Canberra United will sweat through a short turnaround for their rescheduled clash with Sydney FC as they prepare to play two games in the space of five days.
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United's abandoned clash with Sydney will now be played at McKellar Park on Monday, but the W-League's plan could be thrown into disarray if the smoke haze hovering over the city deteriorates again.
Smoke haze from the surrounding bushfires has repeatedly turned the capital's air quality hazardous, forcing Football Federation Australia to cancel W-League and Y-League fixtures.
Heather Garriock's side played their first match in two weeks on Thursday night and their rustiness showed in a 4-0 loss to Melbourne City at Broadmeadows.
They'll return to the capital on Friday, but will have just a handful of training sessions to prepare for their rescheduled clash with the Sky Blues.
Temperatures are set to reach 40 degrees in Canberra on Friday according to the Bureau of Meteorology, and the smoke haze is expected to thicken in the evening.
Jamming the match between rounds nine and 10 compliments both teams as they have byes on either side of the fixture.
It'll be the first of two crucial clashes in the space of four days for Sydney, while United has nearly two weeks to prepare for their round-11 clash with Melbourne Victory on Australia Day.
"It'll prepare us better for the next game but in saying that, it disrupts [our momentum] as well," co-captain Karly Roestbakken said.
"We just had a break and want to get going again, game after game."
The club's postponed Y-League clash with the Western Sydney Wanderers has been rescheduled to be played on Saturday at Valentine Sports Park in Sydney.
W-LEAGUE
Thursday night: MELBOURNE CITY 4 (Kyah Simon 5m, 45+4m pen, Claire Emslie 33m pen, Emily Van Egmond 76m) bt CANBERRA UNITED 0 at ABD Stadium. Referee: Kate Jacewicz.
Monday: Canberra United v Sydney FC, McKellar Park, 6pm.