Australia announced today that there are over a 1000 coronavirus detected cases.
It didn't cause anyone to revert the decision play major sports events in the country. Of course, under the current circumstances, all matches are played behind closed doors.
Not only the men's A-League and women's W-League were being played during the weekend. Aussie rules football and rugby matches were played as usual, even though the games were held in front of empty seats. In the A-League and the W-League, two big matches took place today.
The W-League Grand Final
Women’s football in Australia, just like women's football around the world, is becoming more and more popular. More than 6000 people watched last season's grand final. However, it's not only about football. There is closer attention than usual to women’s sports. At the beginning of the outbreak, Australia hosted the T20 Women's Cricket World Cup, and the final broke an attendance record with more than 86,000 fans.
Unfortunately, the situation didn't allow fans to show their support in the biggest match of the W-League season. Melbourne City, who finished first in the regular season with 34 out of 36 points, hosted the final against reigning champions, Sydney FC. One goal was scored in the 15th minute, when Steph Catley found the net after an assist by Emily van Egmond. Melbourne City won the W-League for the second time.
Both Catley and van Egmond, as well as four more Melbourne City players, were part of the Australian national team squad two weeks ago when they defeated Vietnam in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament playoffs. It secured their place in Tokyo 2020 and marked the first time since 2004 that both men's and women's national teams qualified for the Olympics. Now, as the Olympic Games are also in doubt, there is a big question whether Australian women's football will get the same attention as it received in the past.
The Sydney Derby: A - League
Only a single match was played today in the A-League, the derby of Sydney. Western Sydney Wanderers, the host, are longing for their old glory days. In their debut season, they managed to finish first in the regular season, reach the playoffs final, and win the AFC Champions League. Now they are on a verge of missing the playoffs for the third season in a row. Their rivals, Sydney FC, are the table leaders and are aiming to win the A-League Premiers, the regular-season championship.
After a few close chances for Sydney FC in the first half, Adam le Fondre scored the first goal in the 35th minute. The Englishman, who spent most of his career playing in the Championship and League One, scored 17 goals this season, and he is currently second in the A-League top scorer’s list. In the second half, the game’s dynamic has changed, as the Wanderers pushed forward. At the 82nd minute, Kwame Yeboah scored the equalizer.
Surprisingly, although Sydney FC is leading the table comfortably, they failed to win a derby this season. The Wanderers won the first two derbies, and now have another without defeat. Sydney FC is completing a regular season without a derby win for the first time, and the current streak of four derbies without a win is their longest since 2014.