The twinkle-toed Ninja

by Zee Ko 0

There’d been glimpses of her ability during the season, but little to suggest a performance of this magnitude, least of all early in the year when it appeared like she’d struggle to break into the first team.

It was the last day of the Women’s Premier League season and this top of the table clash between Sandringham and South Melbourne WFC promised to have plenty of spice in it. For one thing, the runaway league leaders hadn’t managed to beat their hosts all season, including an agonising one goal loss in the Knockout Cup Final. South Melbourne coach Bill Mihaloudis admits he’s watched it a thousand times since, without ever affecting the final scoreline.

“I keep on thinking that we’ll score in the second half, but we still haven’t. It was just clever football, smart football.”

This was a chance to even up the scores after a thrilling draw that left both sides deadlocked in the reverse fixture. Natalie Martineau and Annabelle Gibney were both notable absentees this time round, so the diminutive Jessica Au got her second consecutive start on South Melbourne’s right wing. It was a tactical decision that would pay off in spades for Mihaloudis, though no one could have imagined just how much.

* * * * *

The smiling assassin: Jessica Au
The smiling assassin: Jessica Au

Born in Parkville as the middle child in a family with three children (with two brothers), Au nonetheless has roots in Lisboa, Portugal on her mother’s side. It comes of something as a surprise then that she took up football relatively late, as her school coach recommended she join a club in Year 8.

“My older brother played at Brunswick Zebras and while I was playing with the ball one of the coaches asked me to consider joining,” she recalls.

“Plus it looks like heaps of fun and I was getting bored with school. I just had too much energy and needed somewhere to use it all.”

Once she got into the hang of things, there was no looking back though as a year at the Zebras was followed by a stint in the winter leagues with VCL Northwest and then a call up to the Victorian state squad and the NTC.

This year was yet another change in scenery though, as Au finally decided to give Victoria’s highest state league tier a go, joining Women’s Premier League side South Melbourne. Former Altona coach Bill Mihaloudis had just taken over the reins and was looking to build a dream team after a disappointing season the year before in which South failed to make Finals and defend their title.

“I liked their uniform,” Au admits mischeviously.

“Most of the NTC girls were heading there, it was close to home and I knew Bill from when i was in the state squad. I thought they were possibly one of the top teams and wanted the best training environment.”

* * * * *

Lining up against Sandringham, Au surveyed the opposition forces arrayed in front of her. It wasn’t going to be easy, especially with the tricky Elaina Vatcky on her flank and the small matter of Matilda Stephanie Catley in her usual roving left wingback role.

Stephanie Catley, idolised by a legion of young aspiring female footballers in Victoria. An established member of the Melbourne Victory squad and now a seasoned Australian international at 19 years of age. She’d been playing on and off for Sandringham this season, electrifying spectators with her pace and skill. It would be no understatement to say she had regularly left Premier League opposition in her wake, capable of deciding matches on her own. Catley is simply put, on a different level. She’d be worth the ticket price on her own, if WPL  games weren’t free of charge.

“Bill told me I would be up against her in the change rooms and I thought well, that’ll be a challenge,” Au picks up the story where we left off.

“I’ve trained with Catley heaps and we’ve played on the same team and she’s such an amazing player. I pretty much told myself whatever happens keep running and I knew I had to work hard because it only takes one mistake for Catley and Elaina who were both on my side to score. I’m not gonna lie, I was a bit intimidated but the nerves left once I started playing.”

The game began in earnest and just like she said, the pre-game jitters went floating away with the wind. All the action was progressing at breakneck speed, and for a speed demon like Jessica Au, that was just the way she liked matters.

A tremendous burst through the middle of the park with seven minutes on the clock set the tone for the day, as the last defender managed to slice it away at the very last moment. There would be more opportunities to come, and Au would once again be in the thick of the action.

* * * * *

Jessica Au impressed on her first WPL start against Cairnlea.
Jessica Au impressed on her first WPL start against Cairnlea.

It took a while for the young winger to establish herself in the team, with opportunities limited in the early part of the season.

With a bunch of players ahead of her in the pecking order, Au found herself having to wait her turn behind the likes of Jessica Calder, Alison Baker, Helina Vunderl-Messis and another Victory player in the form of the exciting Tiffany Eliadis.

There wasn’t much opportunity to impress either, as the fleet-footed winger found herself making 10 to 20 minute cameos through the first three rounds before she was abruptly dropped to the Reserves. It took an unfortunate season-ending injury to the luckless Calder before Au got another chance and this time she grabbed it with both hands.

Cairnlea were the Round 6 visitors to Lakeside as South Melbourne’s unbeaten streak was stretched to six rounds, with Au making her first ever WPL start and earning herself a Team of the Week nomination.

