2011–12 Melbourne Victory FC (women) season

The 2011–12 season was Melbourne Victory Football Club (W-League)'s fourth season, in the W-League. Melbourne Victory finished 4th in their W-League season, finishing in the semi-finals.

Melbourne Victory (W-League)
2011–12 season
ChairmanAnthony Di Pietro
Head CoachVicki Linton
StadiumsVeneto Club
Skilled Stadium
W-League4th
W-League FinalsSemi-finals
Top goalscorerLeague: Jodie Taylor (8)
All: Jodie Taylor (8)
Biggest win5–0
vs. Perth Glory (A)
(10 December 2011)
W-League
Biggest defeat1–2 (twice)
0–1 (twice)

Review

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Background

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The Victory entered the 2011–12 season having finished fourth in 2010–11 and being eliminated in the semi-finals in their first finals appearance.[1][2]

Vicki Linton returned for a second year as head coach, the only female coach in the W-League.[3]

Regular season

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Victory opened the season with a 2–0 victory over Perth Glory at the Veneto Club with Caitlin Friend and Amy Jackson scoring either side of half-time.[4][5]

Playing against Sydney FC in their second match, the Victory lost a tight battle 2–1 with Sydney's guest player Megan Rapinoe scoring a winner late in the match.[6][7]

Travelling to Canberra, Victory faced Canberra United at McKellar Park. Victory conceded two goals in the first half and Kendall Fletcher could only score a consolation goal with twelve minutes to play.[8]

Returning to Victoria, the team faced winless Adelaide United at Veneto Club. Victory prevailed 4–0, with Caitlin Friend scoring three times.[9]

In their sixth match of the season, Victory played Newcastle Jets in Geelong, marking Melissa Barbieri's return to Victoria. The Victory used her return to market the match and tried, unsuccessfully, to attract a W-League record crowd. Before the match, Barbieri complained, saying, "they are billing me, in front of their own players, to market the game and I think that's poor form." Ultimately, the Victory prevailed 2–1, with Jodie Taylor scoring two goals for the home team.[10][11][12][13]

Playing in Perth a week later, Victory faced a Perth Glory team who had been defeated 11–0 by Sydney FC the previous week. The Glory were also missing two players who had been suspended after a fight at training. Victory recorded their biggest win of the season in a 5–0 defeat with Katrina Gorry scoring a brace and Jodie Taylor a hat-trick.[14][15]

Facing the undefeated Canberra United in late December, the Victory led early with Taylor converting a 20th minute penalty after Fletcher was brought down in the penalty area. Michelle Heyman equalised for Canberra in the 81st minute and the final score remained 1–1.[16]

Entering their final match of the season against Adelaide United at Burton Park in Adelaide, the Victory were guaranteed of making the finals, with the Newcastle Jets losing to Perth Glory the day before. Had the Jets won, the Victory would have needed a point to lock in fourth spot. The Victory won comfortably with four players sharing in the goals in a 4–1 win over the Reds.[17][18][19][20]

Transfers

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In September, Linton made the decision to release national team goalkeeper Melissa Barbieri ahead of the season in favour of 16-year-old Brianna Davey.[21][22][23]

England international Jodie Taylor returned to the club from Birmingham City in the FA Women's Super League (WSL).[24] American players, Kendall Fletcher and Danielle Johnson from Sky Blue FC in Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) returned for a second season.[21]

In October 2011, the Victory recruited Laura Spiranovic, sister of Australian men's international Matthew Spiranovic, from South Melbourne. Spiranovic had come off a big season in the Victorian Women's Premier League having won both the best player award as well as being the league's leading goalscorer.[24][25][26]

Linton also brought in local players, Jackie Vogt, Cassandra Dimovski and Georgie Koutrouvelis.[21]

Pos. Name From Ref.
FW   Jodie Taylor   Birmingham City [24]
DF   Kendall Fletcher   Sky Blue FC [27]
DF   Danielle Johnson   Sky Blue FC [21]
FW   Laura Spiranovic   South Melbourne FC [21]
DF   Rebekah Stott   Brisbane Roar [21]
MF   Katrina Gorry   Adelaide United [21]
MF   Stephanie Tanti   Sandringham [21]
DF   Jackie Vogt   NTC [21]
GK   Cassandra Dimovski   Box Hill [21]
FW   Georgie Koutrouvelis   Box Hill [21]
Pos. Name To Ref.
GK   Melissa Barbieri   Newcastle Jets [22]
DF   Snez Veljanovska   Canberra United [28]
DF   Ella Mastrantonio   Perth Glory [21]
MF   Ursula Hughson Released [21]
FW   Deanna Niceski Released [21]
DF   Marlies Oostdam Released [21]
MF   Nicole Paul Released [21]

