Canberra United celebrated their Season Launch with a thumping 6-0 win over the NPL All-Stars in front of a crowd of over 800 at McKellar Park. Matildas striker Michelle Heyman and Maja Markovski netted twice in the comprehensive victory against an opposition that defended stoically throughout.
As expected, the A-League outfit dominated the match from the outset, creating plenty of opportunities against the All-Stars defence with star striker Heyman very much to the fore.
The Matildas international went close to opening the scoring in only the fourth minute when, after some neat interplay around the edge of the penalty area, Heyman lifted a finish over the head of All-Stars goalkeeper Janet King but watched on as the ball cannoned back off the crossbar.
Almost straight afterwards, following Aideen Keane collecting a sixty-metre Crossfield pass from Elizabeth Anton rifling over after cutting inside, Heyman scuffed a straightforward looking chance straight at King from the top of the six-yard box.
There was to be no such reprieve in the eighteenth minute. A sensational ball from Emma Robers slicing the gap between the fullback and centre-back, found the lively Markovski whose low centre into the middle was swept past King into the net from close range by Heyman.
Seven minutes later the lead was doubled. A delightful pass in behind the defence from Jynaya Dos Santos found Heyman in on goal, and the striker steered an unerring finish past the advancing King to doubler her, and the team’s tally.
At the other end Coco Majstorovic in goal for United barely had a touch, having not a save to make, the best moment from the All-Stars seeing the speedy Tianah Miro scorching past Holly Murray, but unable to find the right delivery.
The second-half was a mirror of the first as United continued to press, substitute Mary Stanic-Floody o the fore, testing King’s alertness with an adroit effort on the turn, before seeing a magnificent free-kick met with a thumping header from Markovski who bulleted home the third just past the hour.
Moments later Ruby Nathan’s shot was superbly turned over by King, however the Kiwi striker was not to be denied and almost immediately as on hand to side-foot home from a square-ball from Markovski.
A raft of changes from both teams throughout allowed the All-Stars, who had only had one short session together before this clash, to give everyone minutes, but one of the biggest roars of the day was for the introduction of local talent Jaya Bowman into the United team, the Canberra Olympic player brought on midway through the stanza.
There were more goals for the fans to cheer as Markovski was alert to a loose ball inside the area and skipped around the grounded King to slide home from an acute angle and cap an excellent personal display.
The pick of the bunch might well have been the last, Stanic-Floody taking aim from fully thirty metres and cracking a dipping drive that flew over the head of King and into the net to wrap up the afternoon’s entertainment.
MATCH DETAILS
Canberra United 6 (Heyman 18’, 25’, Markovski 65’, 85’, Nathan 67’, Stanic-Floody 89’) NPLW All-Stars 0
(McKellar Park, 15:15)
Canberra United: Coco MAJSTOROVIC (Georgia RITCHIE 72’), Hayley TAYLOR-YOUNG, Elizabeth ANTON, Alex MCKENZIE (Darcey MALONE 46’), Tegan BERTOLISSIO (Sofia CHRISTOPHERSON 14’), Emma ROBERS (Jynaya DOS SANTOS 72’), Holly MURRAY (Jaya BOWMAN 72’), Jynaya DOS SANTOS (Mary STANIC-FLOODY 46’), Aideen KEANE (Lillian SKELLY 72’), Michelle HEYMAN (Ruby NATHAN 51’), Maja MARKOVSKI
NPLW All-Stars: Janet KING, Bronte PYKE (Nadia ZAKMAN 35’, Kat PERIC 65’), Kat PERIC Nicole JALOCHA 46’), Ivana GALIC, Rhiannon FENSOM, Sofia PALYWODA (Chloe GORDON 23’, Bronte PYKE 46’, Reilly YUEN 85’), Nicole JALOCHA (Stella DE MARCO 28’, Sofia PALYWODA 46’, Stella DE MARCO 65’), Tianah MIRO (Arusha CHEW 28’, Alyssa DI-CAMPLI 60’), Reilly YUEN (Ginger OLIVER 23’, Tianah MIRO 60’), Madelyn WHITTALL (Reilly YUEN 35’, Chloe GORDON 65’, Sofia PALYWODA 85’)
