Perth Glory, Brisbane Roar and Melbourne City have a foothold on the top of the Westfield W-League ladder following opening round wins over Western Sydney Wanderers, Sydney FC and Newcastle Jets respectively.
But it is Perth who has an early lead on goal difference, as Glory captain Sam Kerr scored twice in the second half for a 4-2 victory after the Wanderers had drawn level from two goals down.
Another Westfield Matildas star was at her inspirational best as Katrina Gorry helped set up Brisbane’s equaliser and then scored the winner, after Caitlin Foord had put the Sky Blues ahead following a stunning driving run.
Saturday’s opening match in the 2016/17 season between two traditional rivals in Brisbane drew a record Westfield W-League regular-season stand-alone crowd of 3,105.
Champions Melbourne City went through last year’s maiden season undefeated, but they were made to work overtime against a resilient Jets and needed a lone early goal from Marianna Tabain to earn an opening win.
The opening Fox Sports/ABC TV match proved enthralling high-quality entertainment, with Melbourne Victory equalising on three occasions against Adelaide United, before the pair were forced to share the points in a six-goal thriller.
Next weekend’s round is highlighted by two epic TV matches as Canberra United host Melbourne City on Saturday 12 November (3pm), while Sydney FC host local rivals Western Sydney Wanderers a day later (2.30pm). Both matches will be played as part of Hyundai A-League double-headers.
Brisbane Roar 2 (Allira Toby 55’, Katrina Gorry 66’)
Sydney FC 1 (Caitlin Foord 52’)
Saturday 5 November 2016
Spencer Park, Brisbane
Kick-off: 4pm
Referee: Casey Reibelt
Brisbane Roar: Mackenzie Arnold (gk), Amy Chapman, Clare Polkinghorne (c), Angela Beard, Sunny Franco (Allira Toby 52’), Kaitlyn Torpey, Katrina Gorry, Maili Forbes (Natalie Tatham 55’), Summer O’Brien, Emily Gielnik (Abbey Lloyd 72’), Madlyn Evans
Substitutes – Georgina Worth (gk)
Cautions – Katrina Gorry 35’, Maili Forbes 41’
Sydney FC: Sham Khamis (gk), Liz Ralston, Servet Uzunlar, Teresa Polias (c), Nicola Bolger (Olivia Price 83’), Caitlin Foord, Natalie Tobin (Gabe Marzano 65’), Georgia Yeoman-Dale, Alanna Kennedy, Kyah Simon, Leena Khamis
Substitutes – Sarah Easthope (gk), Panagiota Petratos
Cautions – Teresa Polias 59’, Caitlin Foord 86’
Red card: Caitlin Foord 86’
Melbourne City 1 (Marianna Tabain 8’)
Newcastle Jets 0Sunday 6 November 2016
C.B. Smith Reserve, Fawkner, Melbourne
Kick-off: 3pm
Referee: Kate Jacewicz
Melbourne City: Lydia Williams (gk), Teigen Allen, Lauren Barnes, Laura Alleway, Aivi Luik, Steph Catley (c) (Jacynta Galabadaarachchi 93’), Jess Fishlock, Erika Tymrak (Tyla Jay Vlajnic 83’), Rebekah Stott, Amy Jackson (Melina Ayres 80’), Marianna Tabain
Substitutes – Kelsey Quinn (gk)
Cautions – Aivi Luik 71’
Newcastle Jets: Kelsey Wys (gk), Elizabeth O’Reilly, Megan Oyster, Arin Gilliland, Cassidy Davis, Gema Simon (c), Emma Stanbury, Jen Hoy (Liana Danaskos 89’), Grace McIntyre, Jenna Kingsley (Libby Copus-Brown 79’), Ashlee Brodigan (Rhali Dobson 60’)
Substitutes – Claire Coelho (gk)
Cautions – none
Perth Glory 4 (Caitlin Doeglas 1’, Rosie Sutton 22’, Sam Kerr 68’, 83’)
Western Sydney Wanderers 2 (Joanne Burgess 39’, Helen Petinos 50’)
Sunday 6 November 2016
nib Stadium, Perth
Kick-off: 6.30pm
Referee: Kelly Jones
Perth Glory: Melissa Maizels (gk), Sarah Carroll, Kim Carroll, Alyssa Mautz, Patricia Charalambous (Natasha Rigby 84’), Carla Bennett (Vanessa DiBernardo 61’), Nicole Stanton, Rosie Sutton, Caitlin Doeglas (Shawn Billam 78’), Sam Kerr, Arianna Romero
Substitutes – Gabrielle Dal Busco (gk)
Cautions – Kim Carroll 20’, Patricia Charalambous 64’, Nicole Stanton 69’, Shawn Billam 92’
Western Sydney Wanderers: Casey Dumont (gk), Caitlin Cooper (c), Helen Petinos (Sophie Hancock 64’), Kendall Fletcher, Katie Stengel, Paige Nielsen, Eliza Ammendolia, Alexis Arlitt, Alix Roberts, Joanne Burgess (Chloe O’Brien 64’), Nikola Orgill
Substitutes – Courtney Newbon (gk), Angelique Hristodoulou
Cautions – None
Adelaide United 3 (Stella Rigon 13’, Adriana Jones 20’, Monica 73’)
Melbourne Victory 3 (Natasha Dowie 16’, 64’, Selin Kuralay 81’)
Sunday 6 November 2016
Coopers Stadium, Adelaide
Kick-off: 2pm
Referee: Katie Patterson
Adelaide United: Sarah Willacy (gk), Emily Hodgson, Monica, Ally Ladas, Stella Rigon (c), Sofia Huerta, Adriana Jones, Georgia Campagnale, Dragana Kljajic, Danielle Colaprico, Katie Naughton
Substitutes – Claudia Jenkins (gk)
Cautions – Georgia Campagnale 3’
Melbourne Victory: Bianca Henninger (gk), Alexandra Natoli, Alexandra Cheal, Melissa Taranto (Adriana Taranto 11’), Lia Privitelli, Ayesha Norrie (Selin Kuralay 72’), Natasha Dowie, Christine Nairn, Samantha Johnson, Gulcan Koca, Rachel Alonso (Kariah White 60’)
Substitutes – Bethany Mason-Jones (gk)
Cautions – Samantha Johnson 35’, Natasha Dowie 46’
Canberra United – BYE
