Saying farewell to Rhali
It was announced on Wednesday that veteran City winger Rhali Dobson will be calling time on her 12-year W-League career, with the 28-year-old set to return home to New South Wales following the completion of the season.
This Thursday's @WLeague match will be the last of Rhali Dobson's career.
She will finish up on 109 appearances and was a part of our championship winning squad in 2018 and our double winning squad last season.
We wish Rhali all the best for the future!
More 👇
— Melbourne City FC (@MelbourneCity) March 24, 2021
Dobson began her career with Newcastle Jets in the 2008/09 season, making 63 appearances for the club until her move to City in 2017/18. Since arriving in Melbourne, the winger has appeared on 45 occasions, netting three goals in that time.
City fans will have the opportunity to farewell Rhali when she plays her 109th and final game this Thursday night at Dandenong’s Frank Holohan Reserve.
https://twitter.com/joeylynchy/status/1374521799661133824?s=20
Playing at Frank Holohan for the final time this season
There were a couple of false starts on our time in the South East but City were finally able to play a home game out of beautiful Frank Holohan Reserve when we took on Western Sydney in Round 12.
The clash unfortunately ended in a loss for the home side, but City will be confident of securing a positive result when they take on Perth Glory this Thursday night.
Click here to get your tickets!
City were able to come away from Dorrien Gardens with three points in the bag when they played Perth last Friday, and will be hoping to wrap up their season with a big win in front of their home crowd.
Getting to properly celebrate Checker’s 100th
Aside from those who were in attendance at Dorrien Gardens on Thursday night, City fans haven’t been able to celebrate the huge milestone that was Emma Checker’s 100th W-League game, but they’ll get the chance to when City return to close out the season at Frank Holohan Reserve this Thursday.
Tonight's fixture will mark game 💯 for our inspirational Captain! 👏👏
Congratulations on the milestone @emmachecker, go well tonight! 💪#CmonCity pic.twitter.com/xaIW6NNuD9
— Melbourne City FC (@MelbourneCity) March 19, 2021
The City captain will be presented with a commemorative jersey in front of the home fans prior to the match, so don’t miss out on your chance to help her celebrate the moment.
A chance to finish with three consecutive wins
Despite missing out on Finals, the City team has shown resilience to turn its form around in recent weeks, and now has the opportunity to finish the 2020/21 season with three consecutive wins.
City’s gutsy 1-0 win over Newcastle Jets in the second of its Round 12 fixtures snapped a disappointing string of results and the team used the momentum of that win to secure a second-consecutive victory when it played Perth on Friday.
𝙄𝘾𝙔𝙈𝙄: We took the points away from home against Perth thanks to a Rhali Dobson goal! 👏
📺 Catch up on all of the highlights! 👇#CmonCity pic.twitter.com/z8w1gmhsLQ
— Melbourne City FC (@MelbourneCity) March 19, 2021
Now buoyed by the confidence of two positive results in a row, City would secure seventh place with three points against Perth, but could even sneak into sixth on goal difference if they were to cap off the season with a big win.
Another clean sheet?
In addition to two consecutive wins, City has also managed to secure clean sheets in both of its recent fixtures.
Improved defensive performances, buoyed by the emergence of Naomi Chinnama and a return to form for defensive pillars Emma Checker and Jenna McCormick, has seen a watertight City backline afford barely a sniff to its opposition over the past two games.
Any ambitions of a big win to sneak into sixth will require another strong defensive performance, so recording a clean sheet will be essential on Thursday night.
