# 2008–09 Canberra United FC (women) season

The 2008–09 season was Canberra United Football Club's first season, in the newly formed women's league in Australia the W-League. Canberra United finished 3rd in their W-League season, finishing as runners-up in the Grand Final.

## Review

The first announcement of the club came in July 2008, coinciding with the establishment of the new W-League. The formation of the new club presented a unique situation in the league, that it was not associated with an established A-League side. In August, Canberra appointed Matildas assistant coach Robbie Hooker as coach for the inaugural season, and ACT Senator Kate Lundy as club chair. United also announced its first key signing in local Canberran and Matildas goalkeeper Lydia Williams. Hooker made a number of key signings in the first registration window, also securing Caitlin Munoz, Amy Chapman, Grace Gill-McGrath, Hayley Crawford, Rhian Davies, Thea Slatyer for the inaugural season. The squad was further expanded in the lead up to the first round, signing on a number of players from the ACT and Southern NSW, and also signing Sasha McDonnell and Kara Mowbray from Queensland. The final squad presented significant strength on paper, boasting eight full internationals and a further four Young Matildas.
United started the season steadily, alternating losses and wins in the opening rounds - including a win over eventual Premiers Queensland Roar. Scoring came with some difficulty for the side, with four goals in their opening first five matches. Influencing this record was an injury to striker Caitlin Munoz in Round 1, keeping her sidelined for a number of weeks. Munoz's return to the side in Round 6 immediately lifted the scoring rate, contributing four goals in the last five rounds. Despite early losses, Canberra were unbeaten in the last seven rounds of the competition, achieving a third placed finish with a record of four wins, four draws and two losses. Canberra's strength throughout the season has been in defence, drawn from a number of experienced players. In front of a dependable Williams in goal, a defensive backline led by Thea Slatyer and captain Ellie Brush frustrated opposition and ensured the second-best defensive record in the competition, bettered only by Premiers Queensland.
United won their away semi-final against Newcastle Jets, and progressed to the inaugural final, where they were defeated by Queensland Roar.

## Players

| Name and position | No | Joined in | Former team | Birth date |
| Goalkeepers ||||||
| Lydia Williams | 1 | 2008 | ACT Academy of Sport | (1988-05-13) 13 May 1988 (age 36) |
| Maja Blasch | 20 | 2008 | Canberra City SC | (1990-06-19) 19 June 1990 (age 34) |
| Defenders ||||||
| Ellie Brush (c) | 7 | 2008 | ACT Academy of Sport | (1988-08-19) 19 August 1988 (age 36) |
| Rhian Davies | 2 | 2008 | NSW Institute of Sport | (1981-01-05) 5 January 1981 (age 43) |
| Grace Gill-McGrath | 9 | 2008 | ACT Academy of Sport | (1989-06-27) 27 June 1989 (age 35) |
| Rebecca Kiting | 8 | 2008 | ACT Academy of Sport | (1991-05-08) 8 May 1991 (age 33) |
| Thea Slatyer (vc) | 13 | 2008 | NSW Institute of Sport | (1983-02-02) 2 February 1983 (age 41) |
| Bronwyn Studman | 4 | 2008 | ACT Academy of Sport | (1992-03-24) 24 March 1992 (age 32) |
| Snez Veljanovska | 16 | 2008 | ACT Academy of Sport | (age 20) |
| Christine Walters | 17 | 2008 | ACT Academy of Sport | (1991-06-17) 17 June 1991 (age 33) |
| Midfielders ||||||
| Lucy Allan | 18 | 2008 | ACT Academy of Sport | (1991-06-30) 30 June 1991 (age 33) |
| Jennifer Bisset | 19 | 2008 | ACT Academy of Sport | (1992-01-28) 28 January 1992 (age 32) |
| Cian Maciejewski | 11 | 2008 | Belwest Foxes | (1987-06-14) 14 June 1987 (age 37) |
| Kara Mowbray | 12 | 2008 | Queensland Lions | (1985-05-07) 7 May 1985 (age 39) |
| Nicole Sykes | 15 | 2008 | Western NSW Panthers FC | (1991-12-15) 15 December 1991 (age 32) |
| Forwards ||||||
| Amy Chapman | 3 | 2008 | ACT Academy of Sport | (1987-12-02) 2 December 1987 (age 36) |
| Hayley Crawford | 10 | 2008 | NSW Institute of Sport | (1984-03-27) 27 March 1984 (age 40) |
| Sasha McDonnell | 5 | 2008 | Queensland Lions | (1987-01-12) 12 January 1987 (age 37) |
| Caitlin Munoz | 6 | 2008 | Pali Blues | (1983-10-04) 4 October 1983 (age 41) |
| Ashleigh Sykes | 14 | 2008 | Western NSW Panthers FC | (1991-12-15) 15 December 1991 (age 32) |

## Transfers
### Short-term signings

| Player | Team | Start Date | End Date | Reason |
| Ellie Raymond | ACTAS | 29 October 2008 | 6 November 2008 | Cover for Ashleigh Sykes while on international duty |
| Sophie Kochinos | ACTAS | 29 October 2008 | 6 November 2008 | Cover for Christine Walters while on international duty |
| Michaela Day | Belwest Foxes | 29 October 2008 | 6 November 2008 | Cover for Bronwyn Studman while on international duty |

## Competitions
### Overall record

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| W-League | 26 October 2008 | 27 December 2008 | Matchday 1 | 3rd | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 10 | +4 | 040.00 |
| W-League Finals | 10 January 2009 | 17 January 2009 | Semi-finals | Grand Final | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 050.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 12 | +3 | 041.67 |
Source: Competitions

### W-League
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Queensland Roar (C) | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 7 | +20 | 25 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 2 | Newcastle Jets | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 17 | 12 | +5 | 17 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 3 | Canberra United | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 10 | +4 | 16 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 4 | Sydney FC | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 15 | 14 | +1 | 14 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 5 | Melbourne Victory | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 12 | |
| 6 | Central Coast Mariners | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 15 | 20 | −5 | 12 | |
| 7 | Perth Glory | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 24 | −10 | 11 | |
| 8 | Adelaide United | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 13 | 28 | −15 | 7 | |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: worldfootball.net

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Ground | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H |
| Result | L | W | L | W | D | D | D | W | W | D |
| Position | 5 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Points | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 16 |

#### Matches

The league fixtures were announced on 1 October 2008.
Win  Draw  Loss