Matildas at Home Review: McNamara scores brace as City extend lead at the top of the table

Holly McNamara scored two for Melbourne City to lift the defending Premiers five points clear on top of the A-League Women's table.

Elsewhere, the Western Sydney Wanderers won for only the second time this season, while the Big Blue ended in a stalemate.

Read about the Matildas at Home in action below.

WAC 2026 Single Match Tickets

Brisbane Roar 3 – 1 Canberra United

The Brisbane Roar picked up a huge three points at home on Friday, defeating Canberra United 3-1.

The visitors opened the scoring early through Sofia Christopherson. They led for most of the first half until Daisy Brown equalised just before the break. The second half belonged entirely to Brisbane, though, with goals for Sharn Freier and Dutch national Bente Jansen helping the Roar to a win that saw them finish the round in third.

Sharn Freier of the Roar is congratulated by team mates after scoring a goal during the round 14 A-League Women match between Brisbane Roar and Canberra United at Spencer Park, on January 23, 2026, in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

Chloe Lincoln and Sharn Freier both started for the Roar, while Tameka Yallop and Grace Kuilamu remain unavailable due to injury. Michelle Heyman started up top for Canberra.

Central Coast Mariners 1 – 2 Western Sydney Wanderers

The Western Sydney Wanderers upset the Central Coast Mariners 2-1 to secure their second win of the season.

Holly Caspers scored a brace on either side of half-time. Annalise Rasmussen did equalise late in the first-half, taking her goal tally for the season to nine, but Caspers’ second was enough for the Wanderers to continue their undefeated run in three games at Polytec Stadium.

Isabel Gomez started and played the full game for the Mariners, while Wanderers announced on Saturday that Chloe Logarzo Berryhill will retire from professional football after suffering a 

Perth Glory 0 – 2 Melbourne City

Melbourne City finished the round five points clear on top of the table after defeating Perth Glory 2-0.

Holly McNamara scored a brace for City as they eased to victory in Perth. It was the first time that the Glory had been defeated at home this season. Perth will be having nightmares about McNamara, who scored all five goals they conceded against City in this home-and-away season.

Holly McNamara of Melbourne City celebrates a goal during the round 14 A-League Women match between Perth Glory and Melbourne City at Sam Kerr Football Centre, on January 24, 2026, in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Janelle St Pierre/Getty Images)
Holly McNamara of Melbourne City celebrates a goal during the round 14 A-League Women match between Perth Glory and Melbourne City at Sam Kerr Football Centre, on January 24, 2026, in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Janelle St Pierre/Getty Images)

McNamara, Karly Roestbakken, Bryleeh Henry and Alexia Apostolakis all started for Melbourne City.

Wellington Phoenix 3 – 1 Adelaide United

The Wellington Phoenix jumped all the way to second place with a 3-1 victory over Adelaide United at home on Sunday.

Makala Woods continued her fantastic start to life in the competition, scoring in the first half, before Brooke Nunn scored a brace either side of the break to give the Phoenix a three-goal advantage. Izzy Hodgson scored a consolation for Adelaide, but it was not enough to get back into the game.

Adriana Taranto started the match for the Reds.

Melbourne Victory 0 – 0 Sydney FC

The Big Blue ended in a scoreless draw for the first time in the fixture’s history as neither Melbourne Victory nor Sydney FC were able to find a breakthrough on Sunday.

Victory accumulated over 2.5xG throughout the 90 minutes but were unable to find a way past an outstanding Heather Hinz in Sydney’s goal. Concerningly for Sydney, they have not won since the 23rd of November, and have not scored a goal away from home all season.