Matildas in the A-Leagues: Taylor Ray
A look at what the Sydney FC midfielder could bring to the Australian National football team
After a disappointing Asian Cup campaign, the Matildas hoped to start afresh with their April friendlies against the New Zealand Football Ferns. The announcement of the Australians’ squad for the series of matches however was met with a lukewarm response.
It was thought that a number of A-League players really came to the fore during an often frantic Domestic season, supposedly putting their names in the mix for the Women’s World Cup 2023. Head coach Tony Gustavsson though, stuck to what he knew and made just 1 change in his selections.
One of those who can feel hard done-by is Taylor Ray.
Though she doesn’t have the highlight reel of Cortnee Vine, or put up the gaudy numbers of Mackenzie Hawksby, Ray was an important part of an impressive Sydney FC team nevertheless, slotted into the “Number 6” defensive midfield role.
Statistics showed she was one of the most involved midfielders in the league, and not simply in empty-calorie possession —Ray was at or near the top of the leader board for numerous passing and progressive metrics.
Playing at the heart of the Sky Blue’s midfield, the 21-year-old showed poise on the ball, and a non-stop engine motor as Sydney ran roughshod over the rest of the A-League Women’s competition.
She spent the entirety of the finals series delightfully clipping balls across the midfield too— changing the point of attack, escaping pressure, finding her wingers out wide.
Not necessarily known for an ability to play a killer final ball, there were a number of great, pinpoint passes to put her team mates in prime positions also.
Her vision and ability are paired with a defensive acumen and work rate that is rare in young players.
She doesn’t rack up a great volume of defensive actions, given Sydney FC’s propensity to aggressively press defensively higher up the pitch (the lowest number of passes allowed per defensive action in the A-League Women, at 6.09). The pride she takes in her positioning and backtracking further reduces her need to reactively jump into a tackle.
But when she did need to engage an opponent, more often that not she was successful, and was the most efficient midfielder across the league in this area (red data point, 83% of defensive duels won).
Her absence from the Matildas side is even more perplexing given the dearth of holding midfielders currently in the squad.
Up against those who have played in that role under Gustavsson, it is difficult to compare numbers across different countries, leagues and levels of competition.
But what the statistics do illustrate well is the fact that other candidates aren’t really Number 6’s — most have played for their domestic teams in either box-to-box Number 8 roles, or more creative, attacking midfield positions.
There is a trend of greater production of expected goals, expected assists, key passes and shot assists; more of a penchant for the final-ball rather than laying the groundwork, where Ray thrives.
Certainly, other current Matildas may capably put in a shift in the defensive midfield position, but none have done so full-time as Ray has for Sydney. And with the run of unimpressive results during Gustavsson’s tenure thus far, greater weight must be placed on ensuring players are put in positions to succeed, rather than shoehorned into holes in the team.
With a year still until the World Cup, and the lingering failure of the Asian Cup, there’s absolutely no reason to not make changes to the national squad, to go back to the drawing board and blood new players.
Ray has shone this season in an area of direct need, right under our noses in Australia’s domestic league; why not try one of the best locally-based Number 6's currently on offer?
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All data courtesy of Wyscout.
