Adelaide United made it three wins in a row as they defeated Brisbane Roar 2-0 at Spencer Park to move up into third on the Ninja A-League ladder.
Adelaide took the lead in the 11th minute at Spencer Park and it came care of a moment of magic from Reds forward Erin Healy, who turned defender Josie Studer inside out before squaring for Emily Hodgson to convert from close range.
Freshly called into the Matildas squad for the upcoming Asian Cup, Chloe Lincoln produced an excellent save to palm away Healy’s strike from the edge of the box.
Brisbane star Bente Jansen missed a guilt-edged chance to make it 1-1 as she skewed her shot wide of the target when she should have done better.
Both benches were left holding their breath early in the second half as Adelaide’s Matilda McNamara clashed heads with Brisbane’s Daisy Brown, with the latter substituted shortly after.
The visitors continued to push for a second and Healy saw her powerful header saved by Lincoln, who was then called into action once again.
Baring down on goal, Lara Gooch found herself one on one with Lincoln and while her first effort was saved, Gooch steered the rebound towards goal at which point the retreating Angie Beard pulled off a crucial goal-saving clearance.
It mattered little though as Adelaide added the all important second goal in the 79th minute from the resulting corner; Dylan Holmes sending a deep delivery to the back post which was headed home by Ella Tonkin.
The result means the home side have gone from being top of the live ladder to now sitting eighth in the table and eight points off top spot in the space of two weeks.
As for Adelaide, the win sees them go third on the ladder after making it three wins in a row and four wins from their last five matches.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
WHAT THEY SAID
Hear from Brisbane Roar goalkeeper Chloe Lincoln, who spoke to Paramount+ after the game.
Emily Hodgson opened the scoring for Adelaide United and it was her goal that ultimately secured the win for the Reds. She spoke to Paramount+ after the game.
