Look out Sam Kerr. Canberra United goalkeeper Sham Khamis vows to keep her aggressive attack on the ball as she relishes the chance to take on one of the world's best players.
United have a must-win clash against the fourth-placed Perth Glory in Perth on Thursday night.
Canberra United goalkeeper Sham Khamis vows to continue her aggressive approach.Credit:Sitthixay Ditthavong
While they trail Perth by four points on the W-League ladder, they haven't lost against them since 2014.
Khamis has been booked in the past three games and she was lucky some of those yellow cards weren't red, coming for fouls outside the penalty area.
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One was against her sister Leena, who plays for the Western Sydney Wanderers, while the latest was in the 81st minute of United's 1-all draw with the Brisbane Roar last week.
But Khamis vowed to continue her aggressive approach.
"I see something and I go for it. It's not going to stop me. It's one of those things, whatever situation I'm in I put in 100 per cent," she said.
"Unfortunately I've been given three yellows, but it's not going to stop me from doing what I'm doing. As long as I can stop the ball from going into the net I know I'm doing my job.
"I'm definitely not going to change the way I play. It's who I am as a goalkeeper … and I'm not going to change my mentality, my approach."
She was relishing the chance to stand in the way of Kerr becoming the W-League leading goal scorer in her own right.
Currently she's in a three-way tie with eight goals.
Khamis described Kerr as a "lethal player". The Matildas striker is part of a Perth attack that has the best shot conversion and accuracy in the W-League.
"Personally you love to come up against these players. It really challenges you and shows you where you are in your football career," Khamis said.
"I can't wait. I'm excited. I absolutely love big games like this, I love coming up against big players.
"So I'm pretty excited and we're just going to go out there, do our jobs and really work for the three points because we know it's crucial."
Khamis got the chance to play with Canberra's comeback kid, Ash Sykes, for the first time last week, having only ever played against her before.
Sykes will play her second game back since retiring at the end of last season.
She started the season as assistant coach, but answered coach Heather Garriock's SOS when injury struck.
But Sykes ruled out making it a permanent return – her hamstrings felt every one of the 33 minutes she played after coming off the bench against the Roar.
"No I don't think so. This is just a temporary solution, a band-aid if you like, for me. Just make it through to the end of the season," she said.
"I've got my sights set on a half-marathon in April in Canberra so as soon as football's done I'll have to get back into long-distance running."
W-LEAGUE ROUND 10
Thursday: Canberra United v Perth Glory in Perth, 8.30pm. Live on Fox Sports 505.
Canberra squad: 1.Melissa Maizels (gk), 2.Laura Hughes, 4.Rachel Corsie (c), 5.Nikola Orgill, 6.Refiloe Jane, 8.Olivia Price, 9.Rhoda Mulaudzi, 12.Lauren Keir, 13.Meaghan McElligott, 14.Ashleigh Sykes, 16.Karly Roestbakken, 17.Maddy Whittall, 18.Taren King, 19.Nickoletta Flannery, 20.Shamiran Khamis (gk), 21.Ellie Carpenter, 23.Maria Jose Rojas.
Perth squad: 1.Eliza Campbell (gk), 3.Kim Carroll, 4.Alyssa Mautz , 5.Shannon May, 7.Nicole Stanton, 9.Rachel Hill, 10.Jacynta Galabadaarachchi, 11.Leticia McKenna , 12.Jenna Onions, 13.Jamie-Lee Gale, 15.Alexia Moreno, 20.Sam Kerr (c), 21.Morgan Aquino (gk) 22.Abbey Green, 24.Natasha Rigby, 25.Katie Naughton.
David Polkinghorne covers the Canberra Raiders, local rugby league, Canberra Cavalry, racing and cycling, along with every other sport, for The Canberra Times.
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Look out Sam Kerr. Canberra United goalkeeper Sham Khamis vows to keep her aggressive attack on the ball as she relishes the chance to take on one of the world's best players.
United have a must-win clash against the fourth-placed Perth Glory in Perth on Thursday night.
Canberra United goalkeeper Sham Khamis vows to continue her aggressive approach.Credit:Sitthixay Ditthavong
While they trail Perth by four points on the W-League ladder, they haven't lost against them since 2014.
Khamis has been booked in the past three games and she was lucky some of those yellow cards weren't red, coming for fouls outside the penalty area.
Advertisement
One was against her sister Leena, who plays for the Western Sydney Wanderers, while the latest was in the 81st minute of United's 1-all draw with the Brisbane Roar last week.
But Khamis vowed to continue her aggressive approach.
"I see something and I go for it. It's not going to stop me. It's one of those things, whatever situation I'm in I put in 100 per cent," she said.
"Unfortunately I've been given three yellows, but it's not going to stop me from doing what I'm doing. As long as I can stop the ball from going into the net I know I'm doing my job.
"I'm definitely not going to change the way I play. It's who I am as a goalkeeper … and I'm not going to change my mentality, my approach."
She was relishing the chance to stand in the way of Kerr becoming the W-League leading goal scorer in her own right.
Currently she's in a three-way tie with eight goals.
Khamis described Kerr as a "lethal player". The Matildas striker is part of a Perth attack that has the best shot conversion and accuracy in the W-League.
"Personally you love to come up against these players. It really challenges you and shows you where you are in your football career," Khamis said.
"I can't wait. I'm excited. I absolutely love big games like this, I love coming up against big players.
"So I'm pretty excited and we're just going to go out there, do our jobs and really work for the three points because we know it's crucial."
Khamis got the chance to play with Canberra's comeback kid, Ash Sykes, for the first time last week, having only ever played against her before.
Sykes will play her second game back since retiring at the end of last season.
She started the season as assistant coach, but answered coach Heather Garriock's SOS when injury struck.
But Sykes ruled out making it a permanent return – her hamstrings felt every one of the 33 minutes she played after coming off the bench against the Roar.
"No I don't think so. This is just a temporary solution, a band-aid if you like, for me. Just make it through to the end of the season," she said.
"I've got my sights set on a half-marathon in April in Canberra so as soon as football's done I'll have to get back into long-distance running."
W-LEAGUE ROUND 10
Thursday: Canberra United v Perth Glory in Perth, 8.30pm. Live on Fox Sports 505.
Canberra squad: 1.Melissa Maizels (gk), 2.Laura Hughes, 4.Rachel Corsie (c), 5.Nikola Orgill, 6.Refiloe Jane, 8.Olivia Price, 9.Rhoda Mulaudzi, 12.Lauren Keir, 13.Meaghan McElligott, 14.Ashleigh Sykes, 16.Karly Roestbakken, 17.Maddy Whittall, 18.Taren King, 19.Nickoletta Flannery, 20.Shamiran Khamis (gk), 21.Ellie Carpenter, 23.Maria Jose Rojas.
Perth squad: 1.Eliza Campbell (gk), 3.Kim Carroll, 4.Alyssa Mautz , 5.Shannon May, 7.Nicole Stanton, 9.Rachel Hill, 10.Jacynta Galabadaarachchi, 11.Leticia McKenna , 12.Jenna Onions, 13.Jamie-Lee Gale, 15.Alexia Moreno, 20.Sam Kerr (c), 21.Morgan Aquino (gk) 22.Abbey Green, 24.Natasha Rigby, 25.Katie Naughton.
David Polkinghorne covers the Canberra Raiders, local rugby league, Canberra Cavalry, racing and cycling, along with every other sport, for The Canberra Times.
