The Westfield W-League kicked off its inaugural season with action aplenty for fans to get excited about.
Results – Round 1
Perth Glory 0 lost SYDNEY FC 4
MELBOURNE VICTORY 2 beat Central Coast Mariners 0
QUEENSLAND ROAR 4 beat Adelaide United 1
NEWCASTLE JETS 2 beat Canberra United 1
Game Wraps
Sydney FC kicked off the Westfield W-League with the most blistering of starts, Westfield Matilda Leena Khamis grabbing two goals in the opening ten minutes. Sydney continued to boss their younger opponents around with the likes of Heather Garriock, Khamis and Danielle Small prominent. It was Small that grabbed a third goal before half time, slamming home a Garriock cross that effectively killed the contest. Perth put up a sterner test in the second half and a few half chances, but it was Kate Stewart in the Glory goal that was the busier of the two keepers. However there was absolutely nothing she could do about Garriock-s rocket just on the hour mark that certainly sent a message to the rest of the competition that Sydney is a force to reckoned with this season.
Melbourne Victory kicked off its Westfield W-League campaign with a solid 2-0 win over Central Coast Mariners at the Telstra Dome. Victory was prominent early on with several chances that failed to test the Mariners keeper Lisa Hartley. The Mariners had a good spell midway through the half, with Victory and Westfield Matilda keeper Melissa Barbieri denying Renee Rollason with a brilliant diving save. Canadian international Brittany Timko was causing plenty of problems and the opening goal came after her good work earned a free kick, which Marles Oostdam curled past Hartley. Eight minutes later Rebecca Tegg made it 2-0 when she chipped Hartley to give Melbourne a deserved win.
Queensland Roar confirmed its favouritism for the title of inaugural Westfield W-League Champions, with a dominant 4-1 win over Adelaide United at QSAC Stadium in Brisbane. With everyone of Queensland-s starting eleven either a former or current international representative, it-s little wonder Roar is a favourite, but Adelaide made them fight all the way. Lana Harch opened the scoring for Queensland in the 22nd minute with a terrific shot from outside the box. However former Matilda Sharon Black made it 1-1 just before the break to keep Adelaide in the contest going into the second half. But those hopes were dashed by a 10 minute display early in the second half, which saw Lauren Colthorpe, Alicia Ferguson and Harch again seal an emphatic win for the Roar in front of an enthusiastic crowd.
A late winner from two-goal hero Kate Gill, sealed a 2-1 win for the Newcastle Jets over an unlucky Canberra United at the Wanderers Oval in Newcastle. Canberra, as the only non-Hyundai A-League team in the competition, got off to an electric start, when Sasha McDonnell capitalised on a scramble in the box after just two minutes. However Gill, who only arrived back in the country from a stint playing in Sweden the day before the game, showed she was up for the contest when she ran onto a through ball from Cheryl Salisbury and beat Lydia Williams with a good low shot. Williams denied Gill a second before the break and after half time it was Canberra that made most of the running in the second half only for poor finishing to let them down. And it came back to haunt them after 81 minutes when Gill made no mistake to score after terrific work by Nicole Jones. To add to Canberra-s woes star strikers Caitlin Munoz and McDonnell were both carried from the field on the stretcher with knee and ankle injuries respectively.
Weekend Goals Tally: 14
Card Count: 10 yellows – 0 reds
Leading Goalscorers
2- Leena Khamis, Lana Harch, Katie Gill
1- Danielle Small, Heather Garriock, Rebecca Tegg, Marlies Oostdam, Lauren Colthorpe, Alicia Ferguson, Sharon Black, Sasha McDonnell
