Brisbane’s prized offseason recruit and former Perth star Lisa De Vanna turned villain against her former team, bursting through the Glory’s backline and converting clinically with the last kick of the match to help the Roar to a 1-0 win at Perry Park in the W-League on Saturday.
The last-gasp goal ensured third-placed Brisbane would take the full three points in an otherwise dour match devoid of many clear-cut chances on goal.
Both teams began the match cautiously; the third-placed Roar kept very narrow in attack and struggled to break through Perth’s congested backline.
It took only five minutes for Elise Kellond-Knight to find space out wide though, and Brisbane were very nearly rewarded for it.
The left winger’s cross was only partially cleared, and midfielder Brooke Spence latched onto the loose ball that trickled invitingly out to the edge of the penalty area, forcing a strong save from Glory keeper Tine Cederkvist.
Meanwhile the Roar’s backline looked secure in the opening stages, despite a wayward back pass by centre-back Karla Reuter that forced a brave clearance by goalkeeper Casey Dumont in the ninth minute.
The home side began to assert its dominance as the half progressed, once again finding space down the flank for their best chance of the match so far.
Tameka Butt showed great pace in beating Perth defender Carys Hawkins before chipping a delightful ball into the middle of the area.
Roar captain Clare Polkinghorne met the cross with a strong header which beat Glory keeper Tine Cederkvist but flashed just beyond the far post.
Brisbane once again came close in the 45th minute, when Tameka Butt caught Glory midfielder Elisa D’Ovidio in possession and surged forward, however Perth’s backline recovered quickly to block forward Amy Chapman’s left-footed shot from 20 metres out.
A tough fifty-fifty challenge between Polkinghorne and the Glory’s Jaymee Gibbons resulted in a brief stoppage of play in the 51st minute. The collision left both players reeling, and while the Roar captain escaped with a minor knock, Gibbons was stretchered off the field with a left leg injury and in visible agony.
The Roar further ratcheted up the pressure in the 60th minute. Tameka Butt again provided the spark, showing good ball-control to glide in behind Hawkins on the right wing and drive a cross to the energetic Kellond-Knight, whose backheel flick was saved comfortably by Cederkvist.
The final ball was again missing for the home side in the 75th minute, when Butt made an incisive run to latch onto a Kellond-Knight through-ball, but couldn’t pick out an orange jersey with her centring pass.
Burgess was next in the line of Roar players to pepper Cederkvist’s goal, this time with a long-range effort that the Glory shot-stopper did well to collect just inside her left post.
In a rare attacking forage with ten minutes remaining, Perth striker Samantha Kerr outran Roar defender Karla Reuter for a clear shot on goal only to be thwarted by goalkeeper Casey Dumont. Two minutes later, Kerr again slid past the Roar backline, but with only the keeper to beat, she pushed her shot just wide of Dumont’s right post.
But it was 65th minute substitute de Vanna who emerged as heroin for the Roar in the last minute of injury time.
The Matilda coolly slipped in behind Perth’s backline, before controlling and driving a shot into the left corner of Cederkvist’s net to deliver the hammer blow to her former Glory teammates and assure victory for the home side.
Roar coach Jeff Hopkins was not satisfied with his side’s overall effort, but praised the fighting spirit with which they finished the match.
“The qualities we normally bring to the game, dynamic quality and that little bit of spark we didn’t really have today,” he said.
“To finish the game the way that we did – Lisa’s always likely to do that kind of thing – was some consolation.”
“For her to do that against her old club was tremendous.”
Brisbane Roar 1 (De Vanna 90-+3)
Perth Glory 0
