Perth Glory dealt Sydney FC’s Westfield W-League finals ambitions a blow in scoring a shock 1-0 win at Parramatta Stadium.
The Glory were largely outplayed throughout the match before teenager Marianna Tabain grabbed the winner on 65 minutes against the run of play.
Perth, which was without the services of dynamic striker Lisa De Vanna, was still able to cause the Sydneysiders plenty of difficulties as the match opened up in the latter stages.
The opening stanza saw Sydney create numerous half chances in scorching conditions with Leena Khamis and Danielle Small both seeing their efforts saved by Luisa Marzotto.
Nicola Bolger shot narrowly wide and Kylie Ledbrook hit the side netting as Sydney continued the one-way traffic.
Perth battled gamely but struggled for fluency going forward with its only notable moment of the first half coming from Collette McCallum firing wide from distance.
The second half was a similar story until the goal with Tabain pouncing on a Sydney defensive error to grab the winner.
The Glory had claims for a penalty when Sam Kerr burst into the area but the referee deemed the challenge of Alesha Clifford to be fair.
Playmaker McCallum set up Kerr again soon after but the midfielder mishit what was a good scoring opportunity as the match opened up at each end of the field.
The home side appeared to have evened the ledger in the final minutes through Joanne Burgess only to hear the whistle blow for an earlier infringement.
Burgess provided fresh impetus for Sydney after taking the field on the hour mark following several weeks of absence with injury.
The Sky Blues were also well served by former Matilda Kelly Golebiowski playing her first game at this level after several years’ absence from the top flight.
However the Glory were not to be denied in claiming just their second win of the season, while Sydney now has just one win from its last six outings.
“It was a very competitive game, we managed to hang in there at the end after taking the lead,” said Glory coach Nicola Williams.
“The game was very even. We played really well, but it was just a matter of grinding it out at the end to hold onto the points.”
“The team are very happy, the spirit and bond between the girls is very strong at the moment and the win has drawn them together even closer. They had the carrot dangled in front of them today and they took it which was very pleasing.”
Match Details
Sydney FC 0
Perth Glory 1 (Marianna Tabain 64-)
Parramatta Stadium, Parramatta
Attendance: 300
Saturday 13 December 2008
Referee: Sara Hodson
Assistant Referees: Sarah Ho, Peta McCallum
Fourth Official: Amelia Morris
Sydney FC line-up: 20.Nikola DEITER (gk), 3.Danielle BROGAN, 4.Alesha CLIFFORD, 5.Lisa GILBERT (c), 6.Servet UZUNLAR (8.Jo BURGESS 61-), 10.Kylie LEDBROOK, 17.Danielle SMALL, 18.Nicola BOLGER (16.Linda O-NEILL 55-), 19.Leena KHAMIS, 21.Jordan MARSH, 22.Kelly GOLEBIOWSKI
Substitutes not used: 1.Rachel COOPER (gk), 14.Maggie ELHUSSEINI
Yellow cards: Linda O-Neill 69-
Red Cards: Nil
Perth Glory line-up: 30.Luisa MARZOTTO (gk), 2.Stacey LEARMONT, 3.Carys HAWKINS (9.Katy COGHLAN 73-), 4.Sam KERR, 7.Ciara CONWAY (5.Shannon MAY 25-), 8.Tanya OXTOBY (c), 10.Ella MASTRANTONIO, 12.Dani CALAUTTI, 13.Elisa D-OVIDIO (6.Katarina JUKIC 80-), 14.Collette McCALLUM, 17.Marianna TABAIN
Substitutes not used: Nil
Yellow cards: Collette McCallum 93-
Red Cards: Nil
