By Emma Burke 16/2/24
Above: Emily Gielnik celebrates her second goal of the evening. Photo: Melbourne Victory.
It was all Victory all the time for Melbourne at the Home of the Matildas tonight as they steamrolled the Western Sydney Wanderers, defeating the visitors 4-0.
The scoring opened early for Victory through American import Mckenzie Weinert, who scored the first of her two goals of the evening. Key pressure from Alex Chidiac on Wanderers’ goalkeeper Kaylie Collins led to Weinert finding an opening to pick the keeper’s pocket and come away with the ball that she then sent into the goal with ease.
Victory had a chance to further their lead early in the second half through an expertly taken free kick from Elise Kellond-Knight, whose direct ball rattled the crossbar before coming to ground, unfortunately on the wrong side of the line.
It wasn’t long after that Melbourne did find their second of the night. A corner kick helmed by Kellond-Knight was sent in with pinpoint accuracy to find striker Emily Gielnik who made no mistake in heading the ball through traffic in the box and into the net.
Weinert scored her second of the night after a ball into the box went bouncing around and she ended up with the final touch on it before it crossed the line.
While Victory was playing some of the best football they have all season, Western Sydney could not find a way around them, any movement they made towards goal was either snuffed out by well timed defensive movements or wasted in an attempt to go long.
The long shot from Gielnik, however, launched from near the half-way line was no wasted effort. It sailed over the outstretched reach of Collins, who had come well off her line.
Gielnik’s second goal of the game makes her only the fifth player in the history of the Women’s A-League to score 50 goals, and what a goal it was.
Melbourne Victory (4-3-3): Newbon, Rankin, Hansen, D’Appolonia, Gielnik, Chidiac, Weinert, Checker, Morrison, Kellond-Knight, Lowe Substitutes: Nash, Murphy, Okino, Privitelli, Candy (gk)
Scorers: Weinert 21’, 63’, Gielnik 60’, 70’
Western Sydney Wanderers (3-4-1-2): Collins, Bruce, Ferris, Harrison, Price, Harding, Caceres, Matos, Rue, Apostolakis, Caspers Substitutes: Keir, Chessari, Buchanan, Morris, Khamis (gk)
Referee: Molly Godsell
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