A maiden goal from Beattie Goad secured a 2-0 win for Melbourne Victory against Western Sydney Wanderers in a tough contest at AAMI Park.
The 16 year old winger scored from a tight angle late on in the game to ease the nerves for the home side, who were hanging on to a narrow lead thanks to Caitlin Friend’s strike early in the second half.
It was a tough result for the away side to take, who certainly had their chances in the game.
The Wanderers came straight out of the blocks, pressuring Victory deep into their own half.
But the home side absorbed the early pressure before almost going ahead in the seventh minute, with Friend clipping the crossbar after being played through nicely by Lisa De Vanna.
Victory were looking deadly down the left side of the pitch, thanks in part to Stephanie Catley.
The skipper showed some exquisite touches to fashion openings for herself and in the tenth minute, beat her opposing fullback and whipped in a delicious cross for Enza Barilla.
Unfortunately the diminutive winger was only able to head the ball over the bar.
Wanderers then had a chance to punish Victory for not taking their chances when Catherine Cannuli set up Emily van Egmond, but the attacking midfielder failed to hit the target when it looked easier to score.
Victory then hit the crossbar again in the 34th minute, when Jess Fishlock scuffed a speculative drive into the path of Friend.
Friend pounced on the ball but despite beating the keeper, couldn’t keep her shot down.
It seemed like the goal was just around the corner and right back Jess Samuelsson had a golden chance to score it.
She danced her way past the Wanderers defence but was unable to pass Dimitra Poulos, with the chance going begging.
Victory created the better chances in the match and came out with a bang in the second half, scoring a quick goal.
Caitlin Friend received the ball on the edge of the 18-yard box, and muscled her way past the Wanderers defence, before firing home a fine finish.
While Victory looked threatening every time they went forward, Wanderers still had chances of their own on the counter attack.
Their best chance came in the 67th minute when Catherine Canulli was played in with acres of space inside the box, but as she looked set to score Catley flew in with a wonderful tackle to ensure Victory remained in the lead.
The home side kept up their pressure however, and wasted a series of golden chances from De Vanna and Fishlock.
De Vanna showed great skill to beat two defenders in the 70th minute, but her finish was well wide of the post, wasting a gilt edged chance.
Fishlock then had a shot flash narrowly wide five minutes later with De Vanna wasting a chance of her own, failing to round the keeper after being put through one on one against Poulos.
Victory finally doubled their score through substitute Goad, who was found by a deep cross from Gulcan Koca.
The teenager then took a speculative shot from a tight angle, and the ball flew past Poulos into the back of the net.
Goad made quite an impact off the bench, being involved in plenty of Victory’s attacking forays towards the end of the match.
It was a shrewd move by head coach Dave Edmondson to bring on Goad, and his side saw off a tough Wanderers outfit 2-0 on the day.
Team Lineups:
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Substitutes:
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Substitutions:
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Scorers:
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