 →

The 2008–09 season was Canberra United Football Club's first season, in the newly formed women's league in Australia the W-League. Canberra United finished 3rd in their W-League season, finishing as runners-up in the Grand Final.

Review

The first announcement of the club came in July 2008, coinciding with the establishment of the new W-League. The formation of the new club presented a unique situation in the league, that it was not associated with an established A-League side. In August, Canberra appointed Matildas assistant coach Robbie Hooker as coach for the inaugural season, and ACT Senator Kate Lundy as club chair.^[1]^[2] United also announced its first key signing in local Canberran and Matildas goalkeeper Lydia Williams. Hooker made a number of key signings in the first registration window, also securing Caitlin Munoz, Amy Chapman, Grace Gill-McGrath, Hayley Crawford, Rhian Davies, Thea Slatyer for the inaugural season. The squad was further expanded in the lead up to the first round, signing on a number of players from the ACT and Southern NSW, and also signing Sasha McDonnell and Kara Mowbray from Queensland. The final squad presented significant strength on paper, boasting eight full internationals and a further four Young Matildas.

United started the season steadily, alternating losses and wins in the opening rounds - including a win over eventual Premiers Queensland Roar. Scoring came with some difficulty for the side, with four goals in their opening first five matches. Influencing this record was an injury to striker Caitlin Munoz in Round 1, keeping her sidelined for a number of weeks. Munoz's return to the side in Round 6 immediately lifted the scoring rate, contributing four goals in the last five rounds. Despite early losses, Canberra were unbeaten in the last seven rounds of the competition, achieving a third placed finish with a record of four wins, four draws and two losses. Canberra's strength throughout the season has been in defence, drawn from a number of experienced players. In front of a dependable Williams in goal, a defensive backline led by Thea Slatyer and captain Ellie Brush frustrated opposition and ensured the second-best defensive record in the competition, bettered only by Premiers Queensland.

United won their away semi-final against Newcastle Jets,^[3] and progressed to the inaugural final, where they were defeated by Queensland Roar.

Players

Name and position	No	Joined in	Former team	Birth date
Goalkeepers
Lydia Williams	1	2008	ACT Academy of Sport	(1988-05-13) 13 May 1988 (age 36)
Maja Blasch	20	2008	Canberra City SC	(1990-06-19) 19 June 1990 (age 34)
Defenders
Ellie Brush (c)	7	2008	ACT Academy of Sport	(1988-08-19) 19 August 1988 (age 36)
Rhian Davies	2	2008	NSW Institute of Sport	(1981-01-05) 5 January 1981 (age 43)
Grace Gill-McGrath	9	2008	ACT Academy of Sport	(1989-06-27) 27 June 1989 (age 35)
Rebecca Kiting	8	2008	ACT Academy of Sport	(1991-05-08) 8 May 1991 (age 33)
Thea Slatyer (vc)	13	2008	NSW Institute of Sport	(1983-02-02) 2 February 1983 (age 41)
Bronwyn Studman	4	2008	ACT Academy of Sport	(1992-03-24) 24 March 1992 (age 32)
Snez Veljanovska	16	2008	ACT Academy of Sport	(age 20)
Christine Walters	17	2008	ACT Academy of Sport	(1991-06-17) 17 June 1991 (age 33)
Midfielders
Lucy Allan	18	2008	ACT Academy of Sport	(1991-06-30) 30 June 1991 (age 33)
Jennifer Bisset	19	2008	ACT Academy of Sport	(1992-01-28) 28 January 1992 (age 32)
Cian Maciejewski	11	2008	Belwest Foxes	(1987-06-14) 14 June 1987 (age 37)
Kara Mowbray	12	2008	Queensland Lions	(1985-05-07) 7 May 1985 (age 39)
Nicole Sykes	15	2008	Western NSW Panthers FC	(1991-12-15) 15 December 1991 (age 32)
Forwards
Amy Chapman	3	2008	ACT Academy of Sport	(1987-12-02) 2 December 1987 (age 36)
Hayley Crawford	10	2008	NSW Institute of Sport	(1984-03-27) 27 March 1984 (age 40)
Sasha McDonnell	5	2008	Queensland Lions	(1987-01-12) 12 January 1987 (age 37)
Caitlin Munoz	6	2008	Pali Blues	(1983-10-04) 4 October 1983 (age 41)
Ashleigh Sykes	14	2008	Western NSW Panthers FC	(1991-12-15) 15 December 1991 (age 32)

Transfers

Short-term signings

Player	Team	Start Date	End Date	Reason
Ellie Raymond	ACTAS	29 October 2008	6 November 2008	Cover for Ashleigh Sykes while on international duty^[4]
Sophie Kochinos	ACTAS	29 October 2008	6 November 2008	Cover for Christine Walters while on international duty^[4]
Michaela Day	Belwest Foxes	29 October 2008	6 November 2008	Cover for Bronwyn Studman while on international duty^[4]

Competitions

Overall record

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
W-League	26 October 2008	27 December 2008	Matchday 1	3rd	10	4	4	2	14	10	+4	040.00
W-League Finals	10 January 2009	17 January 2009	Semi-finals	Grand Final	2	1	0	1	1	2	−1	050.00
Total					12	5	4	3	15	12	+3	041.67