She might only be all of 152 centimetres, but on that day she stood up tall in a stellar display that made many take notice. The TOTW nomination hinted as much: Au’s running on and off the ball was superb, as was her willingness to get forward to support the attack. It was a trip on her that led to the opening penalty, and her assist for Laura Spiranovic’s second was what finally opened the floodgates as Cairnlea crumbled. 

That was the beginning of an extended run in the first team as the former Melbourne Victory trainee started to show some of her potential on a weekly basis. There was still a maddening inability to truly impose herself on games though, and the return of Annabelle Gibney from an overseas stint meant she was returned to the bench.

But football is a funny game, and good things come to those who wait. An ankle knock before the penultimate game of the season meant Gibney would cede her starting spot to her young understudy again, with Mihaloudis electing not to risk the flame-haired winger against Sandringham the week after either.

After the disappointing loss and the end of the streak against Box Hill, this last game at Kingston Heath would effectively become a last chance saloon for 18-year-old Jessica Au. Whether or not she would feature in the Finals would come down to this one game against the Number 2 ranked team in the league. As far as trials go, this one was not going to be a walk in the park.

* * * * *

Both sides had fired early salvos in the battle to claim an early ascendancy, with Stephanie Tanti shooting into the side of the South Melbourne net before French midfielder Morany Chek forced Sandringham custodian Lucy Kapusta into a smart diving save.

Kapusta appeared in fine nick, looking like she would handily keep South Melbourne out all day as she made several crucial stops in the first fifteen minutes. It would take something special to beat her on this occasion, and that was presuming you could get past a back four of Emma Gunn, Christie Parton, Catley and Lucy’s twin sister Alli Kapusta.

Cometh the hour, cometh the girl though as a ball was played from deep and split the Sandringham defence right through the middle. Before anyone could blink, there was Au scampering in from the right, past Vatcky and Catley, beyond slow turning defenders and onto the ball. There was a hardly a chance to take a breath, as she controlled it with the deftest of touches before finally beating the Sandringham goalkeeper with a predatory finish.

The delight on the visitors’ faces was clear to see, as Au was soon buried beneath a mass of congratulatory teammates, hands reaching in to pat her on the head or grab her in a bear hug. Coach Mihaloudis will deny that Sandringham were anything like a bogey team this season, but you could tell by how emphatically Au’s goal was celebrated, as was Baker’s tap-in from a corner shortly before half time. It was pure elation, fierce grins on delighted faces. The game was well in hand, the sun was shining brightly and everything was going according to plan for once. Nothing could go wrong, but plenty more could certainly go right, especially for South Melbourne’s No. 11.

* * * * *

Jessica Au was unstoppable against Sandringham
Jessica Au was unstoppable against Sandringham

“Jess A. is an amazing player, she really is. The hard work that she puts in, the defensive and attacking ethos she has is just brilliant,” Mihaloudis’ praise for his game-winner post-match is genuine and gushing.

“It’s great to see in a young player of that calibre and she’s keeping up with one of the best players Australia’s got.”

The coach is asked if he expected such a performance from the youngster against such tough opposition. There’s a twinkle in his eye as he once again acknowledges her contribution to the win.

“It didn’t surprise me at all, hence the reason why she was actually picked to play in that role. I’ve got a lot of faith in her, she’s just stepped it up and gone to a totally different level today. I’m actually very surprised she’s not part of or training with the Victory squad.”

It’s an omission that would perhaps bear more investigation if and when the W-League team is announced but the youngster seems unfazed by the possibilities ahead. She’s still studying for her Year 12 exams, and there’s plenty of football ahead, especially if she keeps it up.

“Not a clue,” she laughs when quizzed about her summer plans.

“I might just take a break and go overseas during the holidays, maybe play a little futsal or something. I don’t know yet.”

* * * * *

A two-goal lead is a dangerous one, for all it takes is an opportunistic strike from the opposition before the pressure is back on the team in front. The visitors weren’t going to take that chance though, as they poured forward repeatedly after the restart.

Eliadis blazed a shot over the bar before Chek and Baker went close with long range efforts that drifted just off target. It looked like another opportunity lost as the ball was pumped up forward to striker Laura Spiranovic and she tried to turn her marker, only to get the ball stuck under her foot. Sandringham defender Parton got a foot in, knocking the ball to the side and seemingly out of danger but no one seemed to have picked out the South Melbourne winger making a late stealthy run into the box from out wide on the right.

Jessica Au arrived on the scene as if she’d timed it to perfection, unmarked and with a single thought on her mind. Once again, it seemed almost instinctive rather than planned, as she whipped in a shot on the run and from the most acute of angles. The spectators only heard the sound of the ball hitting net and then there was the hero on the day turning to face her teammates, with almost a look of genuine disbelief on her face, as if even she was surprised that the ball had gone in. And so it had.