Sydney has claimed its first W League title after stunning Brisbane with three second half goals to secure a 3-2 grand final win at Toyota Stadium.
The Sky Blues trailed 1-0 at the break but scored three goals in 12 minutes midway through the second term to deny Roar back-to-back trophies.
After a Lana Harch goal at the 15-minute mark separated the teams for almost an hour, the Sky Blues replied through Linda O’Neill (66th minute), Sarah Walsh (73m) and Julie Rydahl (78m) to steal a pulsating contest played out in hot and blustery conditions.
Tameka Butt replied with an injury time penalty for the Roar just seconds before a delirious Sydney bench sprinted on field to begin victory celebrations.
Both teams started full of enterprise, the first chance falling Sydney’s way after just seven minutes.
Walsh found herself unmarked at the back post but couldn’t steer her header down, the ball flashing over the bar.
Brisbane’s goal was simple in the lead-up but wonderful in the execution.
Joanne Burgess directed her header straight to Harch, who let fly with a first-time volley that screamed past FC ‘keeper Nikola Deiter into the top left-hand corner of the net.
Harch was swamped by delighted team-mates as Sydney began asking questions of its defence.
Walsh almost replied instantly for the Sly Blues but her near post header from a Rydahl cross failed to find its mark.
Minutes later Walsh ambitiously launched a half-cross, half-shot from an acute angle and turned away in anguish as it skimmed the crossbar and fell safely for a goalkick.
It seemed the unusual might be Sydney’s best avenue for a goal, Brisbane skipper Clare Polkinghorne almost inadvertently conceding an own goal just past the half hour.
The ball hit the defender rather than the other way around from an otherwise innocuous cross, the Roar relieved to see the ball ricochet land gently into goalie Casey Dumont’s arms.
Sydney kept pouring forward looking for an equaliser, captain Heather Garriock fashioning a late first half chance with a low cross which flew past a host of legs without contact.
The second half started in the same vein, Sydney keeping the pressure on in the search for the goal it – and the parochial home crowd – desperately craved.
Kylie Ledbrook came close on 51 minutes with a well-hit free kick that needed Dumont’s intervention as it sailed towards the top right corner of the goal.
The Sky Blues’ persistence finally paid off 24 minutes from the end of regular time.
Garriock won the ball with her head inside the Brisbane box, finding Walsh who immediately presented O’Neill with a square ball to fire home.
Seven minutes later the hosts had the lead for the first time.
Walsh, set free by a lovely long pass from Ledbrook, took a couple of touches before letting fly with an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box.
Her face covered with zinc cream, Walsh wheeled away in delight to hug a ballgirl as team-mates rushed to join the celebrations.
Rydahl sealed a deserved victory just five minutes later, lobbing a left foot shot over Dumont’s head after Garriock had served up an inch-perfect pass.
It was the first time in four meeting Sydney had bettered Brisbane, a come-from-behind grand final victory the perfect way to break the drought.
