Canberra United 1-1 Perth Glory
by Ben Gilby (24/11/24)
Above: Izzy Dalton (centre) celebrates her goal for Perth Glory with Tijan McKenna (left of centre) and Sarah O’Donoghue (right of centre) as Georgia Cassidy (left) and Megan Wynne (right) rush to join them. Photo: Perth Glory.
Perth Glory produced a performance full of positives, buoyed by the ability to welcome a number of experienced players into their side as they claimed a point against high-flying Canberra United in Sydney.
Internationals Casey Dumont and Megan Wynne made their Glory debuts, Dumont just a week after her AFLW side Hawthorn lost their semi-final to Port Adelaide. Nigerian international Onyi Zogg also made her first start after being nursed back from injury on the bench in previous weeks.
As well as providing a calming presence to the younger heads around them, these additions to Stephen Peters’ starting 11 meant that Tijan McKenna could be pushed further forward alongside Georgia Cassidy to continue the midfield partnership between the pair that was so fruitful for Perth SC in the NPLW WA this season.
Canberra fielded three players who had spent time at Perth in the past – goalkeeper Sally James, defender Liz Anton, and midfielder Aideen Keane, who was on the bench.
The capital city side gained the first chance with just six minutes on the clock as Mary Stanic-Floody supplied a perfectly judged pass into Michelle Heyman who advanced in on goal. The Matildas striker took a touch to beat Dumont who came out to meet her, but was denied by a superb covering tackle from young Glory defender Grace Johnston.
The Western Australian side set their stall out to use their pace to run directly at the capital city side, and it gave them the offensive front foot as they gradually grew into the game.
Before the half-hour mark, Nat Tathem gained possession along the right and found Sarah O’Donoghue inside her. The striker showed great skill in turning Darcey Malone and running between her and Lillian Skelly before defeating Alex McKenzie with superior footwork. O’Donoghue crashed in a shot which came off the boot of Canberra keeper James and away for a corner.
O’Donoghue has grown steadily into her Perth shirt this season with performances incrementally improving as the weeks go by, and she was to have an increasing influence on this game.
With four minutes of regular time remaining, Perth finally took the lead. A long ball through on the left flank bounced and caused problems for the Canberra defence, allowing Gabby Hollar to lay off a pass for Izzy Dalton on the edge of the box, and the Glory co-captain took a touch before slotting home across James.
Deep into stoppage time at the end of the half, O’Donoghue caused chaos for Canberra again. McKenzie lost possession under pressure from McKenna. The Perth Young Matilda threaded a pass through for O’Donoghue in the centre of the park to run centrally at a host of green shirts, who backed off. She did not turn down the invitation and unloaded with a shot that came back off the right-hand post.
Another of the Glory’s Young Matildas showed her immense skill just before the hour mark as Johnston provided an example of her outstanding range of passing. Allowed to advance through the midfield, the locally produced defender played a sumptuous centimetre-perfect ball into the stride of Morgan Roberts on the right. James saved the substitute’s shot at the near post.
The Western Australian side continued to have joy when running directly at their opponents. Twenty minutes into the second period, Ella Abdul-Massih danced along the right flank before squaring a pass for McKenna in the box, but her initial shot was blocked by her own teammate, Miku Sunaga. The ball came back to McKenna, who saw a second attempt roll wide of the left-hand post.
Four minutes later, with McKenna down on the left flank, play was waved on by referee Beth Rattray, with Emma Robers taking advantage of the space to feed Maja Markovski. The former Melbourne Victory attacker, who had a red-hot NPLW Victoria season, played a delightful backheel to Heyman. Tathem got out to block the Canberra star, but the ball rolled into the path of Stanic-Floody, centrally positioned, just over 20 yards from goal who sent an absolute rocket into the net.
There were a few half chances in the 22 minutes of regulation time that followed, but neither side could add to their tally.
Whilst Perth let the lead slip, there were plenty of good things on display with the exciting raw talent of this young team allied at last with some experienced heads. They now just need to combine this with their attacking talent – the likes of Kelli Brown and Tanika Lala were absent today – and they may soon be able to look further up the table.
To view Impetus’ Kris Goman’s exclusive photo gallery from the game, visit our Instagram page @ImpetusFootball
Teams: CANBERRA UNITED (3-4-3): James, Christopherson, Anton, Taylor-Young, Stanic-Floody, McKenzie, Robers, Malone, Skelly, Markovski, Heyman. Substitutes: Bertolissio, Keane, Majstorovic (GK), Murray, Dos Santos.
Scorer: Stanic-Floody 68′.
PERTH GLORY (4-2-3-1): Dumont, Johnston, Chinnama, Zogg, Tathem, McKenna, Cassidy, Hollar, Dalton, Wynne, O’Donoghue. Substitutes: Abdul-Massih, Anderson, Roberts, Sunaga, Templeman (GK).
Scorer: O’Donoghue 41′.
Referee: Beth Rattray.
Attendance: 1,237.
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