A Sandra Scalzi hat-trick has guided Adelaide United to a 3-2 victory over the Newcastle Jets in their Westfield W-League clash at Hindmarsh Stadium on Friday.
After a 1-1 first half, the Reds opened up a match-winning lead when Scalzi struck two goals in five minutes immediately after the break.
But they were forced to earn the three points by a determined Jets line-up.
Newcastle had plenty of the play in the final 20 minutes and was finally rewarded when they scored its second goal at the 89th minute through a Cheryl Salisbury header.
Leia Smith also put the ball in the back of the net during injury time but one of her team-mates was deemed off-side before she got the shot away.
It was an entertaining clash with both teams running hard and at times showing some evasive play.
The goalkeepers from both sides also performed well and had their work cut out for them, especially in the second half.
Earlier it had been a 1-1 opening with Scalzi striking first.
She found some space in the box and converted from close range at the 11 minute.
Stacy Day hit back in the 38th minute and the teams were locked away going into the long break.
Reds coach Mike Barnett said the team had a bit of luck at the end of the game but performed well in an entertaining clash.
“Sandra Scalzi came in for her first start and proved she’s a natural goal scorer with three really good goals,” Barnett said.
“A little bit of confidence that we took out of last week’s game flowed into this week.”
Jets coach Gary Phillips felt his team should’ve won the clash after having several opportunities in the dying minutes.
“A couple of defensive errors cost us but hopefully the girls will learn from that and be better team next week,” he said.
“Their goalkeeper certainly saw a lot more action than our goalkeeper did and I was proud of their performance. They tried hard and we are getting better each week and I don’t think the result was a reflection on our performance.”
Match Details
Adelaide United 3 (Sandra Scalzi 11-/46-/50-)
Newcastle Jets 2 (Stacey Day 38-, Cheryl Salisbury 89-)
Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
Friday 31 October 2008
Referee: Sara Hodson
Adelaide United line-up: 30.Kristi HARVEY (gk), 2.Renee HARRISON, 3.Sarah AMORIM, 4.Dianne ALAGICH (c), 6.Kristyn SWAFFER, 8.Sandra SCALZI (15.Lauren CHILVERS 68-), 9.Stephanie TOKICH (14.Donna COCKAYNE 77-), 10.Victoria BALOMENOS, 11.Sharon BLACK (12.Tanya HARRISON 82-), 13.Leah ROBINSON, 17.April MANN.
Substitutes not used: 1.Emma WIRKUS (gk)
Yellow cards: Leah Robinson 20-, Lauren Chilvers 68-
Red Cards: Nil
Newcastle Jets line-up: 1.Alison LOGUE (gk), 2.Hannah BREWER, 4.Elizabeth SHARPE, 5.Cheryl SALISBURY (c), 6.Amber NEILSON, 7.Gema SIMON, 10.Joanne PETERS, 11.Stacy DAY, 12. Katie GILL, 14.Nicole JONES, 17.Harmony ATTWILL.
Substitutes not used: 8.Leia SMITH, 9.Rhali DOBSON, 16.Kirstyn PEARCE.
Yellow cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
