Adelaide United have booked a place in the Liberty A-League finals series for the first time in the club’s history with an impressive 3-0 win over Melbourne Victory at Coopers Stadium.
REACTION: ‘Together love always wins’: Pictures tell the story of a monumental day in Oz football
Fona Worts starred for United, bagging a hat-trick, with Saturday’s win moving the Reds into second place on the ladder. They are level on points with Melbourne City but ahead on goal difference, with City having a game in hand.
United coach Adrian Stenta said ensuring a maiden final campaign was a huge achievement.
“It means a lot for the club and it means a lot for the players, especially the players who have been here for a long period of time,” he said.
“There’s been a lot of people who have put in a lot of work over the years at the club.”
Victory are in fourth place but coach Jeff Hopkins lamented a sub-par effort from his side.
“Again another tired performance from us,” he said.
“I think you can tell in the quality of the goals we gave away in the first half.”
Victory had the first chance on seven minutes when Catherine Zimmerman headed a Kyra Cooney-Cross free kick just wide.
Despite the Victory enjoying more possession, it was the hosts who broke the deadlock on 18 minutes through Worts.
Chelsie Dawber whipped in a cross from wide on the right and, with Worts seemingly the least likely to meet the cross, she skipped ahead of two defenders and turned the ball towards goal.
The initial effort was thwarted, but the English striker reacted quickest and picked out the bottom corner from close range.
Adelaide doubled their lead in the 25th minute as Worts bagged her second goal for the match and 12th for the season.
The nicely-crafted move was started by Shadeene Evans who squared the ball across the area for Reona Omiya, who was dispossessed, but storming through was Emily Hodgson.
The fullback slipped a through ball for Worts whose first shot was saved by Victory keeper Casey Dumont, but she made no mistake with her second effort, slamming the rebound into the back of the net.
Victory had two attempts to pull a goal back in added time. A corner from each side found Brooke Hendrix at the back post on both occasions, but Reds keeper Annalee Grove was equal to the task, tipping both headers over the bar.
Seconds later, Adelaide had a third with Worts completing her treble.
A long ball down the wing from Isabel Hodgson found Dawber who supplied the perfect cutback for Worts who turned her first-time shot into the back of the net.
Victory keeper Dumont was stretchered from the field on the stroke of fulltime. With no substitutes remaining, Maja Markovski donned the gloves for the final moments.
Re-live: Reds v Victory as it unfolded
By Matt Comito for KEEPUP
FULL-TIME: ADELAIDE UNITED 3-0 MELBOURNE VICTORY
The Reds are finals bound, for the first time in club history.
An incredible feat was notched off the back of a Fiona Worts hat-tricks which sent the Reds forward three goals clear in the Golden Boot race on a special afternoon at Coopers Stadium.
GOAL! Worts hat-trick sealed seconds into the second half (5.58pm AEDT)
A lightning start to the second half gets Worts her third goal of the match within 20 seconds of kick-off.
It took four passes for the Reds to scythe the visitors apart down the right flank, with Worts arriving in the danger area to sweep the ball home, stunning Victory and carving out a three-goal lead at the top of the Golden Boot standings.
Paramount+ co-commentator Amy Chapman posed the question in the aftermath of Worts’ third goal: “Is there a better finisher in the game right now? Is there a better player in the league right now?
“It would be hard to argue (otherwise).”
GOAL! Worts on the double in red-hot start (5.17pm AEDT)
She simply cannot stop scoring.
Fiona Worts has her brace with less than 30 minutes on the clock, after a turnover from Emily Hodgson high up the field which sparked the home side into action.
Hodgson slid the ball into the box and Brooke Hendrix failed to take Worts out of the play; instead the Reds forward slipped into space to get a shot on goal. Casey Dumont saved the initial strike but Worts got back to her feet to convert from the tight angle.
GOAL! Worts leads golden boot race – and Reds lead the game (5.09pm AEDT)
The Reds hit the front early through Fiona Worts’ 11th goal of the season, set up by Golden Boot rival Chelsie Dawber with a drilled low cross from the right flank.
Worts took a deft first touch to take Tiffany Eliadis out of the equation, beating Polly Doran to possession of the ball before tucking it away from close range.
KICK-OFF (4.55pm AEDT)
Perfect conditions for football at Coopers Stadium, with flares released displaying the colours of the rainbow flag behind Adelaide’s defensive goal.
The Reds are looking to book a maiden Liberty A-League finals appearance, with two Golden Boot leaders on the park in a battle between third and fourth to savour.
PRE-MATCH
The stakes are raised at Coopers Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
It’s Adelaide (third) against Victory (fourth) in a blockbuster game with serious top-four implications in the home side’s ‘Pride Game’ event encouraging inclusivity in football.
Adelaide can confirm a spot in the finals with a win over Victory – a feat the club has never achieved in the A-League Women’s. The loser of this game will remain within touching distance of Perth Glory in fifth – a similar story for both teams if points are shared.
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