"You see sparks" - Victory search for another level in ALW

All things equal, Melbourne Victory are having a pretty good A-League Women season; second in the league after 12 games. Kayla Morrison and Jeff Hopkins, though, think they've got plenty more to give.

For the most part, Melbourne Victory have spent this A-League Women season chugging along, doing what they had to do to pick up points and put themselves in a position wherein at the season’s halfway point, they are second on the table and well-placed to push for more silverware. Both skipper Kayla Morrison and coach Jeff Hopkins, though, believe that they have another level in them, one that spells trouble for the rest of the league.

Battling fatigue and the ghosts of two previous leads thrown away at the venue, Victory eased to a 1-0 win over Perth Glory at the Home of the Matildas last week, ensuring they would both keep pace with table-toppers Melbourne City and maintain a gap over Adelaide United, who vaulted into third place on the table after a 3-2 win over Brisbane Roar. It was Victory’s seventh win in 12 games this season – the same tally as their top four rivals – but whereas their South Australian and Queensland rivals have four and five defeats respectively this campaign, the two Victorian outfits have done a better job of recordings draws rather than losses, Victory only losing twice this season – to City and the Roar – and City still yet to taste defeat.

The next challenge for Hopkins’ side will arrive on Friday afternoon, when they host Sydney at AAMI Park in the traditional U-Nite Cup fixture between the two rival shades of blue. Having a season to forget when measured by their lofty standards, Ante Juric’s side will enter the contest in ninth position on the A-League Women table, eight points adrift of the playoff places and with just two wins to show from their twelve fixtures. The Sky Blues have yet to lose a game since suffering a 1-0 defeat to Victory back on December 28, rattling off three draws and a win (awarded after a weather-enforced abandonment during their game against Canberra) in January.

Thus, while Hopkins is of the firm belief that his side is knocking on the door of doing something special and City awaits in a potentially mammoth Derby the following week, he’s not going to overlook the task at hand.

"I think we only played them in five games ago and the one big thing that we spoke about was not to underestimate them,” said the coach. “They're a champion team, with players that have won championships. The main thing [last time out] was let's not let us be the team that sparks their revival for the season. And it's the same thing for us [this time]. We're thinking about us and how we're going to break them down. And we think we can.

“We're not underestimating them by any means. They're a team that is strong physically. They work hard. They go player for player. I know our midfield is always battered and bruised after games with them. They've got individuals that can turn games as well. So look, we're pretty, pretty switched on to them.

“But also we believe that we're in really good form as well. We're playing really well and we've still got a lot of improvement in us. That's the key for us, is we'll we're actually waiting to hit a real top quality performance and really spank someone. Hopefully, it could be this week.”

Morrison, of course, has plenty of history with the Sky Blues. In 2020-21 she played a key role in Victory upsetting Sydney on their turf in the grand final and, out with an ACL injury, she was a tearful observer the following season when her teammates repeated the feat. The year after that, her season was ended by an 89th-minute Madison Haley winner in the preliminary final.

“It's a rivalry because we have had so many times back and forth,” she said. “But I actually think they're a team that brings the best out of us. I think we head into the games, we play really good football against them, and they demand us to show up and show out.

“I think it will be a really intense game. But I like going into these games because I know it's going to be a fight, so I'm switched on the whole time. Our team has been that way at training this week and is now headed into the game as well.”

And like her coach, Morrison is confident that her side has another level they can go to in the season’s second stanza – if they can start to find a greater level of consistency.

“You see sparks of what we can bring and sparks of what we want our standard to be,” Morrison said. “I think we've been winning games not always convincingly. I think we've got another few levels to go, and I'll feel sorry for the team that's the one who gets to experience that.

“Just consistency [is needed]. Sometimes the back four has a great game but then somewhere else we're slipping up and then there's vice versa as well. We just need to get that chemistry and combine it all into one. And I think we're on the brink of it.”

Outside of his long-term injuries, Hopkins said he had a full squad to choose from coming into Friday, the squad in a better position after being heavily fatigued heading into the Glory win.