Melbourne Victory forward Natasha Dowie hasn’t given up hope of a finals berth in 2015, but her side will need to further capitalise on last weeks performance.
Her first goal in Navy Blue completed a two-goal comeback against Western Sydney Wanderers, earning the Victory a priceless draw at the Veneto Club on Saturday afternoon.
Facing a two-goal deficit courtesy of goals either side of the break from Linda O’Neill and Carmelina Moscato, the Victory first pegged the lead back through Mindy Barbieri, before the Englishwoman hit her first W-League goal with a tidy finish from just inside the area.
READ MORE > The unassuming brilliance of Mindy Barbieri
It was a late equaliser, but one that was richly deserved for a Victory side who created plenty of problems for their opponents.
“For us, we’ve got high expectations at this club and we want to be winning games,” Dowie said.
“Part of us is disappointed that we didn’t win the game with the amount of chances created but then we’re 2-0 down and it shows great team spirit to come back and get that 2-2 draw. For us now, it’s a point and a positive one, it’s definitely not over.
Their young team have come into their own in recent weeks with bright performances against Perth Glory and Melbourne City, despite falling to a 4-0 defeat, and will have to prepare for another big game in the form of second placed Canberra United.
With the W-League ladder the way it is at the moment – Victory currently sit last on four points, but are still within three games of fourth place – the lofty ambitions of finals football aren’t as farfetched as they may seem, and Dowie believes the confidence in the camp is lifting the team to new heights.
“We’re got targets of getting that top four spot and into the play-offs so for us now, we’ve got to recover properly and go again [against Canberra],” she said.
“The girls are playing with such confidence, the football that we’re playing is great. It’s now just about being ruthless in front of goal and taking all the chances that we’ve created.
“It’s exciting times for this team and there’s still a lot to play for. Our heads aren’t down but we’re disappointed not to get the three points.”
Dowie had a number of bright moments in the first half, but was often caught out by a mobile Wanderers defence in an attempt to free space for a shot.
One chance she did get to fire a shot off slid narrowly wide of the post, after successfully beating two Wanderers defenders on a weaving run.
She was glad in the end to have made up for the miss with a powerful finish at the death.
MATCH REPORT > Victory battle for hard-fought draw
“I was disappointed not to have scored in the first half with that run I made, and with me, I’d like to think I’m a goal scorer,” Dowie said.
“That one [I scored] bounced funny so I didn’t want to hit it first time because I felt like it was going over. So I said ‘steady yourself, you’ve got time’ and took a better touch, had the ball on the ground and picked my corner.
“Obviously I was over the moon to see it hit the back of the net for my team.”
But having gone into the break a goal down, and soon after the restart conceding a second, the mental resolve of a Victory outfit that’s been battered and bruised at times this year was tested.
Dowie revealed the message that was pushed at half-time by coach Kat Smith – on her W-League coaching debut – which helped the girls turn the game around.
“[The message was that] it’s not over; with the amount of chances that we were creating, we knew we were going to score goals,” she said.
“We’ve got world class players in this team that can create and score goals. For us, we know we’re going to get a goal and as a centre-forward, its a great feeling to know you’re going to get a chance. It’s then down to us to bury those chances.
“Also defensively, we don’t want to concede silly goals, from set-plays, straight after kick-off when we’ve just come out [of the break]. We’ve just got to be 100% switched on defensively and not give other teams any chance.”
A meeting against Canberra will prove a stern test not only for Dowie, but also for her teammates around the park, who’ll have to prepare against danger players like Michelle Heyman, Ash Sykes and the returning Emma Checker, who plays her first game against her former club.
For the Victory, Adriana Taranto comes into the squad to replace the omitted Briar Palmer.