As they prepare for their semi-finals in the W-League Finals this week, two players instrumental to their respective teams’ campaigns have been nominated for the February PFA Player of the Month award.
Ellie Carpenter, Melbourne City FC’s 19-year-old marauding wing-back, and 25-year-old Rein FC loanee Darian Jenkins from Melbourne Victory, have been shortlisted for their accolade following their scintilating form in February.
Joining the Melbourne-based duo as the third nominee is Perth Glory’s Morgan Andrews who set the W-League alight this season to finish as the W-League’s equal top goal-scorer.
Guiding unbeaten Premiers City to two dominant 4-0 wins during February, Carpenter ensured City were stingy at the back and potent up front, with the Matilda securing two clean sheets while scoring a brace in the team’s win over the Wanderers.
Jenkins also enjoyed a stellar month, scoring back-to-back doubles in the 7-0 drubbing of Newcastle Jets and 3-1 win over Sydney FC, helping to secure second place on the ladder and a home semi-final in the final match of the season.
With two headers against the Jets, Jenkins went to another level against the Sky Blues, rifling in a fierce left-footed strike before adding another via a slaloming run and powerful finish.
For Glory, Andrews completed her first season without finals football, but as equal Golden Boot winner in the W-League competition, with February her most prolific period of the campaign.
The 24-year-old attacker netted five goals in Glory’s three games in February, scoring a brace in a 4-2 win over Brisbane Roar before tallying another double in a 2-1 win over last season’s Champions Sydney FC.
In the A-League, Western Sydney Wanderers’ captain Mitchell Duke, Adelaide United’s forward Ben Halloran and Brisbane Roar’s goalkeeper Jamie Young are in the mix for the player-voted award.
Wanderers captain Duke was in red-hot form for the Red and Black in February, scoring five times in four appearances.
The PFA Delegate scored twice from the penalty spot in wins over NSW opponents Central Coast Mariners and Newcastle Jets, before firing in a brace in a captivating 5-2 win over Adelaide United.
Capping off the month with a morale-boosting win over Sydney FC, Duke nodded home his second decisive Derby winner this season, with his header providing the Wanderers with a shock 1-0 win against the run-away Premiers.
Having scored seven goals already this season, Ben Halloran has enjoyed his best return in his club career, with February providing four of those seven strikes.
The speedy winner with a clinical finish demonstrated his potency early in the month by bagging a brace in a 3-1 win over high-flying Melbourne City – continuing to haunt the club he eliminated with an extra-time goal in last year’s Finals Series.
A brilliant fizzing, curling strike from the edge of the penalty area would prove only a consolation in a 2-1 loss against Brisbane Roar, but ensured Halloran’s goal-scoring streak continued, before he finished the month with another brilliant turn and strike into the bottom corner in United’s 5-2 loss to the Wanderers.
Roar’s goalkeeper Jamie Young form has been outstanding during the start of 2020, and the stopper’s form can go a long way to explaining Roar’s run into the finals, as they aim to secure a place in the top six for the first time in two seasons.
Young helped Roar to two wins and a draw, denying Perth Glory all three points at Dolphin Stadium with a crucial stop against Diego Castro, before plucking a stoppage-time cross from the feet of Western United’s strikers to claim a clean sheet and ensure Roar captured an important 1-0 win at Mars Stadium in Ballarat.
PFA Members will vote on the nominees from both leagues this week.
