As Wellington Phoenix prepare for their second A-League Women season, the feelgood factor is high. Multiple members of the Football Ferns squad have been signed for 2022-23 and this, along with the continued development of their highly promising youngsters, means that the club look set to be much more competitive than they were last time around.
After the well-documented challenges they faced in 2021-22, when COVID restrictions forced the team to relocate to Wollongong, Phoenix captain Lily Alfeld is also excited by the prospect of playing genuine home games in Wellington.
“It’s been a long time coming. We’ve really been looking forward to this, we thought we might be able to get that last season and it didn’t eventuate. To finally get a homecoming, one that the club is really backing and pushing to get a massive crowd, is really positive.”
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Alfeld described Sunday’s Round 1 clash with Melbourne City as “a historic moment for women’s football in New Zealand”. Unfortunately, the Wellington skipper won’t take part in the game due to minor surgery on her knee, but she is confident in her fellow goalkeepers and happy that the club were able to sign three shotstoppers for 2022-23.
“It’s fantastic to have (Georgia) Candy on board this season. Obviously, last year we were in a bit of a pickle when I went on international duty, but we won’t have an issue this year. Bri (Edwards) and Candy are great, they’re amazing keepers, and we’re all really competitive and push each other on the pitch. It’ll be interesting to see who gets the gloves this weekend.”
When Edwards made her A-League Women debut last season, Alfeld’s delight was obvious to anyone who watched the game. Having this kind of relationship with the other goalkeepers is a somewhat unusual experience, but Alfeld is grateful for the camaraderie.
“Usually they’re your enemy, but me and Bri get on fantastically. She’s an awesome person, it’s hard to dislike her. It was just so nice to see someone who worked so hard get that reward last season and get those minutes.”
The 27 year old is one of many players from both sides of the Tasman who are hopeful of playing in a home World Cup. Alfeld knows that it will be tough to earn a place in the Football Ferns squad for the World Cup, but also recognises that playing for Wellington has its advantages.
“Obviously there’s a lot of talent ahead of me, there’s three really great keepers. This season’s a very good opportunity to go out and perform and put my hand up. We’ve got a unique opportunity to play in front of the national team coach week in week out, so that’s definitely a great position.”
With the 2022-23 season being the longest in A-League Women history (18 games), the league is moving towards becoming a full time occupation for its players, and Alfeld sees the benefits of extending the season.
“It’s what the game needed. You get going, you start gaining momentum, you all gel and then your season’s done. I think it definitely needed that increase (in the number of games played) and we’ll see another increase again next year. It’s only going to make this league more professional and these players better.”
Wellington were wooden spooners last time around, but confidence is high that the club won’t repeat that unwanted milestone. Alfeld took note of the longer lead-in time compared to last season, as well as the club’s recruitment of established Football Ferns.
“We’ve had a solid three or four weeks together now as a team. I think the players are a lot more comfortable and much more relaxed than last season, where it was a bit of a rush at the last minute. It’s really positive and I think we’re tracking in the right direction heading into the first game.
“Now we have that experience from last season, that’s definitely going to help us. Our coaching staff has done an amazing job recruiting for the season and we’ve got a number of additions. In our second season, those players that are in the Ferns squad, that’s going to be super valuable to us. Even the young players that we’ve had from last season are a little bit more experienced now. I’m really excited to see what we can do and I think we may surprise a few people.”
Wellington Phoenix open their A-League season at Sky Stadium on Sunday 20th November – kickoff is at 3pm AEDT (1pm Wellington time). The game will be broadcast on 10 Play and Paramount+.
Buy tickets to the game here and read more of our A-League Women coverage here.
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