Emslie claims W-League medal

SCOTLAND internationalist Claire Emslie claimed title glory as the Australian W-League Grand final beat the Coronavirus crisis.

While competitive sport has been decimated around the world by the Covid-19 pandemic, the showpiece fixture between Melbourne City and defending champions Sydney FC went ahead behind closed doors on Saturday.

A goal from Stephanie Catley was enough to secure a 1-0 triumph at an eerily empty AAMI Park in Melbourne.

Emslie, on loan from US outfit Orlando Pride, scored in the semi-final during City’s run to claiming a fourth title in five years and finishing the season unbeaten.

Speaking prior to becoming an invincible, Emslie addressed the surreal feeling of competing for the trophy amid the current global emergency.

She told the BBC: “It’s mixed emotions really. The last two days have been really stressful off the pitch because obviously countries are going into lockdown. We’ve got a few internationals so are we going to get home? Will we be stuck in Australia? Where are we going to live? All that sort of thing is going through players’ heads.”

Meanwhile, football in Australia is now set to follow the lead of the majority of other sporting nations by postponing the remainder of the A-League campaign. The Football Federation of Australia [FFA] held an emergency meeting on Sunday to discuss whether the competition should continue.

The A-League, currently led by Sydney FC, is the most high-profile division in the world still persisting with fixtures – albeit they have been behind closed doors. Nevertheless, the FFA are likely to halt the campaign, with a statement due this morning.

Chief executive James Johnson said: “The health and wellbeing of the players continues to remain our top priority and we will not be afraid to make decisions to ensure this.”