A stunning first half hat-trick from Emily Gielnik has fired Melbourne Victory to an emphatic 4-1 win over Western United at the Home of the Matildas.
Bagging the opening goal after just 11 seconds, Gielnik then had two goals to her name before the 10-minute mark after forcing Western United’s Alyssa Dall’Oste into an error inside the box as the keeper’s attempted clearance cannoned off Gielnik and into the back of the net.
Western did pull a goal back through Catherine Zimmerman but Matildas striker Gielnik restored her side’s two-goal cushion before the break; racing onto a through ball and firing her shot past the advancing Dall’Oste despite the keeper’s best efforts.
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Substitute Ella O’Grady then put the game to bed late on, breaking clear of the defence and expertly slotting the ball into the far corner of the goal to seal a 4-1 win.
The referee’s whistle was still ringing in the ears of the fans in attendance at the Home of the Matildas when Gielnik’s strike rippled the back of the net after just 11 seconds.
Running onto a pass in-behind the Western defence, the freshly recalled Matildas forward slotted the ball beyond the advancing Alyssa Dall’Oste to open the scoring before either side had even broken sweat.
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Whilst commentators and officials alike sought clarification as to whether or not the Matildas forward had notched the fastest ever goal in Ninja A-League history, Gielnik was then at it again.
Eight minutes later the in-form striker had her second of the game and this one was all of her own making.
Chasing down a back-pass played to Dall’Oste, Gielnik blocked the keeper’s attempted clearance and the ball ricocheted beyond the Western number one and into the back of the net.
Now two goals down and desperately seeking a way back into the contest, Western pulled one back through former Victory forward Zimmerman.
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Finding space inside the box at a corner, Zimmerman’s headed effort was too powerful for Victory keeper Courtney Newbon to hold and it bounced into the far corner to halve the deficit.
However the home side were a constant threat going forward and with Gielnik now having scored 26 goals in her last 28 games they sensed it was only a matter of time before she completed her hat-trick.
Put through on goal by Alex Chidiac in the 41st minute, Gielnik raced towards the box and duly fired the ball beyond Dall’Oste to seal her third of the game and with it a fourth Ninja A-League hat-trick.
Nikoletta Flannery then almost got in on the goalscoring action in the second half but her effort in the 57th minute hit the post before Gielnik then saw her follow-up cleared off the line.
With Western now desperately searching for a lifeline gaps began to be exposed at the back and Victory substitute O’Grady duly put the game to bed in the 80th minute.
Capitalising on the opposition’s high defensive live, O’Grady sprinted the entire Western half before clinically dispatching the ball beyond Dall’Oste to put the icing on the cake for the home side.
The result sees Victory jump into second on the ladder after securing their second win of the campaign while Western United are now 8th place after suffering their first loss this season.
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