Canberra United have fallen to defeat against Melbourne Victory with an injury time goal breaking the hearts of a bumper crowd at McKellar Park.
It was the best possible start for Canberra. Vesna Milivojevic tested the Victory keeper early with a well struck long range shot.
Less than a minute later and Canberra were in front. A perfectly weighted ball over the top from Holly Murray fell to the feet of Michelle Heyman, with the striker calmly slotting past the keeper to open the scoring.
Canberra enjoyed plenty of possession in the opening stages, constantly putting the Victory defence under pressure. Chances aplenty as Heyman and Milivojevic proved a handful, while Nickoletta Flannery and Deven Jackson also caused problems for Melbourne.
Despite having been doing plenty of defensive work, Melbourne managed to level the scores as Rachel Lowe found the back of the net in the 18th minute.
The visitors were in again a minute later but were denied by a pair of outstanding saves from Chloe Lincoln.
It looked likely that scores would be level at the break, only for the visitors to sneak in front through Alex Chidiac.
It was a battle in the second half as both side traded blows. Similar to the first half, chances were had at either end, with crucial saves from both keepers ensuring the scores stayed the same.
That was until Heyman once again found the back of the net for her fourth goal in two games. Having just come onto the field, Sofia Christopherson met the ball at the back post, heading the ball back towards Heyman, who tapped home for the equaliser.
There was a flurry of chances in the final 20 minutes as Canberra’s substitutes provided a spark in attack.
With the game looking likely to end in a draw, Emily Gielnik found a winner for the visiting side deep into stoppage time.
With little time left on the clock, Canberra threw everything at Melbourne but unfortunately could not find an equaliser, the final score 2-3 in favour of the visitors.
Canberra are next in action on January 28, travelling to take on the Wellington Phoenix.
