After captaining Canberra United in their foundation season, winning two grand finals and three league championships, club legend Ellie Brush has played her final home game at McKellar Park.
Just before kick-off her teammates were brought to tears as Brush led her family onto the field to receive a commemorative jersey as a tribute to her inspirational career.
Brush was then unstoppable in defence in the critical match up against Melbourne Victory but despite her team’s hearty performance they were unable to break away and finished with a 1-all draw.
Canberra head coach, Njegosh Popovich, had nothing but praise for the legendary defender as she continues to be a key part of the team both on and off the field.
“She’s been a powerhouse of the backline for us so often and in a lot of years,” he said.
“And even there I thought she was going to sneak that goal in but Kennedy took it off her then right at the end.
“She’s a great person and a great footballer.”
At the time of writing, Brush has played 142 matches in the A-League, 112 for Canberra, and has scored 23 goals across her career.
With 15 years of A-League experience under her belt, she returned to Canberra for the 2022/23 season to finish her career in the same place she started.
The return was made even more inspirational after recovering from back-to-back ACL injuries and has been her first time playing as a mum.
Fellow teammate, Michelle Heyman, has played alongside Brush since Canberra’s inaugural year and knows just how much of a team player she has always been.
“I’ve been lucky enough to play with Brush for so many years, it’s been great to have her leadership, to just have her friendship back,” she said.
“She’s always pulling jokes. She’s always doing something just to get the girls going. She’s so competitive, and she’s just an angel.
“She’s just such a good human and it just makes us all happy and we can trust her every time she’s on the field.”
Over 1,200 fans showed up for their last home game this season and while the result wasn’t what they were hoping for, with two games remaining Canberra are still nursing the hopes of landing a spot in the finals.
They face up against two of the top teams in Western United and Melbourne City, but as Brush takes to the field for the final times her team is hungrier than ever to fight for a win.
Feature Image Credit: Anthony Caffery Photography
Enjoy this content? Support The Football Sack
Due in part to COVID and lack of current sponsorship we are at risk of not having the funds to continue running The Football Sack. If you enjoy our content and support our work in training talented young writers, please support us with a donation. If every reader contributed just $3, our funding would be covered for over ten years.
| DONATE |
