Canberra United have maintained their unbeaten start to the Westfield W-League season, claiming a hard-earned 1-0 victory over the Newcastle Jets at EnergyAustralia Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
A well taken goal by the competition’s leading goalscorer, Michelle Heyman, was the difference in the end, as the striker claimed her sixth goal of the campaign.
The valiant Jets did not concede defeat easily, pushing United until the final whistle, but the home side ultimately lacked the killer touch in front of goal.
The first half hour of the contest was a see-saw battle, with both teams looking to assert their dominance and dictate the tempo of the game. The Jets looked to press high up the pitch, whilst the visitors waited for their opportunity to hit quickly on the counter attack.
Indeed, Canberra would make the most of such an occasion on 36 minutes, when attacking midfielder Emily van Egmond found space in the middle of the park and released Heyman in behind the Jets’ defence. The slick striker had too much pace for Jets skipper Thea Slatyer, and finished with aplomb, sliding the ball under onrushing goalkeeper Allison Lipsher.
The same combination of van Egmond and Heyman almost doubled Canberra’s advantage just four minutes later, but this time the former Central Coast Mariner got her shot all wrong, spraying the strike well wide of the target when one-on-one with Lipsher.
Desperate to restore parity before the half-time interval, the home side mobilised numbers forward in attack and almost got their reward through Kara Mowbray and Nicole Cross. The pair both had shots saved by Canberra custodian Lydia Williams late on in the opening stanza.
In the end, the equaliser would not eventuate in what became an increasingly scrappy second half of football.
The Jets, though, did cause a stir in the 77th minute when Hannah Brewer picked up a square ball from former United striker Sasha McDonnell just outside the area. The right-back’s looping strike sailed over Williams and agonisingly over the bar before nestling on the roof of the net.
It would prove to be the best chance of the half, as Canberra picked up their third win of the season to move to 11 competition points. The Jets, meanwhile, remain in fifth spot on the ladder on six points.
Newcastle Jets 0
Canberra United 1 (Heyman 36)
Crowd: 349 at EnergyAustralia Stadium
