Canberra United will welcome Brisbane Roar to Gosford this weekend as both sides look to close the gap to the leaders
Canberra United and Brisbane Roar will meet this weekend in Round 7 of the 2016/17 Westfield W-League as they both look to keep pace with Melbourne City and Sydney FC on top.
United will come into this match off the back of a historic victory over Melbourne City last weekend, highlighted by 15-year old Karly Roestbakken’s match winner in the 83rd minute.
That win put them two points behind City and Sydney FC in the table, and extended United’s undefeated streak to four matches, a number they will look to improve on this weekend.
Nickoletta Flannery started that game in place of Hayley Raso, who was named last week but did not play due to a thigh niggle and United Head coach Rae Dower now looks at a possible selection headache with both players bringing a huge amount of talent to the side.
Jasmyne Spencer has again been named as she looks to return from an ankle injury suffered in Round 3 the last time these two played, meaning this weekend would be something of a fitting return for the American speedster.
For Brisbane, they will come into this match following a 3-2 win over Adelaide United at Suncorp, where they raced out to an early lead before switching off towards the end.
Two goals in the first 11 minutes got the Roar firmly out of the blocks, before Allira Toby made the margin a seemingly unasailable three goal just four minutes into the second half.
A costly defensive lapse from the home side allowed Adelaide back into the game ten minutes later, before a spot-kick pulled the margin back to one goal with fifteen minutes to go.
The Roar held on, but they will need to play the full 90 minutes this weekend against a Canberra side well accustomed to punishing defensive lapses.
Katrina Gorry will again look to run the show for the visitors having been instrumental against Adelaide, scoring the first goal before setting up Tameka Butt for the second not long after.
Trudy Burke had her best game of the season the last time these two met as she picked up the Player of the Match award, keeping an astounding barrage of shots out as Brisbane peppered the goal.
With United a bit more settled now they should not allow so much forward leeway to Brisbane, however the Roar are a side good enough to make their own inroads, and this is sure to be a fitting televised contest.
