Catch up on the Ninja A-League Team of the Week, powered by Opta.
Week Three of the Ninja A-League Finals Series served up plenty of drama as four teams became two, with Melbourne City and Wellington Phoenix booking their spot in the Grand Final.
In the Melbourne Derby it was City who prevailed over Victory thanks to Shelby McMahon‘s first half goal whilst a double from Makala Woods saw Wellington defeat Brisbane Roar 2-0 on the day and 3-2 on aggregate.
As such it was Phoenix striker Woods who top-scored after playing a crucial role in helping her side become the first New Zealand side to ever reach an A-Leagues Grand Final.
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Joining Woods in the front three are fellow Wellington Phoenix ace Pia Vlok, who provided a crucial assist for Woods’ first goal, whilst Brisbane Roar’s Daisy Brown also scored highly on the Opta points system.
In midfield, Brisbane Roar’s Momo Hayashi joins City goalscorer McMahon whilst Phoenix stalwart Grace Jale makes up the trio after a commanding performance against the Roar.
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In defence, Brisbane Roar duo Marianna Seidl and Aimee Medwin both scored highly on the Opta points index and they’re joined by Melbourne City’s Danielle Turner and Wellington defender Manaia Elliott.
Finally, Spanish shotstopper Malena Mieres is your goalkeeper in this week’s Team of the Week after keeping successive clean sheets in the semi-finals.
Opta Points is a system where points are given to players for certain on-field actions. Players who complete the full game duration on the field typically end up with a point total ranging from 10 to 40 points. (View the full breakdown of Opta Points below).
Explained: Opta’s Team of the Week using Opta Points
The scoring system distinguishes only between field players and goalkeepers, assigning the same number of points to all field players for corresponding actions. A distinctive feature of this system is its exclusive focus on in-game actions, refraining from awarding points for post-game performances, such as securing a victory or allocating bonus points for maintaining a clean sheet.
Positive actions (goals, passes, tackles, etc…) will add to a player’s score and, conversely, negative actions (cards, own goals, goals conceded) will reduce a player’s points total. Theoretically, a player’s points value is unlimited, and players can conclude a game with negative points. However, players who complete the full game duration on the field typically end up with a point total ranging from 10 to 40 points.
Goals, Shots on target, shots off target, blocked shots, own goal, assists, passes, crosses, tackles, interceptions, fouls won, fouls conceded, offsides, yellow cards, red cards, goals conceded, penalty won, saves, penalty saved are included in Opta Points.
