Roar Women consolidated their W-League lead in a hard-fought grand final rematch against a depleted but tenacious Canberra United at the ACT's McKellar Park. Canberra were without the services of Emily van Egmond (AFC U16 Women's Championships), Ellyse Perry (cricket commitments), and Lin (knee reconstruction), while captain Ellie Brush took to the pitch despite having suffered a nasty ankle injury in round five.

It was difficult to tell, though, with in-form Canberra keen to stay in touch with the top four and testing Roar from first to final whistle. In fact, the match result did not reflect the on-pitch effort. Having already tested the keeper once, Jo Burgess gave Roar their first goal just six minutes in, when goalkeeper Lydia Williams stumbled while back peddling to save the shot.

The one goal was the difference at half time, despite both teams pressing forward and forcing the defence and goalkeepers into saves. An unmarked Cian Maciejewski, whose dog had passed away the night before and who was unsure if she was feeling up to playing as a result, gave Canberra their equaliser in the 58th. But Canberra couldn't find a second, match-sealing goal so it was Roar Women's Elise Kellond-Knight's shot to the top right corner in the 74th that edged them out of one of the most closely fought W-League matches to date.

Meanwhile goal-starved and seventh- and eighth-placed Adelaide United and Newcastle Jets finally found the back of the net and shared the spoils with a confidence-boosting three goals apiece. Newcastle's Leia Smith opened the scoring in the 19th minute, before Tenneille Boaler and Rachel Quigley slotted in Adelaide's first two goals of the season and gave them a half-time 2-1 lead. Their third goal came courtesy of a penalty in the 54th, when Stacey Day was awarded a yellow for obstruction while defending an Adelaide corner.

Not to be outdone, Newcastle scrambled to score their second goal just before the hour and their third in the 79th. Both teams pushed for a winner, forcing the goalkeepers into saves and hitting the woodwork right up until the final whistle, but were happy to have scored goals and grabbed a point each.

In other matches:

Sydney secured a 1-1 last-gasp draw against traditional interstate rivals Melbourne when Maika Ruyter-Hooley snicked an own goal in the 94th. It was Melbourne's second consecutive stoppage-time drama, with Deanna Niceski scoring a late winner for them in round five. This time around, though, the result didn't go their way and Sydney and Melbourne occupy third and fourth on the ladder, separated by just one point.

Second-placed and solidly-performing Central Coast proved too strong for Perth, with American import Lydia Vandenbergh and current lead goalscorer Michelle Heyman scoring goals in the 20th and 53rd respectively before Marianna Tabain clawed a consolation goal back for Perth in the 63rd. Having lost just one match-to incumbent champions the Roar-the Central Coast sit just three points behind them and Heyman continues to lead the golden boot competition after chalking up five goals in six games.

Round seven will see Adelaide, having got a taste for it, aim to score some goals against Central Coast, Sydney host intrastate rivals Newcastle, Canberra take on Perth, and Melbourne hope to avoid last-gasp action and instead topple Roar.

Westfield W-League 2009 Ladder

Westfield W-League 2009 - LeadingGoal-Scorers

5 - Michelle HEYMAN

4 - Sarah WALSH

3 - Ellen BEAUMONT, Courtney BEUTEL, TSENG Shu O

2 - Ellie BRUSH, Trudy CAMILLERI, Renee CARTWRIGHT, Kendall FLETCHER, Katrina GORRY, Lana HARCH, Leena KHAMIS, Collette MCCALLUM, Sasha McDONNELL, Catherine PAASKE, Racheal QUIGLEY, Marianna TABAIN, Lydia VANDENBERGH

1 - Tara ANDREWS, Enza BARILLA, Tenneille BOALER, Joanne BURGESS, Tameka BUTT, Catherine CANNULI, Michelle CARNEY, Alesha CLIFFORD, Ashleigh CONNOR, Hayley CRAWFORD, Kelly GOLEBIOWSKI, Elise KELLOND-KNIGHT,Selin KURULAY, Cian MACIEJEWSKI, Deanna NICESKI, Ashleigh SYKES , Alex SINGER, Leia SMITH, Julianne SITCH, Katie THORLAKSON