A sensational strike from Catherine Zimmerman was the highlight of the evening as Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United played out a thrilling 2-2 draw.
SUMMARY
Head coach Jeff Hopkins made two changes to his XI following the international break, as Alana Murphy came into the midfield whilst Melina Ayres made her first start since returning from injury.
Victory started brightly, with an early chance for Beattie Goad being put just wide after an excellent cross from Zimmerman.
Ayres though did not take long to make her mark, as her audacious attempt from a tight angle forced a goalkeeping error which saw the ball end up in the back of the net after 5 minutes played.
A remarkable start, although Adelaide hit back just ten minutes later when a Mindy Barbieri cross was put away by Meisha Westland.
The Reds then turned the game on its head entirely, as Chelsie Dawber bundled the ball home to give the visitors the lead.
Victory responded well to falling behind, creating the majority of chances for the remainder of the half.
Goad in particular came desperately close to equalising, but some excellent saves from Annalee Grove preserved her side’s lead.
The Reds took their 2-1 advantage into the sheds, with the home side in need of a second half turnaround.
Victory thought they had the equaliser when Catherine Zimmerman put the ball in the back of the net in the 53rd minute, but the offside flag ruled out the attempt.
Elise Kellond-Knight then fired a brilliant strike which rattled the crossbar ten minutes later, before Victory again thought they had scored but were once more denied by the offside flag.
It began to look as if the game simply would not fall Victory’s way, when Zimmerman stepped up to the plate and fired home an absolute thunderbolt from long range to draw the game level.
One of the goals of the season no doubt, with ample time remaining for Victory to grab all three points.
Substitute Tiff Eliadis almost scored the winner in the 86th minute with a well-struck shot on target, but once again a strong save from Grove kept the scores level.
There was to be no winner for Victory in the end, as they were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw.
KEY MOMENT
Catherine Zimmerman. What a hit.
IMPLICATIONS
A second consecutive draw means Victory move three points clear of Canberra United in fifth, although the race for finals remains tights with several teams having games in hand.
RESULT
Liberty A-League 2022/23 Round 15
Melbourne Victory 2 (Ayres 6′, Zimmerman 71′)
Adelaide United 2 (Westland 17′, Dawber 27′)
NEXT UP
Victory now have another week without competitive football due to the bye, meaning their next game will be against Melbourne City at AAMI Park on Monday 13th March, kicking off at 3:20pm AEDT.
