The final four of the Westfield W-League is still undecided after Perth Glory and Melbourne Victory drew 1-1 in a thrilling display of desperation by both teams at 6PR Stadium on Sunday night.
Perth and Melbourne had the hope of securing a spot in the finals if they won the match and their desire showed as they put up a fight to help their chances to gain the three points.
In the Glory’s last home game of the season they lead the Victory 1-0 at half-time thanks to a sneaky goal by Elisa D’Ovidio, but early in the second half, Stephanie Catley levelled the contest and the visitors will be disappointed not to grab all three points after they missed a late penalty.
Glory star Samantha Kerr had difficulty finding her team-mates at times in the first half and when Collette McCallum passed to Kerr the strong Victory pressure forced her header over the net.
Melbourne’s Stephanie Catley ran well down the pitch, but Alexandra Singer was never far away forcing Catley’s hard work out of bounds.
The match sprung to life in the 35th minute when Kerr hit the post with a goal-bound effort and before the ball could roll into the net Melbourne’s keeper Melissa Barbieri dove in to save the goal
Perth didn’t give up and four minutes later D’Ovidio found a gap in the Victory defence to open the scoring and give the Glory a 1-0 lead at half time.
Melbourne came out slightly more switched on than the home side in the second half. Quick thinking team work got the ball to Catley who managed to get the ball passed Perth’s keeper Tine Cederkvist and tie up the match.
The goal kicked the Glory back into gear as they tried for shots at goal, but near misses didn’t help their scoreline. Melbourne’s Ursula Hughson kept trying to force her way through to the goals to get the lead, but McCallum and Carys Hawkins stepped up their defensive pressure and limited their shots at goal.
Kerr had another opportunity in the final 10 minutes, but the Victory defence stepped in to prevent her chance. Perth’s desperation was evident when D’Ovidio was given a yellow card at the 89th minute for dissent, but Melbourne couldn’t convert their penalty shot into a goal.
Perth Glory 1 (D’Ovidio 39′)
Melbourne Victory 1 (Catley 47′)
