Rhali Dobson may not be the most household of names but the Melbourne City winger is more than proving her worth in a Championship-winning squad.
The 26-year old made the move south last year after spending the entirety of her Westfield W-League career with local side Newcastle Jets.
Heading into her side’s Round 8 match-up with Canberra United with two assists, Dobson delivered a superb brace as City swept aside Canberra 3-0 to put themselves firmly back in the finals race.
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A SENSATIONAL strike from Rhali Dobson. #WLeague #MCYvCBR
? @FOXFOOTBALL pic.twitter.com/bOqLeHV6Pm— Westfield W-League (@WLeague) December 22, 2018
Dobson, who won a sole cap for the Westfield Matildas back in 2014, opened the scoring at AAMI Park with a well-timed header before sending the crowd into raptures with a stunning second during first-half injury time.
Dobson cut inside from the right flank and left her defender for dead before unleashing a curling effort that found its way into the top left corner.
Her dominant performance was matched by her side who were three goals up by half-time as Canberra were left shell-shocked heading into the sheds.
They evened things up slightly after the break but the final stats told the story of City’s attacking dominance.
City flooded Canberra’s defence in the opening stanza and ended up recording 12 of their 15 shots inside the penalty area as the visitors struggled to contain the defending Champions.
United were on the back foot right from the start and were forced to commit twice as many fouls as City with 14 challenges drawing the referee’s ire.
These teams met in Round 1 in Canberra and United’s 2-0 win set the tone for each side’s start to their Westfield W-League campaigns.
Since then the tables have turned and as City slowly climb the table towards those coveted finals positions, Canberra have dropped out of the top four.
Despite being well beaten on the scoreboard Heather Garriock has reasons to be optimistic, this City side are chasing their fourth straight Championship for a reason and they can dismantle anyone on their day.
United also put in a solid second half showing, largely matching City for chances created and should head into their crucial clash with Brisbane Roar at McKellar Park confident of getting a result.
Meanwhile the Melbourne City juggernaut rolls on and, based on today’s performance, will take some stopping as they look to create further history.
