W-League: Victory too strong for Canberra United

Melbourne Victory defeated a strong Canberra United outfit 2-1 in an eventful encounter at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

All three goals came in the second half, with Lisa De Vanna giving the hosts the lead only to be cancelled out by a Kendall Fletcher goal, before Cailtin Friend sealed all three points for the Westfield W-League leaders.

The game was not without controversy, however, as replays showed that De Vanna’s goal, just after the resumption of the second half, was indeed offside.

To rub salt into the wounds of the visitors, they hit the back of the net less than a minute after De Vanna’s goal but were harshly ruled offside by the assistant referee.

Despite all the controversy, the game was an entertaining battle as Canberra attempted to get back to winning ways after their 2-0 loss to the Lady Reds last week, while the Victory tried to do all they could to remain atop the table.

The first chance of the game came in the early moments of the contest, when De Vanna crossed into an oncoming Jessica Fishlock, although was cleared wide by a last-ditch attempt from Catherine Brown.     

Stephanie Ochs had the greatest chance of the first half for the visitors when her shot at goal at the 18-minute mark beat Brianna Davey in goal, though rising to hit the crossbar.

Play was then stopped for a short amount of time while Fishlock received medical attention on her right knee following a clumsy tackle in midfield. She played out the rest of the game; however, the full extent of the knock will be interesting to see.

It was the same highly-intense contest when the game resumed, despite the warm conditions in Melbourne.

Nicole Sykes placed a dangerous ball across the face of goal at the 24th minute mark but Sally Rojahn was unable to get a touch on it past the ‘keeper.

De Vanna then showed why she is one of the greatest competitors in the sport, using her skill to run around and beat the Canberra defence, narrowly missing Enza Barilla.

The first goal of the game came seconds after the resumption of the second half when De Vanna latched onto a terrific ball from Fishlock, making no mistake with her finish.

A minute later, Canberra United headed one into the back of the net, however, were cruelly ruled offside by the assistant referee.

Fishlock and De Vanna once again combined at the 62nd mark, although the United defence stood strong, withstanding the oncoming Victory pressure.

They equalised five minutes later through a close-range shot from Kendall Fletcher and everyone strapped in for what would be an entertaining 20 minutes of play.

The hosts saved the best for last with Caitlin Friend scoring a spectacular volley after a pass back from Cindy Lay to restore the lead with only seven minutes remaining. The goal keeps Friend on top of the Victory’s goal scoring list with seven for the season.

Melbourne Victory travel to Campbelltown Stadium next week to take on the Wanderers, while Canberra will look to get back to winning ways against Adelaide United after two losses in a row.



Melbourne Victory: Brianna DAVEY, Jessica HUMBLE, Katie HOYLE, Stephanie CATLEY, Caitlin FRIEND (Beatrice GOAD 89’), Jessica FISHLOCK, Lisa De VANNA, Jessica SAMUELSSON, Enza BARILLA (Liaura SPIRANOVIC 77’), Emma CHECKER, Gulcan KOCA (Cindy LAY 70’)

Unsued Subs:  Cassandra DIMOVSKI.

Goals: De Vanna 46’ Friend 83’
Yellow Cards: Catley 79’
Red Cards: -


Canberra United: Lydia WILLIAMS, Catherine BROWN (Meg McLAUGHLIN 87’), Kendall FLETCHER, Caitin MUNOZ (Grace GILL 72’), Ellie BRUSH, Michelle HEYMAN, Sally ROJAHN (Georgia YEOMAN-DALE 66’), Nicole SYKES, Ashleigh SKYES, Lori LINDSEY, Stephanie OCHS

Unused Subs: Trudy BURKE.

Goals: Fletcher 67’
Yellow Cards: -
Red Cards: -