Canberra United has guaranteed itself a berth in this season’s Westfield W-League finals series after scoring a dramatic last-gasp 3-2 win over Melbourne Victory at McKellar Park in Canberra on Saturday night.
A 90th-minute winner by Amy Chapman sunk Melbourne, which had twice come back from a goal behind.
It was a thrilling finish to a match which saw four goals scored in the final eight minutes.
Canberra edged ahead in the 35th minute when Ellie Brush scored.
Up until the final eight minutes it seemed that would be the difference between the two sides.
But an equaliser by Sarah Groenewald in the 82nd minute sparked an exciting chain of events.
Canberra hit the front a minute later Kara Mowbray but just as the home crowd was dreaming of taking all three points, Marlies Oostdam silenced the locals almost immediately.
The points were destined to be shared before Chapman’s goal gave the match the climax it deserved.
The win has lifted Canberra to third on the table with 15 points, three clear of Melbourne – which is locked in a four-way battle to claim fourth position.
Also in the hunt for fourth position are Central Coast, whom Melbourne plays next Saturday afternoon at Parramatta Stadium, Sydney and Perth.
Sydney plays Adelaide United at Parramatta Stadium immediately after Melbourne’s match finishes.
Perth hosts Newcastle at Members Equity Stadium on Sunday but needs other results to fall its way to steal fourth.
Match Details
Canberra United 3 (Ellie BRUSH 35-, Kara MOWBRAY 83-, Amy CHAPMAN 93-)
Melbourne Victory 2 (Sarah GROENEWALD 82-, Marlies OOSTDAM 85-)
Saturday 20 December
McKellar Park, Cnr William Slim & Owen Dixon Drives, McKellar ACT
Local kick off 6.00pm AEDT
Referee: Lee Corey
Assistant Referees: Brett Woodford, Peta McCallum
Fourth Official: Allyson Flynn
Canberra United line up: 1.Lydia WILLIAMS (gk), 2.Rhian DAVIES (4.Bronwyn STUDMAN 62-), 3.Amy CHAPMAN, 5.Sasha MCDONNELL (14.Ashleigh SYKES 72-), 6.Caitlin MUNOZ, 7.Ellie BRUSH, 8.Rebecca KITING, 10.Hayley CRAWFORD, 11.Cian MACIEJEWSKI, 12.Kara MOWBRAY, 13.Thea SLATYER
Substitutes not used: 19.Jennifer BISSET, 20.Maja BLASCH (gk).
Yellow cards: Rhian DAVIES 37-, Amy CHAPMAN 75-.
Red Cards: Nil.
Melbourne Victory line up: 1.Melissa BARBIERI (gk), 2.Meghan ARCHER, 3.Marlies OOSTDAM, 4.Tal KARP (c), 5.Laura ALLEWAY, 6.Maika RUYTER-HOOLEY, 9.Rebecca TEGG (7.Sarah GROENEWALD 52-), 11.Brittany TIMKO, 12.Sophie HOGBEN (21.Sarah RICHARDSON 62- (10.Stephanie TANTI 88-)), 14.Selin KURALAY, 15.Daniela DIGIAMMARCO,
Substitutes not used: 20.Nicole PAUL (gk).
Yellow cards: Meghan ARCHER 22-.
Red Cards: Nil.
