Sydney FC has grabbed its first points of the 2009 Westfield W-League season with a 2-1 win over Canberra United at McKellar Park.
In a hotly contested match, Sydney took the lead after 19 minutes after an excellent long ball from Catherine Paaske found the running Sarah Walsh who made no mistake in front of goal.
Another goal to Paaske after 83 minutes looked to seal the match for Sydney, before Ellie Brush replied for Canberra six minutes later which sparked the game into life.
The home side almost snatched a draw in an exciting last few minutes with a couple of scoring opportunities but Sydney held on for victory.
Both sides were evenly matched through the middle of the park but Sydney appeared to be the better team in attack for much of the match.
Paaske was creative in the middle for Sydney in a best afield performance. Her long passes set up one goal and led to a number of chances, and she also headed in a corner for what was to be the match winner.
Sydney FC heads home with its first points of season but coach Alen Stajcic was not entirely happy with the performance.
“We saw a few flashes of brilliance but I’m not overly happy with the way we played,” Stajcic said.
“At the end of the day sometimes when you don’t play well it is the little of flashes of brilliance that win you sporting events.”
“Happy to win and get a bit of confidence in the team.”
Sydney FC 2 (Walsh 19′, Paaske 83′)
Canberra United 1 (Brush 89′)
