W-League Round 4 Wrap: Last-gasp goals turned Round 4's W-League matches on their heads, with never-say-die efforts being rewarded.
While David Beckham entertained in their hometown, Newcastle Jets ventured south to take on ladder-leaders Sydney on Saturday, with most fans and commentators alike expecting the result to go the apparently-unstoppable Sydney's way. It looked that way for the majority of the match too, with Sydney, who were on a 14-match unbeaten streak, dominating possession and testing the Newcastle defence and goalkeeper with regularity.
Captain Heather Garriock acknowledged during a half-time interview that Sydney weren't gelling as well as they had in previous weeks, which had seen them notch up four goals a match with relative ease. But they still looked plenty strong enough to take Newcastle and finally pulled one goal ahead in the 31st when striker Leena Khamis, with her trademark bright pink boots, beat the goalkeeper at the near post.
A second goal was proving elusive, but Sydney still looked set to leave with the three points. Catherine Cannuli and Caitlin Foord were subbed on halfway through the second half, with Cannuli causing Newcastle headaches from almost her first touch of the ball.
Newcastle had strong claims for a penalty when Renee Cartwright was taken down in the box, but it was 17-year-old Young Matilda Tara Andrews, who came on late in the second half, who clawed back first one, then a second goal in the final moments of the game to snatch victory.
She scored her first goal when she pounced on a loose, rebounding ball six minutes before full time. The level scores galvanised both teams as they each searched for a second goal, and it was Andrews who again beat the keeper to edge Newcastle ahead. They hung on to the lead through a nerve-wracking four minutes of injury time before being able to celebrate a surprise, never-say-die win.
Though there was only one goal in it, similar events unfolded in Brisbane just hours later, when Brisbane Roar hosted their furthest footballing neighbours, Perth Glory. In their first match a Perry Park since Jenna Tristram injured her knee in season one, Roar looked composed and determined, but Perth Glory more than held their own in dogged defence.
Indeed, while Roar controlled the possession, they struggled to break down the Perth defence, with the backline and the goalkeeper denying them multiple times. Lana Harch and Aivi Luik both tested the goalkeeper, but some poor clearances at the back yielded shaky moments as Perth strikers Kate Gill and Sam Kerr gave them grief.
Perth's Jaymee Gibbons left the pitch with what appeared to be a serious ankle injury after she came off second best in a tough challenge from Roar defender Brooke Spence, and Roar injected fresh legs with just 25 minutes to go in an effort to break the 0-0 deadlock.
The impact of Joanne Burgess and Lisa de Vanna was immediate, with de Vanna's pace and willingness to run at defenders proving challenging for the weary Perth defence. But they held their form and denied Roar's shots on goal, with the crowd all but certain the match would end in a goal-less draw.
The 90-minute mark came and went, with both teams pushing forward in the four minutes of injury time. And, just one minute before the final whistle, former Perth Glory player Lisa de Vanna, surged forward and beat her defenders and the goalkeeper to score and turn the match on its head.
It was a fitting goal, with de Vanna, who's working hard to put a difficult two seasons at Perth and a recent broken ankle behind her, as well as a confidence boost that she's returning to good form. It's also her second goal in two weeks with Roar, but her first at home and from open play.
In the W-League's third round four match, Melbourne recorded their first win of the season with a convincing 4-0 victory over the Lady Reds on Friday night. While Adelaide were unlucky not to score early in the first half, Melbourne's Kendall Fletcher ran onto an Ella Mastrantonio pass to score a cracking first-touch goal in the 32nd.
Melbourne edged ahead again just one minute after the break, when Caitlin Friend put one away from the edge of the box. Adelaide almost struck back at the 50-minute mark when former Melbourne Victory midfielder Katrina Gorry beat the keeper but not the post with a shot from the outside of her right boot.
A quick counter attack gave Jodie Taylor her first goal for the day and Melbourne their third (match-sealing) goal. But, not content to rest on their laurels, they went in hunt of a fourth-the benchmark number of goals Sydney have set per game so far this season. Taylor scored her second, and Melbourne's fourth, in injury time after she pounced on a poor clearance and shot ahead of her defender for an easy tap in.
Sydney retain the ladder lead despite their shock loss, but remain in catchable distance of the rest of the league, who are sure to be boosted by Newcastle's heroic win.
