Western Sydney Wanderers and Canberra United have fought out a tense 1-1 draw in their Westfield W-League match at Campbelltown Stadium.
Western Sydney Wanderers and Canberra United have fought out a tense 1-1 draw in their Westfield W-League match at Campbelltown Stadium.
In a game which was free-flowing from the opening whistle, it was Canberra who had the better of the opening exchanges.
The visitors had a great chance to open the scoring early, Michelle Heyman hitting the ball directly at Elizabeth Durack in the Wanderers goal from close range, with the cross bar denying the follow-up.
Though the visitors had started the game the stronger, as the first half wore on the Wanderers worked their way into the contest and started to build pressure.
This pressure eventually translated into the first goal of the game after 23 minutes.
Some clever work on the Wanderers’ right-hand flank put pressure on the Canberra defence. The United defence eventually cleared the ball but only as far as Wanderers midfielder Teigen Allen.
Allen took one touch before firing the ball from outside the penalty area into the bottom right-hand corner, giving the home side the lead.
A great piece of individual skill from Louise Fors gave Western Sydney their best chance to extend this lead just before the break.
A clever turn allowed the Wanderers midfielder to go past an opponent and advance into the penalty area. Fortunately for the visitors, her low drive was deflected into the side netting, and Western Sydney went into the break leading by just the one goal.
Just as they had in the first half, Canberra came out after the break and dominated most of the early possession. But despite Heyman having several good opportunities they were initially unable to take advantage.
Western Sydney fought their way back to control the contest once again, but Canberra were finally able to level the contest in the 73rd minute. It took a stunning free-kick from Caitlin Munoz from wide on the right, which dipped into the far top corner and beat the outstretched arm of Durack.
Despite both teams having chances in the closing stages, neither could find the decisive goal to break the deadlock.
Canberra captain Ellie Brush was sent off in injury time for her second yellow card, but the Wanderers did not have enough time left to take advantage and the teams settled for a share of the spoils.
Wanderers 1 (Allen 23)
Canberra United 1 Munoz (73)
Wanderers: 1. Durack, 2. Spackman, 3. Huynh, 4. Clifford, 5. Kennedy, 9. Walsh (c) 10. Uzunlar, 11. Fors. 13. Cannuli 14. Camilleri, 15. Allen.
Res: 8. Hart, 12. Seaman 16. O’Neill, 17. Bass, 21. Rowntree
Canberra United: 1. Cooper, 2. Yeoman-Dale, 3. Walters, 6. Munoz, 7. Brush (c), 11. Heyman, 13. Sykes, 17. Hingst, 19. Bisset, 20. Burke
Res. 8. Raso, 16. Brown, 18. Wood, 22. Clansey
