Melbourne Victory were defeated on home soil by ladder-leaders Bulleen Lions in Round 14 of the NPLW.
The Girls in Blue were looking to build on their win against Preston Lions the previous weekend, but conceded twice during the second half at The Home of The Matildas to lose out on Sunday afternoon.
Bulleen broke the deadlock after 67 minutes in Bundoora when Ashley Jordan arrived from the left to sweep in Alana Cortellino’s cross.
The lead was doubled during the closing stages, with Maja Markovski squeezing the ball over the line to sign off on a goalmouth scramble.
Match details are available by clicking here.
Speaking to MelbourneVictory.com.au, A-League Women’s Head Coach, Jeff Hopkins, who has assumed control of the team following Santi Escudero’s departure, reacted to his first match leading the team.
“It was a brave performance from our young team against a very good Bulleen team full of players with a lot of ALW experience.
“We attacked the game from the first minute and created some very good chances in the first half. We were the better team up until half-time, but although we started the second half well, Bulleen’s older, stronger bodies started to take a grip on the game, and they scored a couple of good individual goals as we fatigued late in the half.
“What pleased me most was the way we never stopped pushing to get back in the game, until the final whistle was blown. It was a great learning game for the team.”
