W-LEAGUE: Roar steal points in five-goal thriller

A dramatic injury time winner from Ashley Spina has seen Brisbane Roar edge Melbourne Victory in a five-goal thriller at Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre on Saturday.

Spina’s strike settled scores at 3-2 and overshadowed an earlier brace from in-form Roar team mate Amy Chapman – who produced two fantastic strikes to twice give the hosts the lead and restate the attacking midfielder’s Matildas claims.

Victory pair Laura Spiranovic and Jessica McDonald netted in the second half to twice level the ledger for the visitors, but they were unable to deny a spirited and understrength Roar outfit missing six first-team regulars.

Brisbane started the sharper of the sides in the muggy mid-morning conditions, almost grabbing a lead inside ten minutes following a frenetic goal mouth scramble that saw Chapman, Erika Elze and Hannah Beard all fashion shots in quick succession – Chapman’s shot only denied by the crossbar.

Chapman renewed her acquaintance with the crossbar to open the scoring in controversial circumstances on 19 minutes, her stinging strike from 25 yards bouncing in off the underside of the crossbar before spinning out again.

Referee Peta McCallum belatedly awarded the goal after consulting with her linesman however replays of the incident proved inconclusive.

Victory regrouped and soon began to threaten at the other end– Tiffany Eliadis botching a golden chance to level the scores just before the half hour when she missed the target after finding herself one-on-one with Roar goalkeeper Hoshimi Kishi.

The visitors got in behind the Roar line on several more occasions before the interval, however scrambling defence from Vedrana Popovic and Chelsea Harper ensured Brisbane held their lead at the break.

The second half proved to be an end-to-end affair – no sooner had Lana Harch shot barely over for Roar to start the half then Petra Larsson’s shot was denied by the left post at the opposite end.

Similarly, Beard shot just wide of the near post after strongly holding off a defender not long after. Seconds later, a goal mouth scramble at the other end resulted in Danielle Johnson blazing wide from ten yards for Melbourne.

Despite the ebb and flow, the balance was tipping toward Victory approaching the hour. However, despite McDonald’s constant threat at the top of the Big V’s formation, they repeatedly failed to test Kishi from promising positions.

The breakthrough finally came in the 72^nd minute when substitute Spiranovic was allowed to waltz unchallenged into the box following an attacking throw; her well-placed shot to the far post well beyond the reach of the diminutive Kishi.

Buoyed by the equaliser, Victory continued to push forward in search of a second – Jacqueline Vogt saw her solid shot saved at the near post before McDonald headed wide from close range.

Victory’s shaky shooting continued though when McDonald, having broken free on the counter and one-on-one with Kishi, was once again unable to find the target with a close range effort.

Chapman then restored Roar’s lead with another piece of solo magic on 88 minutes, deftly chipping Victory keeper Cassandra Dimovski from the edge of the area with a first-time right footed strike borne from Emma Pittman’s innocuous cutback.

Victory’s response was swift – once again striking the post before McDonald delivered seconds later, controlling the ball well on the run before rounding Kishi and leaving herself the simplest of finishes to level scores again two minutes in to time added on.

With the match headed for an entertaining draw, Roar coach Belinda Wilson urged her team forward with dramatic results.

Receiving the ball in the unfamiliar third, Spina did well to tease-then-shake her marker before calmly slotting her shot in at the far post to the delight of her teammates and the fiercely parochial Brisbane crowd.

The result ends Victory’s three match winning streak, while it serves as a welcome return to winning ways for Roar, who have struggled for consistency in the early part of the W-League season.

BRISBANE ROAR 3 (Chapman 19' & 88', Spina 90'+4)
MELBOURNE VICTORY (Spiranovic 72', McDonald 90'+2)