Roar Women Lose W-League Lead

But it was a vibrant Adelaide with nothing to lose who drew first blood when Racheal Quigley scored through a press of bodies in the box in just the 10th minute.

It wasn't the start Roar's reserve goalkeeper Kate Stewart wanted on her first outing for the season, although arguablyRoar's defensive line wasn't as solid as it normally is. Brooke Spence has been sidelined for the season with an ankle fracture and the bulk of Roar's key players were being rested for the match.

Adelaide's second goal came less than 10 minutes later after miscommunication between two Roar players left the ball untended just outside the box and Ruth Wallace seized on and then buried it from 20 metres out.

Roar coach Jeff Hopkins subbed on experienced and solid performer Jo Burgess in the 37th in an effort to inject both some spark and stability into the clearly rattle Roar. Her impact was immediate, with Roar looking livelier and creating two solid chances.

Tameka Butt scored a much-needed goal shortly before half time when she beat three players and pulled the trigger from outside the box. Elise Kellond-Knight gave the Roar their equaliser in the 53rd after Sasha McDonnell beat the goalkeeper Sian McLaren on the line, poached the ball, and passed off. Desperate defensive work kept the ball out until McLaren scrambled back between the posts, but Kellond-Knight's near-post delivery was too good.

Roar continued to press for a third goal right up to the final whistle, with substitute Jenna Tristram alone denied three times by desperate defence. But Adelaide, who went down 6-0 to Central Coast Mariners only a week ago, held on to record a well-deserved and confidence-boosting draw.

The result means that Roar Women remain undefeated for 18 matches, but have lost the W-League lead to Central Coast.

In other matches:

Sydney entered round eight keen to cement a top-four finish, while Perth were desperate to stay in touch with the finals. Perth drew first blood, with young striker Sam Kerr impressively chipping the keeper from outside the box.

But Sydney captain Heather Garriock equalised soon after, when Sydney were awarded a penalty for some overzealous handling of Leena Khamis in the box. Khamis then scored two of her own in quick succession before Cathrin Paaske headed in Sydney's fourth in under 40 minutes.

Matildas striker Lisa De Vanna clawed the goal difference back to two when she ran onto a well-timed Katie Gill pass. Walsh and Khamis, who are both in contention for the golden boot, skewed shots over the goal, with Khamis' reaction in particular, showing her frustration at missing out on a hat-trick for the match.

Walsh make good with her second chance, though, beating two defenders and the keeper to tap in a left-footed shot to the far post. Khamis and Walsh now have five goals apiece for the season and sit equal second in the golden boot race, behind Central Coast's Michelle Heyman.

Heyman again starred for the Mariners, with her brace of goals proving the difference in a hard-fought 2-0 win over Melbourne Victory. The first goal originated in Central Coast's own six-yard box, with goalkeeper Jillian Loyden doing well to deny a Melbourne Victory corner.

Kelly Golebiowski then ran at the Melbourne defence before releasing Heyman, who notched up her ninth goal in eight games. Ashleigh Connor almost gave Central Coast a second shortly before half time but for some solid goalkeeping by Matildas goalkeeper Melissa Barbieri.

Heyman signalled that she was in the hunt for more goals in the second half, charging down Barbieri's clearance, which almost resulted in a deflected goal. Her efforts paid off just two minutes later, when she snagged a through ball, beat Barbieri, and slotted in her 10th goal for the season.

Melbourne created chances as they tried to claw back some goals, but couldn't break through the Mariners' defence. In a further blow to the team's aspirations for a top-four finish, Deanna Niceski left the park on the 75-minute mark after a heavy challenge.

Meanwhile fellow fourth-place contenders Canberra kept their finals hopes alive with a spirited 3-1 victory over Newcastle Jets in heatwave conditions.

Cian Maciejewski put Canberra ahead when she poked home a free kick from Chinese-Taipei international Shu O Tseng in the 10th before Newcastle levelled the scores with a penalty in the 55th after Canberra defender Bronwyn Studman brought down Tara Andrews in the box.

Tseng put Canberra ahead again when she fired home a shot in the 78th, and Kahlia Hogg followed with a long-range shot just two minutes later.  Central Coast Mariners now lead the table, with the final two rounds proving must-win matches for almost all the teams.

Round nine will see Central Coast will take on seventh-placed Newcastle, a newly confident Adelaide take on Sydney, Perth play Brisbane as they try to regain the lead, and Melbourne and Canberra battle it out for a top-four finish.

Westfield W-League 2009 Ladder

Westfield W-League 2009 - Leading Goal-Scorers

10 - Michelle HEYMAN

5 - Leena KHAMIS, Sarah WALSH

4 - TSENG Shu O

 3 - Ellen BEAUMONT, Courtney BEUTEL, Ellie BRUSH, Kendall FLETCHER, Cathrine PAASKE, Racheal QUIGLEY,  Lydia VANDENBERGH

 2 - Tameka BUTT, Trudy CAMILLERI, Renee CARTWRIGHT, Ashleigh CONNOR, Katrina GORRY, Lana HARCH, Elise KELLOND-KNIGHT, Cian MACIEJEWSKI, Collette MCCALLUM, Sasha McDONNELL, Ashleigh SYKES, Marianna TABAIN

 1 - Tara ANDREWS, Enza BARILLA, Tenneille BOALER, Joanne BURGESS, Catherine CANNULI, Michelle CARNEY, Alesha CLIFFORD, Hayley CRAWFORD, Lisa DE VANNA, Kelly GOLEBIOWSKI, Kahlia HOGG, Samantha KERR,Selin KURULAY, Kara MOWBRAY, Amber NEILSON, Deanna NICESKI, Clare POLKINGHORNE, Ellie RAYMOND, Julie RYDAHL, Alex SINGER, Leia SMITH, Julianne SITCH, Katie THORLAKSON, Ruth WALLACE