Danish international Cathrin Paaske gave Sydney the lead with an impressive solo effort in the 34th, when she beat two defenders and slid the ball under goalkeeper Casey Dumont. But her hard work was cancelled out just one minute into the second half when Sydney defensive errors tipped an innocuous header past their own keeper.

Courtney Beutel should have given Roar the lead shortly afterwards, but spurned a gilt-edged one-on-one with the keeper. Lana Harch looked to have the winner in the 66th before desperate defending by Sydney captain Heather Garriock denied her.

Meanwhile nearby neighbours Canberra United recorded their first win of the season with purple-haired livewire Taiwanese international Shu O Tseng scoring a double. The first goal came in just the 27th minute, when a perfectly placed through ball by Emily van Egmond positioned O Tseng one-on-one with the keeper, while the second came in the 48th when she beat both the keeper and a defender to an overhead pass and pulled the trigger.

Further up the eastern seaboard, Central Coast Mariners posted a definitive 5-1 win over local derby rivals Newcastle Jets in Newcastle. It took Lydia Vandenbergh just five minutes to find the back of the net with a clinical finish, before Michelle Heyman scored two goals within five minutes to give the Central Coast a 3-0 lead heading into the break.

A reshuffled and resurgent Newcastle emerged from the sheds intent on staging come back, but a penalty in the 63rd for a heavy challenge on Heyman dashed their hopes. Substitute Trudy Camilleri scored the Central Coast's fifth goal when she connected with the ball in a crowded penalty area.

Down but not out, Newcastle scored a consolation goal-and their first of the season-shortly before full time when 15-year-old Tara Andrews headed in the rebounds from a shot that careered off the crossbar. Heyman now leads W-League goalscoring tally, with four goals, with Canberra's O Tseng close behind on three.

Further south and west, Perth substitute Sam Kerr proved troublesome for the Adelaide United defence, with the 1-0 scoreline belying the Hindmarsh Stadium game's intensity. Both Perth and Adelaide peppered the goals with shots and, despite Kerr, who'd subbed on for speedy Lisa de Vanna, causing the Adelaide defence grief and forcing goalkeeper Sian McLaren into reflexive point-blank saves, it was American international Alex Singer who scored the match's sole goal in the 47th. In a bizarre twist, referee Jacqui Melksham was substituted shortly after half time after an ankle injury she sustained in the warm up made it impossible to continue.

Round five pitches Melbourne against Newcastle, Central Coast against Canberra, Brisbane against the steadily climbing Perth, and Sydney against Adelaide in match outcomes that are sure to see shuffling on the ladder.

Westfield W-League 2009 Ladder

Team

P

W

D

L

F

A

GD

Pts

1

Brisbane Roar W-League

4

3

1

0

6

1

5

10

2

Central Coast Mariners W-League

4

3

0

1

10

3

7

9

3

Perth Glory W-League

4

2

1

1

4

4

0

7

4

Sydney FC W-League

4

2

1

1

5

5

0

7

5

Melbourne Victory W-League

4

2

0

2

4

3

1

6

6

Canberra United W-League

4

1

1

2

5

7

-2

4

7

Adelaide United W-League

4

0

1

3

0

5

-5

1

8

Newcastle Jets W-League

4

0

1

3

1

7

-6

1

Westfield W-League 2009 - Leading Goal-Scorers

4 - Michelle HEYMAN.

3 - TSENG Shu O.

2 - Courtney BEUTEL, Trudy CAMILLERI, Collette MCCALLUM, Catherine PAASKE, Sarah WALSH

1 - Tara ANDREWS, Enza BARILLA, Ellen BEAUMONT, Ellie BRUSH, Tameka BUTT, Ashleigh CONNOR, Kendall FLETCHER, Kelly GOLEBIOWSKI, Katrina GORRY, Leena KHAMIS, Selin KURULAY, Sasha McDONNELL, Marianna TABAIN, Katie THORLAKSON, Ashleigh SYKES , Alex SINGER, Lydia VANDENBERGH