Melbourne Victory 1-0 Western Sydney Wanderers
by Alyce Collett (14/3/26)
Above: Melbourne Victory celebrate after Holly Furphy (second from left) scored against the Western Sydney Wanderers tonight. Photo: via the A-Leagues.
Melbourne Victory have pulled off a gritty 1-0 victory over the Western Sydney Wanderers to pick up a very important three points in the race for the finals. The winning goal came from Holly Furphy, who pounced on a deflection from a shot from Kennedy White to drill the ball into the back of the net.
Possession between the two sides was fairly even, but there was one glaring issue both sides struggled with.
Both sides certainly had plenty of shots on goal, but they both struggled to get those shots on target.
In the first half, Melbourne Victory had eight shots on goal and the Wanderers had nine.
However, both sides tended to put too much power in their shots, with plenty of them sailing well over the top of the goal.
This meant that at half time, each side had only recorded one shot on target.
Things were not much better in the second half in terms of percentage of shots on target. Four of Victory’s nine second half shots were on target, while none of Western Sydney’s four second half shots were on target.
Western Sydney’s best chances came late in the first half, with Tahlia Younis hitting the crossbar in the 42nd minute, while Danika Matos also went close in first half stoppage time.
Victory’s win tonight is an important one in a tight race at the bottom of the top six. They are still in a logjam, but with only two matches in their season left (they have the bye next weekend) every extra point they can get is crucial.
Teams: MELBOURNE VICTORY (4-2-3-1): Newbon, Pickett, Bunge, Morrison, Blissett, Lowe, Ray, Furphy, Pollicina, Sakalis, White. Substitutes: Curtis, Jančevski, O’Grady, Techera, Maher, Woodward.
Scorer: Furphy 57′.
WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS (3-4-1-2): Khamis, Buchanan, Hooks, Cerne, Matos, Chessari, Harrison, Bennett, Younis, Fazzari, Collins. Substitutes: Edwards, Harada, Khoshaba, Ng-Saad, Rue, Zumaya.
Referee: Sophie Allum.
Attendance: TBC.
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