![Ellie Brush made an emotional return to Canberra United on Friday night. Picture Getty Ellie Brush made an emotional return to Canberra United on Friday night. Picture Getty](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/36vwtM5n3dmMVgNPycRBEHz/2cff334d-8bb6-45a9-b9bf-b84d8a0043c9.jpg/r0_0_3000_1687_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Ellie Brush recounts the number first.
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"Twenty-one months [ago], almost to the day," Brush says.
That's when she suffered the first of her anterior cruciate ligament tears. Two in as many years could have - and probably should have - ended her career.
"It's pretty emotional really, because I probably shouldn't have played again, because of the last two knee injuries," Brush says. "It's taken a massive toll."
There it is. The Canberra United defender's voice starts to shake.
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Brush mentions her wife Kristy and their nine-month-old son Leo. She talks about how nobody else gave her a chance - no one but the people at Canberra United.
You can hear it in her voice. You tell her as much when you ask her to explain just how difficult the past two years have been.
When she starts answering, suddenly Friday night's 4-0 loss to Melbourne City at Seiffert Oval in front of 1009 fans - many of whom were there to see Brush's A-League homecoming - doesn't seem so difficult to process.
"It's not just football it affects ... Sorry, give me a moment," Brush says as she begins to wipe the tears from her eyes.
"It doesn't just affect your football, your time on the field. We're not full-time athletes, we've got to work a job, we've got to be a mum as well. I can't just rehab my injury and be paid for that. My wife has to put up with me going through two surgeries, [while] trying to keep the household together and raise a son.
![Kennedy Faulknor was immense for Canberra United. Picture Getty Images Kennedy Faulknor was immense for Canberra United. Picture Getty Images](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/36vwtM5n3dmMVgNPycRBEHz/fa76cc11-79a9-4139-9495-089b98aa44a4.jpg/r0_127_3000_1814_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"We've got to be paid more so this can be our full-time job, because it's not sustainable."
So what of motherhood? You ask how special that has been, and again Brush fights back the tears. A Canberra United staffer says we can call it there if she'd like, and you couldn't blame her if she did.
"I'll get it together," Brush laughs as she rubs her eyes. "It's okay, I'll talk about Leo. He's our world, there's nothing like it. It's right, what they say, you won't know until you're a parent. It's everything, and this is just a game. He doesn't care it's 4-0. I'll go home to that smiling face, that's what it's all about."
And suddenly Melbourne's four-goal blitz takes a backseat. Rhianna Pollicina's brace was impressive, so too Daniela Galic's screamer to put the icing on the cake for City.
As for the widening gap between Canberra United and the A-League's top four, they can worry about that tomorrow. They've got another chance to slash the deficit when they travel to face the Melbourne Victory on New Year's Eve.
![Nicki Flannery tried to find a telling blow for Canberra. Picture Getty Images Nicki Flannery tried to find a telling blow for Canberra. Picture Getty Images](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/36vwtM5n3dmMVgNPycRBEHz/2428698f-b17e-4bcc-a025-b3a4e482033b.jpg/r0_207_3000_1894_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Because tonight is about the foundation player whose fairytale comeback transcends the numbers on the ageing Seiffert Oval scoreboard.
Brush was sent into the contest for the second half, replacing Kennedy Faulknor after her immense opening 45 minutes was hampered by a leg injury, after more than five years away from Canberra and two knee reconstructions in two years.
The scoreline suggests it wouldn't have mattered who Canberra coach Njegosh Popovich put on - City were virtually impossible to stop.
United had their chances, though, but failed to make them count. No excuses, Popovich says. And anyone looking for one would do well to glance at the lime green jersey with a No. 7 on the back and think about what she has been through to get back here.
"Her organisation skills as soon as she went out there was so evident straight away. We could hear her from the sidelines and we said 'Oh well, there you go, there's the Ellie Brush we know," Popovich said.
"It's tough, coming into a game like that, especially against one of the better sides in the competition, but she handled herself quite well. She commanded the box and commanded the back which is fantastic to see."
AT A GLANCE
A-League women round six: MELBOURNE CITY 4 (Rhianna Pollicina 28' 55', Maria Rojas 69', Daniela Galic 88') bt CANBERRA UNITED 0 at Seiffert Oval. Crowd: 1009.
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