Melbourne City outlined their desire to play finals football with a commanding 4-0 win over the Newcastle Jets at C.B. Smith Reserve on Sunday night.
A brace to Yukari Kinga and goals to Steph Catley and new signing Hailie Mace dealt the damage, eliminating the Jets from finals contention whilst keeping their chances well and truly alight.
As could be expected from two teams clinging tightly onto slim finals hopes, the first 20 minutes were played tentatively with both sides searching for any sort of rhythm.
However the match sparked into action when Newcastle keeper Britt Eckerstrom was forced to react to palm away a driving free kick from Elise Kellond-Knight.
Melbourne were working their way into ascendancy and when Tameka Butt was floored by a clumsy challenge in the box from Cassidy Davis just after the half-hour mark, Kinga fired the hosts into a deserved lead.
Newcastle’s woes following the spot-kick strike were compounded when Catley doubled City’s lead just minutes later.
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Kellond-Knight’s looping corner flew past everyone except the Westfield Matildas defender, her unmarked header flying past Eckerstrom into the far side of the net.
It could have been worse for the Jets before half-time, the side fortunate not to concede when a Rebekah Stott attempt cannoned off of the upright after some neat play from Butt.
The story was much the same following the break, with the home side looking to drive home the result.
Only trailing by two goals following the resumption of play, the result could have varied greatly for Newcastle if Arin Wright had not strayed offside before scoring from a stunning counter-attack led by centre-back Larissa Crummer.
The mistake proved costly for the Jets when Kinga netted her second just before the hour mark, the Japanese international finishing delicately following a tidy spinning move after she received the ball facing away from goal.
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With the result all-but-sealed, more wonderful attacking football from Butt allowed new signing Mace to bundle home; the cherry that City unveiled just two days ago going on top of a dominant performance.
