A stunning goal from Paige Zois was not enough as Melbourne Victory were held to a 1-1 draw by Perth Glory on Friday night.
SUMMARY
Ahead of their second meeting with Perth in the space of a month, Victory were boosted by the return of Elise Kellond-Knight to the starting XI, alongside a starting debut for 16-year-old Ava Briedis.
Victory had run out 3-0 winners in the previous clash with the Glory, although they came into the rematch without star striker Melina Ayres who scored two of Victory’s three goals on that occasion.
Perth started brightly, controlling the early possession and generating the majority of shots in the first 20 minutes.
However, it was Victory that delivered the first major blow of the contest.
Paige Zois was starting her second consecutive game on the left wing, and having received the ball from Alex Chidiac after 25 minutes, Zois stunned the Glory defence by cutting inside onto her right foot before curling an incredible long-range effort over the goalkeeper and into the top right corner.
Zois’ remarkable finish ensures her stock will continue to rise having impressed early in the season, despite playing predominantly in an unfamiliar wing position.
The goal sparked Victory into their best period of the match, piling the pressure on the visitors with a series of long-range shots from the likes of Kayla Morrison and Alana Murphy.
Perth struggled to reassert themselves following the goal, their energy seemingly sapped by falling behind despite a strong start.
The single goal separated the sides for the remainder of the first half, as Victory headed into the break 1-0 in front.
Victory picked up where they left off to start the second 45, looking comfortable in possession and controlling the majority of play.
The game was halted for several minutes just before the hour mark, as an unfortunate incident saw Perth’s Rylee Baisden fall awkwardly clutching her knee. Baisden was stretchered off the field.
Following the incident, Jeff Hopkins looked to his bench and brought on new recruit Sarah Rowe, signed as an injury-replacement player just hours before the game.
The Irish international and Collingwood AFLW star took the place of Ava Briedis, bringing an end to Briedis’ first A-League Women’s start.
Victory continued to control the flow of the game as it entered its final 20 minutes, however, they were stung by a goal against the run of play when the substitute Jancevski was found in space by a lofted ball into the box, before finishing past the on-rushing Casey Dumont.
Perth’s equaliser revitalised the contest, with Victory now desperately chasing a second goal.
Amy Jackson and Maja Markovski were both brought off the bench for the final ten minutes in the hope that their energy would unsettle the Glory defence.
Victory though had to remain alert at both ends of the pitch, with Dumont called back into action on a handful of occasions to snuff out Perth’s hopes of a dramatic late turnaround.
Neither side could find the winning goal before the full-time whistle blew, as Victory were forced to settle for their first draw of the campaign.
KEY MOMENT
Paige Zois’ first A-League goal is certainly one that will live long in the memory…
PLAYER IN FOCUS
After signing with the club on Friday morning, Sarah Rowe made her Victory debut on Friday night.
A player with substantial pedigree across a range of sports, Rowe is effectively an unknown quantity in the Liberty A-League and will be fascinating to watch for the duration of her stay at the club.
IMPLICATIONS
The result takes Victory to 13 points from seven games and extends their unbeaten run to five matches, although rival teams now have the chance to jump into the top four ahead of Victory by the end of the weekend.
RESULT
Liberty A-League 2022/23 Round 9
Melbourne Victory 1 (Zois 26′)
Perth Glory 1 (Jancevski 74′)
NEXT UP
Victory’s next game is their biggest of the season so far as they travel to Casey Fields for a huge derby against Melbourne City on Saturday 14th January at 3:00pm AEDT.
