A brace from Courtney Beutel and a dominant performance from Tameka Butt have helped Brisbane Roar kick off their Westfield W-League title defence with a commanding 3-0 victory over Canberra United at Ballymore Stadium on Saturday.
The Roar were regularly tested early in a sprightly rematch of last season’s inaugural Grand Final, but took control of the game midway through the second half when they slotted two goals in the space of five minutes.
Brisbane held a 1-0 lead at half-time courtesy of Beutel’s header in the 32nd minute, before Butt – who earlier looped in a pinpoint cross for the opening goal – started the rout in the 63rd minute.
Substitute Ellen Beaumont made her first touch for the day count, beating two defenders and providing a slick ball in to Butt, who in turn finished clinically from the box.
The Matildas representative appeared to pull up sore after the sweet strike, and was brought off by Roar coach Jeff Hopkins in the 67th minute.
It did not stop the surge of goals though, Canberra keeper Lydia Williams was forced to collect the ball from her net for a third time, with Beutel leaping high once more to nod home the sealer – much to the delight of the 1174-strong crowd.
Butt suggested Brisbane was keen to prove that its impeccable effort last season, when the side lost just one game, was no fluke.
“Today we really wanted to come out and prove a point, so we were ready to step up,” Butt said.
“(We wanted to) come back and show we can do it a second time around. Prove we’re not just a one-season glory team.”
“It was a good start … to win 3-0 is always a good thing and I think the girls really deserved it today.”
The match started at a fast tempo and chances fell to both sides early.
United’s Asheligh Sykes and Ellyse Perry regularly found space amongst the Roar’s defence, while Roar captain Clare Polkinghorne and Elise Kellond-Knight went within inches of the woodwork with a couple of impressive dead-ball attempts.
Beutel will look back on the game with a certain amount of frustration after she was denied a hat-trick due to a hand-ball ruling from referee Sara Hodson in the dying stages of the first stanza.
Beutel charged down an attempted clearance from Williams and found the back of the net, but Hodson – after consulting with her assistants – ruled the ball had deflected off her arm.
In the end, it mattered little.
Brisbane Roar 3 (Butt 63′, Beutel 32′, 68′)
Canberra United 0
