Katrina Gorry has inspired a Brisbane Roar fightback to secure a late 4-2 Liberty A-League win over a 10-player Melbourne Victory outfit.
A disastrous first-half own goal from Roar defender Jessie Rasschaert and a goal from Lynn Williams had given the hosts a 2-0 halftime lead at AAMI Park, only for Larissa Crummer’s capitalisation on Melissa Maizels’ 59th-minute error to halve the deficit.
Victory were then reduced to 10 players in the 69th minue after Kyra Cooney-Cross was shown a straight red card.
A long-range Gorry effort in the 86th minute and a 90th-minute goal from Shae Connors reversed the scoreline before Ayesha Norrie sealed the result in injury time.
Their first win of the season secured, the Roar move into seventh on the Liberty A-League table with the three points, while Victory slumped to their second defeat in a row.
Calamity struck for the visitors in just the fifth minute of the contest when Rasschart, placed under pressure by Mindy Barbieri, played a no-look back-pass that sailed beyond debutant keeper Mia Bailey and inside her own net.
Crummer had a chance to equalise for the visitors three minutes later after being played through by Gorry, but Maizels produced a fine one-on-one save to deny her.
Victory then made it 2-0 in a controversial fashion in the 26th minute when Williams stood tall in a pack to bundle an Amy Jackson corner goalward.Â
Mariel Hecher moved to immediately clear but referee Isabella Blaess adjudged that the ball had crossed the goal line.
Brisbane pulled one back through Crummer when she pounced on Maisels’ fumbled attempt to save a long-range Gorry shot, before taking a one-player advantage when Cooney-Cross was shown a straight red for a studs-up challenge to the ankle of Crummer 10 minutes later.
A long-range effort from Gorry with just four minutes remaining promptly tied the game up.
And then Connors turned in a cross from close-range minutes later to take the lead – Gorry once again involved in the build-up.
Norrie’s 96th-minute strike then removed all doubt.
