Canberra United 3-0 Western Sydney Wanderers
By Ben Gilby
Canberra United’s unbeaten run in the W-League season continued as Michelle Heyman hit a first half hat-trick in a comfortable win at Viking Park to draw level with Sam Kerr at the top of the competition’s all time goal scoring list with seventy goals.
Both sides started the game with new goalkeepers between the sticks. Keeley Richards made her debut for Canberra United, with Sarah Willacy coming in for Courtney Newbon in the Wanderers goal. There is no doubt who will be the more delighted with the outcome.
The side from the capital were in red hot form from the very start. With just three minutes played, Laura Hughes played a short pass into Michelle Heyman on the far left hand corner of the box. She turned and fired a superb effort into the top of the net which Willacy had no chance with.
Wanderers mounted a rare effort on goal ten minutes later when Georgia Yeoman-Dale turned Isabella Foletta and charged down the left and then into the box where she played a lovely pass back to Leena Khamis whose toyed with Jessika Nash before unleashing an effort which was brilliantly saved by Keeley Richards.
Just after the half-hour mark Canberra deservedly doubled their advantage when a ball played over the top by Kendall Fletcher found Nikki Flannery on the left hand side of the pitch. She saw Heyman run between Wanderers’ last two defenders Courtney Nevin and Caitlin Cooper and slotted in a perfect pass to the United striker to notch hers and Canberra’s second.
It got even worse for Western Sydney just before the break when Grace Maher’s corner was easily met by Heyman to tap home her hat-trick goal at the far post following some non-existent Wanderers defence.
The visitors had the first real chance of the second period when Libby Copus-Brown was denied by another impressive save from debutant Keeley Richards.
Sarah Willacy had her own moment in the sun after a disappointing first half when she held Laura Hughes’ rocket.
Teams: CANBERRA UNITED: Richards, Foletta, Ilijoski, Nash, Keir, Fletcher, Hughes, Maher, Heyman, Flannery, Taylor-Young. Substitutes: Jones (GK), Rasschaert, Galic, Koulizakis, Satchell.
Scorers: Heyman 3, 34, 41.
WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS: Willacy, Orgill, Nevin, Cooper, Collister, Russell, Hunter, Price, Copus-Brown, Yeoman-Dale, Khamis. Substitutes: Newbon (GK), Gomez, Galea, Matos, Henry.
Referee: Lara Lee.
Attendance: 1,049.
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