Melbourne Victory head coach Jeff Hopkins lauded his side’s response after a 3-2 win over Brisbane Roar in the Westfield W-League.
Natasha Dowie’s brace helped Victory past Roar in Redcliffe on Thursday as it bounced back from its opening loss to Sydney FC.
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Victory led 2-0 through a Kaitlyn Torpey own goal and Dowie penalty before a Tameka Yallop goal in the first half.
Casey Dumont then denied Yallop from the penalty spot before a brilliant late goal from Dowie was enough for Victory, which held on despite Indiah-Paige Riley’s effort.
Hopkins was pleased with the way Victory bounced back after its loss to the Sky Blues on Sunday.
“In general, we got a really good reaction from the players after the weekend’s game,” he said.
“They were very, very honest in their appraisal of their own performances on the weekend and I think we felt really positive that we were going to get a good performance out of them.
“We definitely did that in the first 15-20 minutes, we really pressed really hard and high, put them under early pressure on every single ball and there was reward for it early on. That was pleasing for me that we could do it, but also pleasing for the team that they got rewarded for doing it as well.
“I was really happy with the start we made to the game and then from then on it was quite even and I felt there were times when Roar really came into it, but we always looked like we could create something.”
While Dumont made numerous saves for Victory, Dowie’s second goal was a moment of magic, the forward’s flying volley going into the bottom corner from just inside the area.
Hopkins praised that duo and felt Victory deserved its three points despite a nervy finish.
“The last 10 minutes the game went a little bit crazy, we got maybe a little bit anxious just to hear the final whistle and we kind of took our eye off the ball a little bit,” he said.
“I think overall from the reaction we got from the players, I think we deserved what we got, although it was just a little bit in the balance there towards the end of the game.”