For the first time this season, two players have finished equal in the voting for the Player of the Month award, with in-form Perth Glory defender Gregory Wütrich and Wellington Phoenix’s Liberato Cacace tied for the peer-voted honour.
In the W-League vote, Adelaide United’s American Mallory Weber edged out Melbourne City FC’s Serbian international striker Milica Mijatović and Melbourne Victory’s forward Natasha Dowie.
Despite her team propping up the W-League ladder, Weber has been a vital contributor to Adelaide this season.
The 25-year-old midfielder, who is on loan from National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team Utah Royals, scored two of her three season goals in January, netting a brace in one of the best individual performances of the season against Western Sydney Wanderers.
Weber featured in all three of United’s matches in January in which they earned their first win of the season.
“I am very humbled to receive this award, especially with all the talent and incredible players that are in this league,” Weber said.
“It means a lot to receive an award that is voted on solely by my peers. My first year in the W-league has been an exciting challenge and I can’t thank [Adelaide United coach] Ivan [Karlović] enough for giving me an opportunity to play here.”
In the A-League, Perth Glory’s Swiss defender Wüthrich was crucial to his team’s form in January.
A central figure as Perth built form on their defensive stability, Wüthrich helped propel Glory into top-two contention during a three-match unbeaten run.
On-loan from Swiss club Young Boys, Wüthrich has been an inspired signing, demonstrating his strength, power and pace to negate his opponents.
“It is a very big honour to receive this award,” Wütrich said.
“The biggest thanks from me goes out to my teammates and to the coaching staff. The team has had a very good last nine games in the A-League and that has helped me to really play at my best.
“I’m very happy and this award motivates me to get even better and it really is an award for the whole team.
“I’m really enjoying playing in the A-League and feel good here. It’s a great competition and you can see from the table that the teams are really close. I hope that we can continue our good run.”
The youngest nominee of the month, 19-year-old New Zealand left-back Cacace, was a key performer for Wellington Phoenix in January, impressing on the left flank and scoring his first goal of the campaign against the Wanderers.
“It’s always great to win an award like this, but I’m happy just to contribute to the team – hopefully I can use this form heading into the final weeks and the latter stages of the season,” Cacace said.
“The coach set out a task to win as many points as we could in January, and I think we did that and achieved a good spot on the ladder – and hopefully we can keep climbing up that ladder and get a top three finish.”
The PFA Player of the Month award nominees are selected by a panel of former players and leading media figures, with the winner voted on by the players of each respective league. PFA members voted on the six nominees in February.
