Adelaide United have closed to within four points of league leaders Melbourne City after a come-from-behind 3-1 win over Brisbane Roar on Sunday afternoon.
Brisbane took a second-half lead through Mariel Hecher but from then on Adelaide had all the momentum at Coopers Stadium. Star forward Fiona Worts came off the bench for her first appearance since a quad injury suffered in early March and scored two goals to put her side on top, before Chelsie Dawber put the comeback result beyond doubt with a late penalty.
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Worts’ first goal on her injury return came less than two minutes after her arrival off the bench in a managerial masterstroke from Reds boss Adrian Stenta; her second goal of the game moved Worts up to nine goals for the season, three shy of current Golden Boot leader Emily Gielnik.
For Brisbane, defeat in Adelaide could prove costly with their spot in the top six far from secure with three rounds to play. Sixth-placed Roar are on 25 points; with Canberra United, Wellington Phoenix and Perth Glory all within three points of the Queenslanders, the fight for the final spot in the top six looks set to run down to the wire in a dramatic end to the 2024-25 regular season.
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The best of the first-half chances belonged to Brisbane as the visitors tried their best to take the lead – but to no avail.
Mariel Hecher fired just wide of the bottom-left corner early in the game before Adelaide keeper Claudia Jenkins prevented Alicia Wodds from finding the back of the net with a superb volleyed effort.
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From the resulting corner, Momo Hayashi floated a cross to Chelsea Blissett and the Roar defender, on return from injury, hit the crossbar with a powerful header.
Adelaide were fortunate to get to half-time on level terms as Brisbane failed to capitalise on their chance creation.
Less than five minutes into the second half, Adelaide produced their best attacking move of the game.
Emily Hodgson found Nanako Sasaki on the edge of the box and her first-time pass into the box was sublime; Chelsie Dawber ran onto the ball and attempted to place her shot into the bottom-right corner but Roar keeper Keeley Richards closed the angle to make a big save.
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Just two minutes after Dawber’s big moment, a mix-up in defence led to Brisbane taking the lead through Brazilian forward Hecher.
Reds keeper Jenkins and centre-back teammate Ella Tonkin attempted to play the ball out from the back but the pressure from the Roar attack led to a cheap turnover of possession, and Hecher’s clinical finish.
Trailing 1-0 at home and in need of a response, Adelaide head coach Adrian Stenta turned to his bench where star attacking duo Fiona Worts and Erin Healy were sat in wait.
Back in the squad for the first time since a quad injury suffered in early March, Worts was a looming threat on Adelaide’s bench and, after her injection into the contest alongside fellow substitute Healy, took just two minutes to score her eighth goal of the season and equalise at Coopers Stadium.
With five minutes of regular time to play, it looked as though the game would end level at 1-1 before a dose of late drama swung the contest into Adelaide’s favour.
Worts put the hosts ahead with her second goal off the bench and it was Brisbane’s inability to deal with a hopeful long ball delivered into the box by Dylan Holmes that led to Adelaide’s go-ahead goal.
Worts gambled on a mistake at the back and the gamble paid off as she latched onto the ball after one bounce to finish past Richards and put Adelaide on top.
Dawber ensured Adelaide took all three points from the Round 20 contest with a 90th-minute penalty, buried into the bottom right corner with authority.
