Welcome to the final Friday Forecast for the 2023 season ahead of this weekend’s WSL Grand Final. It’s been a long and exciting season, but we’ve now reached the final act, as the season reaches its conclusion at Valley Road.
In a somewhat surprising final match-up, it will be the WSL runner’s up Devonport Strikers taking on the fourth placed Clarence Zebras for the final trophy on offer in 2023.
The Striker's place in this game comes as no surprise, they’ve been in fantastic form in the back half of the season, scoring goals for fun and surging past Launceston United to a second-placed finish. They took care of United 5-2 in last Saturday’s Semi Final in a dominant showing, with Jazmin White continuing her remarkable season by scoring three more goals.
Most would’ve assumed a meeting with the Super League Champion’s South Hobart was on the cards, but that was upturned by a stunning upset from the Clarence Zebras at Darcy Street, a side who had finished some 32 points behind South Hobart on the final league table.
In a performance of incredible defensive grit and despite playing the entire second half with 10 players, the Zebras, managed to shock the Champions and advance to the final 4-2 in penalties after a 1-1 draw in regulation time. Amelia Vanderniet was superb in goals, making a string of massive saves to keep the game at 1-0, before a late equaliser from Ava Wylie saw the Zebras extend the game to a shootout. There Vanderniet again shone, making a pair of saves to help see her side through to an improbable grand final appearance.
So can the Zebras repeat that effort this weekend against the Strikers at Valley Road? There is no denying they come into this one as massive outsiders once again, but that was the case last week and did not deter them. The recipe for success probably comes in a similar tactical setup. A fire-wagon end to end type affair will suit Devonport far more than the Zebras. They will surely look to break the play up, disrupt things as much as possible and try and make it a grind of a contest.
The Zebras parked the bus against South Hobart and dug in deep defensively, denying them space in behind to operate. Chris Hey swung arguably his two best, and most experienced players into the heart of the defense, with Lousia Marmion and Georgia Burt playing as centre backs. It was a tactical masterstroke, though still required a standout effort from Vanderniet.
It would be no shock to see a similar approach here, as it surely gives them their best chance at winning and having a full XI players available should be a futher boost.
If the Zebras are any chance in this match then they must do what so few sides have been able to do in 2023 and that is stop the free scoring Jazmin White. Few have shown the ability to be able to stick the Strikers superstar goalscorer, but the versatile Marmion might well be the Zebras best bet at it. She excelled in the CB role last week and has some pace about her which is obviously vital in dealing with White.
Of course, sitting deep against Devonport brings with it, its own set of dangers, particularly the distance shooting threat of the brilliant Maddy Payne who scored a majority of her 14 goals this year from long range. Set pieces are also going to be risky to concede anywhere within 30 yards, as Georgia King has made a habit of scoring from them this season, whilst Payne showed her own set piece prowess with a wonderful strike against United last week.
The teams have met four times in the WSL this season, with the Strikers holding a 3-1 record in those four matches.
The first clash was all the way back in Round 1, as the Strikers kicked their campaign off with a 2-1 win at Valley Road in a tight battle that went right down to the wire. Round 5 was less tight, as the Zebras produced their most impressive victory of the season and stormed to a 5-1 win with youngster Elianna Diafokeris scoring a hat-trick. It showed the capacity they have at their best, though was somewhat of an outlier given how their season panned out from there.
The next two, and most recent clashes were not so encouraging for the Zebras however. Round 11 at Valley Road saw the Strikers score a thumping 7-0 victory before Round 16 at Wentworth Park ended 5-0 in the Strikers favour. Both those days saw the defence simply unable to cope with the attacking threat the Strikers had to offer.
So the Strikers will be feeling confident heading into this match and enter as warm favourites off the back of those heavy victories, but funny things can happen in finals, and the Zebras have shown they have the capacity to spring a surprise.
There may have been a big gap between the two sides on the league table, but that counts for very little once the whistle blows to kick off the final 90 minutes of the 2023 season. If the Zebras can reach half time with the game still close, perhaps those doubts begin to creep in for the Strikers and the belief will grow for the underdog Zebras. It certainly promises to be an intriguing decider. Best of luck to both teams.
Goal and Save of the Season
This is your last chance to get your votes in for the Goal and Save of the Season awards. Voting closes at midnight tonight with the winner to be announced prior to the Final.
Vote: https://forms.gle/vdAMm7FBohNHCWiP9
MyState Bank Women's Super League Grand Final
Saturday 23 September
Devonport Strikers v Clarence Zebras, 1:30pm, Valley Road