Canberra United have notched their first Westfield W-League win of the year, a deserved 2-0 result against the Melbourne Victory in their round four clash at McKellar Park.
Canberra United have notched their first Westfield W-League win of the year, a deserved 2-0 result against the Melbourne Victory in their round four clash at McKellar Park.
A double to Taiwanese import Shu O Tseng in each half brought about the win in a free flowing match with plenty of goal scoring opportunities.
O Tseng put United in front in the 27th minute, a brilliant through ball by Emily Van Egmond put her one and one with the keeper and she made no mistake, getting around her and shooting truly from close range.
A miraculous goal in the 48th minute proved the match sealer, when she somehow managed to beat both the keeper and a defender to an overhead pass from Ashleigh Sykes and squeeze a shot through which trickled over the line just ahead of a chasing defender.
It was a game with that many scoring chances, it could have quite easy resembled a rugby league scoreline. Both teams having Australian representative keepers had something to with stifling opportunities, but it was fair to say good chances went begging through mistakes.
Early on, Ashley Sykes- runs were causing a handful for the Victory defence and Vedrana Popovic had a great chance for Melbourne go wide when broke free in the box.
They nearly scored again moments later, as Canberra upped the attack. Melbourne had opportunities too, including a near miss by Stephanie Catley.
The match up between Victory midfielder Julianne Sitch and United opponent Cian Maciejewski was crucial. Sitch nearly set up an equaliser just before half time with a dangerous free kick across goal but Canberra keeper Lydia Williams was up to the task.
Maciejewski seemed to be feeling the effects of a leg injury which required treatment in the 14th minute, but came back in fantastic form in both defence and attack. She eventually went off midway through the second half.
Canberra made its intentions known from the start of the second half when Ellyse Perry let rip a scorching 25 metre attempt which went just wide, which was followed by O Tseng-s second goal moments later.
The remainder of the game was entertaining for the fans, as Canberra missed three genuine chances to put the game beyond doubt, and Melbourne tried bravely to get on the scoreboard.
Canberra United 2
(O Tseng 27, 48)
Melbourne Victory 0
At McKellar Park
