Sydney FC remains the only unbeaten team in the Westfield W-League after an interesting second round.
Results – Round 2
ADELAIDE UNITED 3 beat Newcastle Jets 2
Queensland Roar 0 lost CANBERRA UNITED 1
SYDNEY FC 2 beat Melbourne Victory 1
CENTRAL COAST MARINERS 3 beat Perth Glory 1
Game Wraps
Sandra Scalzi recorded the first ever hat-trick in the Westfield W-League, as Adelaide United won a hard fought match against Newcastle Jets 3-2 at Hindmarsh Stadium. Scalzi opened the scoring in the 11th minute to score from close range, only for former Adelaide girl Stacey Day to level it up before the break. Two goals in five minutes by Scalzi straight after half time had the home side flying. Newcastle however came storming back in the final 20 minutes, but were unable to convert their pressure until the 89th minute when captain Cheryl Salisbury scored. The Jets they had secured a point in injury time when Leia Smith scored, but her goal was ruled away for offside.
Canberra United pulled off the biggest upset of the weekend, with a terrific 1-0 win over competition favourites Queensland Roar at Perry Park in Brisbane. Without several key players including Westfield Matilda Caitlin Munoz, Canberra looked to have little chance, but they battled hard right throughout and came away with a deserved result. The only goal came after just 16 minutes, when a defensive mix-up by Roar-s Lara Boon, when she came out and completely missed a ball outside the box and Kara Mowbray has the easiest of tasks to take the ball into the penalty area and place the ball into the empty net. Queensland had several chances to equalise, but poor shooting; excellent keeping by Lydia Williams and solid defensive work, kept them at bay.
The first of a double-header at Parramatta Stadium, saw Sydney FC come from behind to defeat Melbourne Victory 2-1. In the end, Sydney-s experience and quality proved too good for Melbourne, who fought hard from the start. Sydney dominated proceedings in the first half, but somehow found themselves down a goal, totally against the run of play, when Sarah Groenewald made a great run and her shot gave Rachel Cooper no chance. Sydney continued to pile on the pressure, but was finding it difficult to shots on target. That all changed ten minutes after the break, when Nicole Bolger forced the ball home after a series of shots were blocked following a corner. Leena Khamis went close to giving Sydney the lead when she hit the post, but her efforts were rewarded with eight minutes remaining, when she was able to beat Matildas No.1 Melissa Barbieri. The drama however didn-t stop there with Melbourne awarded a penalty a minute from the end, after Cooper fouled Rebecca Tegg, but the young keeper redeemed herself by palming away Marlies Oostdam-s penalty kick.
A double strike from Westfield Matilda Renee Rollason has secured all three points for Central Coast Mariners in the second match of the double-header at Parramatta Stadium. All the goals came in the second half with three of them in the final 10 minutes to set up and exciting finish. Glory thought they had a first half lead, when Ciara Conway bundled the ball home, but were denied by the offside flag. The deadlock was broken by the Mariners Trudy Camilleri in the 69th minute when she forced home from close range. Rollason grabbed her first goal in bizarre circumstances, her low corner somehow creeping inside the near post. Within a minute, Glory hit back when Danielle Calautti scored, but Rollason made sure of the points for the Mariners when she converted from the penalty spot after a handball in the box.
Weekend Goals Tally: 13
Card Count: 8 yellows – 0 reds
Leading Goalscorers
3 – Leena Khamis (SFC), Sandra Scalzi (AU)
2 – Lana Harch (QR), Kate Gill (NJ), Renee Rollason (CCM)
1 – Danielle Small (SFC), Heather Garriock (SFC), Nicole Bolger (SFC), Rebecca Tegg (MV), Marlies Oostdam (MV), Sarah Groenewald (MV), Lauren Colthorpe (QR), Alicia Ferguson (QR), Sharon Black (AU), Sasha McDonnell (CU), Kara Mowbray (CU), Stacey Day (NJ), Cheryl Salisbury (NJ), Trudy Camilleri (CCM), Danielle Calautti (PG)
