Canberra United's finals hopes are all but dead and buried if they do not take three points away from Friday's match and put an end to their winless season.
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The side remains winless after eight matches, with six games to play in 22 days and four points next to their name.
It will be a near impossible feat for Canberra to make finals but anything besides a win against Wellington Phoenix will spell the end of any hope.
A lot will be on the line at Viking Park for both teams, with Wellington embracing the chance to claim their club's first ever A-League Women's win, and United trying to turn the second half of their season around to claim their first three points.
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The match up between the two will also be historic, marking the first time they have met in the ALW since Wellington's acceptance into the competition this season.
United head coach Vicki Linton agreed it would be a historic moment for both sides.
And commented on how United were starring down the barrel of six games in 22 days and that changed things.
"I think every club has had its challenges this season, and they [Wellington] certainly have as well and credit to them for what they've been doing. I think they're going to give us a challenge," she said.
"If we just had a game per week, and we played 14 games, then that doesn't really change anything, but just with the scheduling we will have to maybe adjust how we play, we might have to conserve some energy or we might not have players available in certain games."
United's congested sprint to finish off the season and scrape into finals or end it on a high note, will be a lucky run.
They face teams on the bottom half of the ladder, such as Wellington, Brisbane Roar, Newcastle Jets and Western Sydney Wanderers, with their biggest challenge being fourth placed Melbourne Victory, who they play twice.
Anything besides three points in all six matches will make it impossible for the side to creep into the top four. An area of concern United need to focus on will be their defence, having conceded the second highest amount of goals (21 goals) this season.
Despite what will be on the line for Canberra heading into their next fixture against Wellington, midfielder Chelsee Washington said they would approach it the same way they did each match.
"We're really hoping that this is going to be kind of a turning point for us, but at the same time, we're still trying to approach it like every week and not think anything differently," she said.
"We're not really in a place to be able to think anything different of it, but we're just excited for another challenge, another game at home is always good, before the busy schedule.
"As long as we approach one game at a time, one opponent at a time, I think it'll be good for us."
Isobel Cootes
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