Competitions

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Overall record

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Competition First match Last match Starting round Final position Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
W-League 22 October 2011 15 January 2012 Matchday 1 4th 10 5 2 3 21 9 +12 050.00
W-League Finals 21 January 2012 Semi-finals Semi-finals 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 000.00
Total 11 5 2 4 21 10 +11 045.45

Source: Competitions

W-League

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League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Canberra United (C) 10 7 3 0 23 9 +14 24 Qualification to Finals series
2 Brisbane Roar 10 6 3 1 20 11 +9 21
3 Sydney FC 10 5 2 3 26 8 +18 17
4 Melbourne Victory 10 5 2 3 21 9 +12 17
5 Newcastle Jets 10 4 0 6 18 22 −4 12
6 Perth Glory 10 2 0 8 11 36 −25 6
7 Adelaide United 10 1 0 9 6 30 −24 3
Source: au.soccerway.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions

Results summary

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Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
10 5 2 3 21 9  +12 17 3 2 0 10 3  +7 2 0 3 11 6  +5

Results by round

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Round123456789101112
GroundHABAHAHAHHBA
ResultWBLLWLWWDDBW
Position244545444444
Points33336691213141417
Source: worldfootball.net
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

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The league fixtures were announced on 27 September 2011.[29]

  Win   Draw   Loss

22 October 2011 1 Melbourne Victory 2–0 Perth Glory Melbourne
17:00 AEDT
Report Stadium: Veneto Club
Referee: Kate Jacewicz
29 October 2011 2 Sydney FC 2–1 Melbourne Victory Sydney
15:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Leichhardt Oval
Referee: Jacqui Melksham
12 November 2011 4 Canberra United 2–1 Melbourne Victory Canberra
15:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: McKellar Park
Attendance: 732
Referee: Kate Jacewicz
19 November 2011 5 Melbourne Victory 4–0 Adelaide United Melbourne
17:00 AEDT
Report Stadium: Veneto Club
Attendance: 556
Referee: Catherine Hoffman
26 November 2011 6 Brisbane Roar 1–0 Melbourne Victory Brisbane
15:00 AEST
Report Stadium: Cleveland Showgrounds
Referee: Rebecca Durcau
3 December 2011 7 Melbourne Victory 2–1 Newcastle Jets Geelong
15:00 AEDT
Report Stadium: Skilled Stadium
Referee: Catherine Hoffman
10 December 2011 8 Perth Glory 0–5 Melbourne Victory Perth
16:00 AWST Report
Stadium: 6PR Stadium
Referee: David Costello
17 December 2011 9 Melbourne Victory 1–1 Brisbane Roar Geelong
15:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Skilled Stadium
Referee: Kate Jacewicz
30 December 2011 10 Melbourne Victory 1–1 Canberra United Melbourne
17:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Veneto Club
Referee: Catherine Hoffman
15 January 2012 12 Adelaide United 1–4 Melbourne VIctory Adelaide
15:00 ACDT
Report
Stadium: Burton Park
Referee: Stacey Sasopolous

Finals series

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21 January 2012 Semi-finals Canberra United 1–0 Melbourne Victory Canberra
15:00 AEDT
Report Stadium: McKellar Park
Attendance: 1,785
Referee: Kirralee Andruschak

Squad statistics

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No. Pos. Name Apps Goals    
1 GK   Brianna Davey 10 0 0 0
2 DF   Rita Mankowska 5 0 0 0
3 MF   Ashley Brown 11 1 0 0
4 DF   Kendall Fletcher 11 3 0 0
5 DF   Rebekah Stott 11 0 1 0
6 DF   Maika Ruyter-Hooley 10 0 1 0
7 DF   Steph Catley 10 0 0 0
8 MF   Enza Barilla 5 0 0 0
9 FW   Georgie Koutrouvelis 6 0 0 0
10 FW   Jodie Taylor 11 8 1 0
11 FW   Caitlin Friend 11 4 0 0
12 MF   Amy Jackson 11 1 1 0
13 MF   Katrina Gorry 9 3 2 0
14 MF   Stephanie Tanti 1 0 0 0
15 DF   Danielle Johnson 11 0 0 0
16 MF   Louisa Bisby 6 0 0 0
17 DF   Gülcan Koca 2 0 0 0
18 DF   Jackie Vogt 0 0 0 0
19 FW   Laura Spiranovic 3 0 0 0
20 GK   Cassandra Dimovski 1 0 0 0

