Alana Murphy stood alone over the ball. Over two hours of tough finals football had just been played in the rain. After six goals, and extra time, it all came down to this moment. Casey Dumont’s heroics had set the stage, but the spotlight was now on their dynamic midfielder.
When the ball hit the back of the net, Victory were through to the preliminary final. The Melbourne Victory fans have long known that Murphy is a jewel in the squad. This felt like her crowning moment.
“I’ve gotten over it by now,” Murphy tells Kick360.
“But the night after the game I watched it back, and thought ‘wow I just did that’ which felt pretty good, I was proud of myself, I was happy with it.”
That she was trusted with the winning spot kick is no surprise. Despite being one of the younger players in Jeff Hopkins’ squad, Murphy has been one of the most consistent players this season. Victory’s midfield has been in an endless state of reshuffling due to injuries, transfers and tactical necessities. Murphy has been one of the players tasked with various roles to help the team.
In just her second season in the A-League Women, the 17 year old has become an established player. She has made 11 starts so far, compared to last season’s eight, and looks right at home at senior level.
“I did feel like last season I was just getting into the league,” she reflects.
“Now I’ve sort of made a name for myself. I can go out there and be confident in what I’m doing
“It was just getting the experience and minutes to help me gain more confidence,” she says of her progression.
“Working hard off the field with my physicality too, just to be able to keep up with the senior players in the league.”
Murphy credits time, and opportunity with her rapid improvement. She says that it has improved her technical ability and decision making on the ball.
That decision making is evident to anybody who watches her play. Murphy has composure beyond her years. She always seems to have time on the ball, and is adept at moving the play forward, while always having the potential to frighten goalkeepers with her thunderous right foot.
From being brought on as a holding midfielder to close out a 2-0 win over Melbourne City in Round 15, to scoring a stunning free kick away to Wellington Phoenix, her versatility has allowed Victory to overcome the absence of Elise Kellond-Knight, Paige Zois and Alex Chidiac.
“Obviously we’ve had players leave, along with the injuries… it’s been tough with reshuffling,” says Murphy.
“All the girls know that’s just part of football, to learn to adjust to stuff like that and we have done it pretty well and continue to keep doing that.
“Our team is so close and the culture at Victory is unreal, so it really helps us get through every game, when we need it.”
This weekend in a knockout game against Sydney FC, they will be without the talismanic Amy Jackson. The all-action midfielder received two yellow cards against Melbourne City, and it will mean another reshuffle in Victory’s midfield.
Jackson has been an important player in Murphy’s development. She has taken the opportunity to learn from the Victory legend and add to her own game.
“It’s been really good, just learning from her.
“We’re two different players, and I think probably the biggest thing I’ve taken from her is her defensive side.
“That’s something that I really needed to work on and I think I’ve gotten better at that. She’s definitely helped me.”
In addition to performing for Victory, Murphy has been starring for Australia’s Under 20 side. She has been a key part of the Young Matildas team that scored 20 goals over two games. Murphy got on the scoresheet three times from midfield, including a vicious strike from the edge of the area after creating space on the turn.
Among the new crop of Young Matildas, Murphy is one of the more experienced players available to Leah Blayney. Not only has she been part of an A-League Championship winning squad, but at 16, she travelled to the Under 20 World Cup to learn as much as possible.
“I think it was good to step back a bit and just see it all happen in front of me. Obviously I didn’t get to play, but there was so much learning to be done there.
“I was one of the youngest ones so I had a lot of people to learn from.”
She tries to keep international duty and club duty separate in her mind and focus on what is immediately in front of her but gets a lot of value from both environments.
“I think the playing styles are pretty different.
“Jeff and Leah are very different coaches, but I feel like my role in the young Matildas is more of an older player in the team, so it’s about helping out all the girls around me.
“I like it, it’s definitely different. I see it as a different way of learning new things.”
This Saturday is another big game in a year that has seemed packed with them. Murphy will play an important role when Melbourne Victory fight for a place in the Grand Final. They have not beaten Sydney FC since last season’s decider and go into the game as underdogs. But after last weeks epic triumph, it would be foolish to write them off.
“Coming off last week, it was a big one from all the girls,” says Murphy.
“Physically and mentally, it was pretty exhausting, but we had a couple of days to recover and got back into it.
“We’re feeling good going into the game.”
Melbourne Victory takes on Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
