Melbourne Victory consigned Canberra United to a fifth game without a win with a highly competent and professional 2-0 success in front of a crowd of 1,212 on a scorching afternoon at McKellar Park.
Goals in the first half from Nickoletta Flannery and Sara D’Appolonia secured the win for Jeff Hopkins’ team who kept up their push for the top spot with a commendable performance.
It didn’t take long for Victory to assert their authority and, unsurprisingly give the nature of these things, it was former United player Flannery to the fore. The Victory winger was the first to fire a shot in anger, Flannery controlling a cross into the area in the fourth minute and hammering an effort at goal that Sally James acrobatically tipped over the bar.
The respite was short-lived. To almost universal silence across the ground, Victory struck. A corner into the box was forced over the line from close range by, inevitably, Flannery. Immediately Victory attacked again, Alex Chidiac bringing a fine low save from James, the rebound, a mishit cross from Jancevski, coming back off the angle of post and bar.
Canberra, wearing their away kit of grey and light green, were struggling to impose themselves on the contest as away goalkeeper Courtney Newbon was having a relatively carefree afternoon. Rarely troubled inside the first forty-five minutes, Michelle Heyman’s drive and shot that drifted wide the home team’s most promising opening although United were growing into the encounter.
And yet It was Victory who added a second in first-half stoppage time as a speculative effort from D’Appolonia, taking aim at goal from close to thirty metres with the angle, found its way past a cluster of players and crept into the corner past the dive of James.
United introduced Bethany Gordon into the fray at the interval in place of Darcey Malone, as much to stifle the omnipresent threat of Chidiac as to raise the tempo and instigate attacks as the host went searching for a route back into the match. However, it was Victory who went closest first, Flannery hitting the bar with a shot from outside the box.
Alana Murphy then struck a sweet effort that flashed narrowly wide of James’ left-hand post as Victory threatened to add a match-killing third. Canberra kept plugging away, Heyman seeing a shot blocked at the end of a mazy run, whilst Antoni Jagarinec turned to the bench again to send on Lillian Skelly for Hayley Taylor-Young.
Later, Holly Murray and Alex McKenzie were thrown into the fray, but Canberra just could not find a way to threaten the Victory goal, the physically robust visiting team standing firm and repelling anything the home side were able to muster.
ROUND 7
Saturday 21 December 2024
Canberra United 0 Melbourne Victory 2 (Flannery 4’, D’Appolonia 45+2’)
(McKellar Park, Canberra, 17:00)
Canberra United: 1. Sally JAMES, 23. Elizabeth ANTON, 5. Madison AYSON (2. Alex MCKENZIE 87’), 10. Mary STANIC-FLOODY (4. Holly MURRAY 87’), 11. Emma ROBERS,12. Hayley TAYLOR-YOUNG (20. Lilian SKELLY 70’), 13. Sofia CHRISTOPHERSON, 17. Maja MARKOVSKI, 23 Michelle HEYMAN, 25. Darcey MALONE (32. Bethany GORDON 46’), 28. Tegan BERTOLISSIO
Substitutes not used: 18. Coco MAJSTOROVIC
