Melbourne Victory Women will look to carry the momentum of a first-up triumph into its first away assignment against Sydney FC at Parramatta Stadium on Saturday.
Melbourne Victory Women will look to carry the momentum of a first-up triumph into its first away assignment against Sydney FC at Parramatta Stadium on Saturday.
Victory Women got its Westfield W-League campaign off to a stylish start with a convincing 2-0 win over Central Coast Mariners last week at Telstra Dome.
Victory Women has made only the one change to the team that bullied Mariners Women, with Meghan Archer coming in to replace Sophie Hogben.
The team is expected to run into tougher competition on Saturday, with Sydney FC trampling Perth Glory last week 4-0.
Leena Khamis will be a player Victory Women Coach Matt Shepherd would have put a lot of time into this week given her heroics last week for the NSW combination.
Khamis had completed a stunning double inside the first eight minutes during the clash in Perth, scoring in both the sixth and eighth minutes.
Shepherd said he expected the Victorian and NSW rivalry to be just as fierce in the Westfield W-League as it was in all other sporting codes.
”Anytime a Melbourne side comes up against a Sydney one it automatically adds something extra to the contest,” Shepherd said.
”We expect to establish a very healthy rivalry with Sydney FC in years to come, and I guess this will be the start of it on Saturday.”
Victory Women has an arsenal capable of causing plenty of headaches this season if last week was any guide.
New Zealand signings Marlies Oostdam and Rebecca Tegg both got their names on the score sheet, while Canadian Brittany Timko looked dangerous on the right side.
Laura Alleway and Captain Tal Karp also enjoyed strong first up performances in an encouraging sign for the Melbourne side.
Kick off is at 4pm at Parramatta Stadium.