Source: Soccerway[30]

Coaching staff

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Vicki Linton returned for a second season at Melbourne Victory. Michael Edwards acted as an assistant for several matches before taking control of the 12 November match against Canberra United while Linton was coaching the Australia women's national under-17 soccer team at the 2011 AFC U-16 Women's Championship in China.[31][32]

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ O'Meara, Patrick (14 February 2011). "Victory coach pleased Despite 5-1 finals defeat". Melbourne Leader. News Limited.
  2. ^ "Victory routed". Herald Sun. News Limited. 7 February 2011. p. 79.
  3. ^ Polkinghorne, David (15 June 2011). "Quest for female coaches". The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media.
  4. ^ "Victory off to winning start". The Women's Game. 22 October 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  5. ^ "W-League: Victory grabs glory". The World Game. Special Broadcasting Service. 22 October 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  6. ^ "W-League import gets Sydney FC home". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. AAP. 29 October 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  7. ^ "Sydney seal it late". The Women's Game. 29 October 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  8. ^ "Sydney edge out Melbourne". W-League.com.au. Football Federation Australia. 30 October 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  9. ^ "Victory rout Reds". W-League.com.au. Football Federation Australia. 20 November 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  10. ^ Kerry, Craig (3 December 2011). "Barbieri battles barbs". Newcastle Herald. Fairfax Media.
  11. ^ Rowe, Alex (4 December 2011). "Two goals from Taylor finish Jets' chances". The Sun-Herald. Fairfax Media.
  12. ^ "Taylor topples Jets". The Women's Game. 3 December 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  13. ^ Ormond, Aidan (2 December 2011). "Dumped Bubs Eyes Record Crowd At Victory Clash". Australian FourFourTwo. Retrieved 8 October 2020 – via FTBL.com.au.
  14. ^ Cook, Jonathan (8 December 2011). "Pair axed after training punch-up". The West Australian. p. 66. Two players from the Perth Glory women's team have been axed after a physical altercation. The West Australian understands Norwegian Lisa-Marie Woods and New Zealand international Emma Kete had a training ground bust-up, which blew up again at their shared accommodation.
  15. ^ Correia, Chris (17 April 2012). "Victory trounce Perth". FootballAustralia.com.au. Football Federation Australia. Archived from the original on 17 April 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  16. ^ "Canberra leave it late". The Women's Game. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  17. ^ "W-League: Jets to miss finals". The World Game. Special Broadcasting Service. 14 January 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  18. ^ "Victory topple Adelaide, Canberra loom". W-League.com.au. Football Federation Australia. 16 January 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  19. ^ Ormond, Aidan (13 January 2012). "Jodie Taylor Targets Victory Blitz". Australian FourFourTwo. Retrieved 8 October 2020 – via FTBL.com.au.
  20. ^ "W-League: Victory sees off Adelaide". The World Game. Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Pellizzeri, Teo (18 October 2011). "Victory looks to youth for W-League success". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  22. ^ a b Kerry, Craig (24 October 2011). "Barbieri not the retiring type". Newcastle Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  23. ^ "Victory release Barbieri". The Women's Game. 14 September 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  24. ^ a b c Ormond, Aidan (21 October 2011). "Dynamic Victory Strike Duo To be Unleashed". Australian FourFourTwo. Retrieved 8 October 2020 – via FTBL.com.au.
  25. ^ Reynolds, Ryan (13 October 2011). "Another Victory for Spiranovic clan". The Geelong Advertiser. News Limited. p. 38.
  26. ^ Auciello, Michael (1 December 2011). "Spiranovic sets sights on home start". The Geelong Advertiser. News Limited.
  27. ^ "Overseas stars to play for W-League". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. AAP. 18 October 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  28. ^ "Canberra United snares Snez back from Melbourne". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 3 October 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  29. ^ "Westfield W-League 2011/12 draw announced". A-Leagues. 27 September 2011.
  30. ^ "Melbourne Victory - Squad - 2011/2012". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  31. ^ Ross, Julius (15 November 2011). "Debutant coach in Victory of sorts". The Mercury. Hobart: News Limited.
  32. ^ "Young Matildas miss 2012 World Cup". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. AAP. 14 November 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  33. ^ a b "Westfield W-League Award Winners". W-League.com.au. Football Federation Australia. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2020.