SINGAPORE – Lionesses forward Danelle Tan’s eagerly anticipated A-League Women debut lasted only about 20 minutes, but the drama and intensity have left her yearning for more.
After missing Brisbane Roar’s first eight games of the season due to knee surgery, the 20-year-old Singaporean ran onto the Perry Park pitch to cheers from her father and many among the 3,612-strong crowd on Jan 4.
Coming on for Evdokiya Popadinova in the 72nd minute, the No. 9 was involved in some attacking moves, and within seconds, she was celebrating with her teammates as Laini Freier opened the scoring against the visiting Canberra United with a neat finish into the bottom corner.
But Emma Robers equalised in the 81st minute with a long-range effort before Michelle Heyman completed the comeback for Canberra seven minutes later despite suspicions of handball.
With the defeat, the Roar missed the opportunity to leapfrog Melbourne City to the top of the 12-team league after nine games. On Jan 5, City extended their lead to four points after a 1-1 draw at bottom club Sydney FC, but have played a game more.
Tan told The Straits Times: “After we scored, we had good momentum and I was able to make some good passes to create attacking chances. Sometimes, football is cruel, but we must use it as a lesson and a wake-up call.
“Personally, it felt especially gratifying since I was coming back from a knee injury that put me out of action for close to two months. I was really excited to finally be playing in front of the fans at our home stadium, and just getting on the field and finally playing football again.
“Although the score didn’t go our way, I’m still really proud to have made my professional debut in the highest tier of Australian women’s football.”
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Having made a full recovery, there will be more opportunities for Tan to shine with the Roar as they are playing three matches in eight days to kick-start 2025. They will host third-placed Melbourne Victory on Jan 8 before an away game at City three days later.
She said: “We are all really positive and there’s a really good atmosphere within the team. The great thing about football is that we have a chance to redeem ourselves in just a couple of days. I know that we’ll regroup again and put our best foot forward at home on Wednesday.”
Tan is only the second Singaporean footballer to feature in Australia’s top-tier women’s competition, following former national midfielder Lim Shiya, who played for Perth Glory in 2008-09. In August, she signed her first professional contract with the Roar until the end of the 2024-25 season.
She is a trailblazer in her own right, becoming the first Singaporean footballer to win a league title in Europe when she scored 16 goals in 27 matches in 2024 to help German side Borussia Dortmund win the fifth-division Landesliga – for their third consecutive promotion in three years – and the regional Kreispokal Cup.
In 2023, she was also the first Singaporean woman to play in a European league when she turned out for English third-tier side London Bees in the amateur FA Women’s National League South.
But the A-League Women, which in recent years has become a platform for players such as Australia captain and Chelsea forward Sam Kerr, is a different ball game.
Tan said: “The pace of the game here has been incredibly fast. Especially after returning from injury, I’ve had to work hard and adapt to the level here. The level in training has also been really good, being able to train daily with world-class players like Tameka Yallop and (Laini’s twin) Sharn Freier.”
A big thanks for your support at Perry Park tonight, Brisbane 🧡
— Brisbane Roar FC (@brisbaneroar) January 4, 2025
See you on Wednesday when we take on Melbourne Victory 👊#BRIvMVC tickets 🎟 https://t.co/uqpQ4xfGk2 pic.twitter.com/hJi0xCuT47
After finishing ninth in the previous campaign, the Roar have made a rousing start to the season with six wins, and are aiming to make it to the top six to qualify for the Finals series, where they hope to challenge for their first overall title since 2011.
Tan will also face a busy year on the international front, with Singapore qualifying for the 2025 Asean Women’s Championship and also involved in the Asian Cup qualifiers and SEA Games.
Looking to add to her 22 caps and seven goals for the Lionesses, she said: “It’s hard to set a concrete target without knowing the fixtures and groupings yet. I’m just looking forward to donning the Singapore red again because every time it is always a huge honour to put on that jersey and step out onto the pitch for my country.”
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