Source: Competitions

W-League

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Queensland Roar (C)	10	8	1	1	27	7	+20	25	Qualification to Finals series
2	Newcastle Jets	10	5	2	3	17	12	+5	17
3	Canberra United	10	4	4	2	14	10	+4	16
4	Sydney FC	10	4	2	4	15	14	+1	14
5	Melbourne Victory	10	4	0	6	13	13	0	12
6	Central Coast Mariners	10	4	0	6	15	20	−5	12
7	Perth Glory	10	3	2	5	14	24	−10	11
8	Adelaide United	10	2	1	7	13	28	−15	7

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions

Results summary


Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
10	4	4	2	14	10	+4	16	1	3	1	6	6	0	3	1	1	8	4	+4

Source: worldfootball.net

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Ground	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H
Result	L	W	L	W	D	D	D	W	W	D
Position	5	6	6	4	4	5	5	4	3	3
Points	0	3	3	6	7	8	9	12	15	16

Source: worldfootball.net
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

The league fixtures were announced on 1 October 2008.

Win Draw Loss

26 October 2008 1	Newcastle Jets	2–1	Canberra United	Newcastle
13:30 AEDT	Gil 24', 82'	Report	McDonnell 2'	Stadium: Wanderers Oval Attendance: 1,110 Referee: Jacqui Melksham

1 November 2008 2	Queensland Roar	0–1	Canberra United	Brisbane
15:00 AEST		Report	Mowbray 16'	Stadium: Perry Park Attendance: 610 Referee: Prue Donohoe

9 November 2008 3	Canberra United	1–2	Central Coast Mariners	Canberra
17:00 AEDT	Brush 51' (pen.)	Report	Simon 46', 73'	Stadium: McKellar Park Attendance: 1,637 Referee: Jacqui Melksham

15 November 2008 4	Melbourne Victory	0–1	Canberra United	Melbourne
19:00 AEDT		Report	McDonnell 24'	Stadium: Bob Jane Stadium Attendance: 700~ Referee: Casey Reibelt

22 November 2008 5	Canberra United	0–0	Adelaide United	Canberra
16:00 AEDT		Report		Stadium: McKellar Park Attendance: 804 Referee: Casey Reibelt

30 November 2008 6	Perth Glory	2–2	Canberra United	Perth
16:00 AWST	D'Ovidio 34' De Vanna 54'	Report	Munoz 81' Sykes 89'	Stadium: Members Equity Stadium Attendance: 479 Referee: Lee Corey

6 December 2008 7	Canberra United	1–1	Sydney FC	Canberra
18:00 AEDT	Munoz 37'	Report	Marsh 43'	Stadium: McKellar Park Attendance: 840 Referee: Prue Donohoe

13 December 2008 8	Central Coast Mariners	0–3	Canberra United	Sydney
18:00 AEDT		Report	Brush 21' Crawford 71' Munoz 78'	Stadium: Parramatta Stadium Referee: Kirralee Gardener

20 December 2008 9	Canberra United	3–2	Melbourne Victory	Canberra
18:00 AEDT	Brush 35' Mowbray 83' Chapman 90+3'	Report	Groenewald 82' Oostdam 85'	Stadium: McKellar Park Attendance: 1,152 Referee: Lee Corey

27 December 2008 10	Canberra United	1–1	Queensland Roar	Canberra
18:00 AEDT	Munoz 66'	Report	Popovic 87'	Stadium: McKellar Park Attendance: 712 Referee: Jacqui Melksham

Finals series

10 January 2009 Semi-finals	Newcastle Jets	0–1	Canberra United	Newcastle
16:00 AEDT		Report	Mowbray 25'	Stadium: EnergyAustralia Stadium Attendance: 2,889 Referee: Sara Hodson

17 January 2009 Grand Final	Queensland Roar	2–0	Canberra United	Brisbane
15:00 AEST	Harch 6' Butt 26'	Report		Stadium: Ballymore Stadium Attendance: 4,554 Referee: Kate Jacewicz

References

^ "Canberra United appoint Chair and Head Coach". Capital Football. Archived from the original on 9 October 2008. Retrieved 29 August 2008.
^ Sherwood, M (28 July 2008). "Canberras best players on national stage". The Canberra Times. Archived from the original on 4 August 2008. Retrieved 1 August 2008.
^ Smith, P (10 January 2009). "Canberra into Westfield W-League final". A-League.com.au. Archived from the original on 6 July 2007. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
^ ^a ^b ^c Gottaas, C (29 October 2008). "Canberra United gets a top up". Canberra United FC. Archived from the original on 11 March 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2008.

[1] "Canberra United appoint Chair and Head Coach". Capital Football. Archived from the original on 9 October 2008. Retrieved 29 August 2008.

[2] Sherwood, M (28 July 2008). "Canberras best players on national stage". The Canberra Times. Archived from the original on 4 August 2008. Retrieved 1 August 2008.

[3] Smith, P (10 January 2009). "Canberra into Westfield W-League final". A-League.com.au. Archived from the original on 6 July 2007. Retrieved 1 February 2009.

[topup-4] Gottaas, C (29 October 2008). "Canberra United gets a top up". Canberra United FC. Archived from the original on 11 March 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2008.

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