A 95th-minute winner from Ashley Spina has given Brisbane Roar a dramatic 3-2 win over Melbourne Victory in Round 6 of the Westfield W-League.
A 95th-minute winner from Ashley Spina has given Brisbane Roar a dramatic 3-2 win over Melbourne Victory in Round 6 of the Westfield W-League.
Melbourne twice clawed back to draw level with the Roar in an entertaining encounter at Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre before Spina’s left-footed curler in the last minute of stoppage time sealed Brisbane’s first home win this season.
The Victory hadn’t lost since the last time they met the Roar in Round 2, a three-match streak that included wins over Westfield W-League powerhouses Sydney FC and Canberra United.
Brisbane, on the other hand, came into the match keen on a return to winning ways after last Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Western Sydney Wanderers.
The home side dominated from the outset and just as Melbourne were beginning to find their feet in the midfield contest, Amy Chapman gave the Roar the lead after 19 minutes.
From almost 25 yards out, Chapman unleashed a powerful strike that bounced off the crossbar and back down into the goal – her third goal in as many games.
The Victory could have had an equaliser seven minutes later as a through ball from Jessica McDonald found Tiffany Eliadis but the striker missed the target from the edge of the six-yard box.
Melbourne came out the stronger side in the second half as the Roar struggled to maintain their intensity from the opening 45 minutes and the away side went agonisingly close to an equaliser after five minutes.
A wayward pass from the Brisbane backline found its way to Swedish import Petra Larsson who, with just Roar goalkeeper Hoshimi Kishi to beat, hit her shot against the upright.
The momentum temporarily swung back the way of Brisbane with a Lana Harch thunderbolt that went inches wide and was the best opportunity for them to double their advantage.
However, it was the Victory who were next to find the back of the net as they equalised through Laura Spiranovic just after the 70-minute mark, the substitute’s clean finish ended up in the bottom left corner of the goal.
Roar goal scorer Chapman added to her tally as she struck home a cut-back from Emma Pittman before Melbourne’s McDonald thought she’d claimed a point for her side when she scored two minutes into stoppage time.
But, the drama wasn’t over as 20-year-old Spina capped off a solid individual performance with a curling strike as she stormed down the left wing, securing a 3-2 win for Belinda Wilson’s side.
Brisbane Roar 3 (Amy CHAPMAN 19′, 86′, Ashley SPINA 90+5′)
Melbourne Victory 2 (Laura SPIRANOVIC 72′, Jessica McDONALD 90+2′)
Brisbane Roar: 1. Hoshimi KISHI (gk), 3. Amy CHAPMAN, 6. Ashley SPINA, 7. Erika ELZE, 8. Elise KELLOND-KNIGHT (c), 9. Emma PITTMAN (22. Lauren BROWN (90+2-), 10. Lana HARCH (14. Georgia CHAPMAN 78′), 11. Vedrana POPOVIC, 15. Hannah BEARD (24. Hayley SHEAHAN 90+2′), 16. Sachiko TATSUOKA, 23. Chelsea HARPER
Melbourne Victory: 2. Danielle JOHNSON, 3. Maika RUYTER-HOOLEY, 4. Rebekah STOTT, 6. Petra LARSSON, 9. Tiffany ELIADIS (15. Amy JACKSON 46′), 10. Jessica McDONALD, 14. Enza BARILLA (c), 17. Gulcan KOCA, 18. Cindy LAY (12. Jacqueline VOGT 66′), 20. Cassandra DIMOVSKI (gk), 23. Jessica HUMBLE (5. Laura SPIRANOVIC 57′)
