At the start of season 2020/21, Elizabeth (Liz) Anton arrived in Perth with very few people in the football community knowing much about her, despite being a full New Zealand international, but by the end of what was a trying and difficult campaign she had been named Glory’s most Glorious player and earned a call up into the New Zealand Olympic squad for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Perth Glory has had a much better campaign this time around, due in no small part to Anton’s impressive displays at the heart of the defence. She’s currently fourth in the league for the number of clearances per game and has scored one goal. This form and consistency has earned Anton a call up from Football Ferns coach Jitka Klimková for the SheBelieves Cup in the USA.
We caught up with Anton as she was preparing to leave for the tournament and she gave us her thoughts on how she started in the game and her time with Glory, as well as the difficulties she and her teammates have had to overcome this season with COVID restrictions preventing Glory from playing at home.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, how you started playing, which club you started with and how you got to play for NZ?
I played a lot of different sports when I was younger but stuck with football as it was the one I was best at. My dad and sister also played so I kind of just went with it. My first club was Western Springs AFC in which I had my first season at around the age of 7 or 8. I then started being involved with NZ age groups from about 13 years old and was first selected in the U17 WWC squad in 2014 and then the 2016 and 2018 U20 WWC squad. I got my first cap for the Football Ferns in 2017.
This is now your second season at Perth. What convinced you to go there in the first place and what convinced you to return?
It was a no-brainer coming to Perth last year. I was in a place where I didn’t know where my football was headed and being given the opportunity was the exact step I needed to take at the time.
Although last year we didn’t do the best I really enjoyed the team environment and the vision that Alex had for the club. We all knew the season was going to be a tough one going into it due to many reasons outside of our control but the team stuck together so well and went into every match fighting and I knew that kind of resilience in a team isn’t found everywhere.
Last season I wanted to give myself the best opportunity to be wanted back for next season – Perth is also a beautiful place to live in so that also appealed to me in wanting to come back.
It’s obviously very difficult to be living away from home with the COVID situation, how have you coped?
I knew signing up that I was going to be away from home for the whole season so I was mentally prepared for it but I really do feel for my teammates who are from WA in which this isn’t the case for them – the way that they are managing themselves, especially the ones that are young or those that are also working full time, and their ability to still put their best foot forward in training and in games is really admirable. It’s really difficult to be unexpectedly disconnected from your support network so I do feel for them and they are doing such a great job and, of course, I miss my support network back home!
After last season’s experience with Glory, did you ever expect that you would be on the brink of a top 4 spot?
Coming back into the environment this season it was evident that Alex had been doing a lot of work in the off-season to give the team the best opportunity to succeed and progress onwards from last season, I think last season so many things went against us which only made us stronger and more resilient as a team and I think that’s a core value of our team and a big contributing factor to how we are on the brink of a top 4 spot. I am not surprised and I’m very proud to be a part of a team with such character and passion.
Last year you were picked to be a part of the NZ Olympic squad for the Tokyo Olympics but had no game time, how did you feel about that and has that been a motivating factor for you this season?
I was realistic with myself going into it that the chances of getting any game time were slim as it was the first time being properly back involved in the squad since 2018. I knew what my role was in the team, and I used training as an opportunity to push myself and test myself against the best players in NZ, which I am grateful for as it was great for my personal growth to be able to do that for the four weeks that we were in Japan.
Finally, getting selected for the SheBelieves Cup must be a big thrill for you, do you sense that there is now a real chance for you to play in the 2023 World Cup?
Yes, I am stoked to be named in the squad and am really looking forward to being involved in this tournament. It is the first tour that I’m involved with since Jitka has taken over the team so I am really looking forward to learning what style and vision she has for the team and to get stuck into training and give myself the best opportunity to put my hand up for some game time.
It’s definitely a goal of mine (the World Cup) but I know that there is a lot of really strong competition in my position so I’m not trying to put too much pressure on myself and in the meantime just focus on smaller steps that will help give me the best opportunity to be able to play in it.
