Day 5 of the A-League Women was a rollercoaster, full of thrilling moments. Melbourne City returned to the top of the table after a commanding 2-0 win over Western Sydney Wanderers, remaining unbeaten this season. The Central Coast Mariners were not to be outdone, also continuing their own unbeaten run.
Record-breaking goalkeeper Casey Dumont grabbed the headlines in her final outing for the Perth Glory, although her heroics could not prevent a defeat to Melbourne Victory. Let’s dive into the action of the weekend.
Melbourne City took command of the table with a strong performance against Western Sydney at AAMI Park. A golden opportunity was almost gifted to Mariana Speckmaier when she nearly scored an early goal as Wanderers goalkeeper Sham Khamis accidentally gifted her. Speckmaier, however, could only skim the crossbar with his shot as Khamis was caught off guard.
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City broke the lead just before half-time, thanks to a precise pass from Kathryn Harvey, allowing Speckmaier to slot the ball into the back of the net past Khamis.
In a sequence that illustrated Western Sydney’s continued woes, City nearly extended their lead when Rebekah Stott’s cross was unintentionally cleared into Rhianna Pollicina’s face, bouncing off the post and avoiding danger.
The local team finally managed to score a second goal in added time, thanks to Alexia Apostalakis. His free kick was deflected off the wall, disorienting Khamis. Sophie Harding wasted a late chance to close the gap for Wanderers, who are stagnating at the bottom of the table.
Meanwhile, the Central Coast Mariners continued their unbeaten run with a dramatic win over Canberra United in Gosford.
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The Mariners were awarded a penalty early in the match when Jade Pennock was brought down by Elizabeth Anton; however, Sally James produced a phenomenal save to deny the on-loan Birmingham striker.
The visitors opened the scoring in stunning fashion late in the first half when Maja Markovski fired a fireworks shot from 30 yards that left goalkeeper Sarah Langman scrambling to catch the net.
Langman was decisive in the second half, making a brilliant double save for Deny both Markovski and Ruby Nathan to keep the Mariners in contention. The turning point came when Tiana Fuller took advantage of a loose ball, bringing the two teams back to level terms.
Barely six minutes later, the Mariners completed their comeback. Pennock and Shay Evans combined perfectly, with Evans’ precise pass finding Pennock, who delicately delivered for Evans to score his first goal for the Mariners, propelling them to third place in the table—while Canberra are in fifth place .
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Wellington Phoenix recorded their second win of the season against Brisbane Roar, thanks in large part to Annalie Longo, who scored a brace. The Roar were stifled twice by exceptional saves from Nix goalkeeper Carolina Vilão.
Wellington took advantage of a catastrophic mistake by Brisbane, where Leia Varley’s unlucky pass was intercepted by Longo, who orchestrated a lovely one-two before sliding the ball into the back of the net at the near post.
Emily Pringle managed to equalize for the Roar just before the half-time whistle, sprinting from the halfway line to score past Vilão.
However, Longo sealed the victory for the Phoenix with 20 minutes remaining, expertly controlling the ball on the edge of the Roar box before striking home, putting them firmly on the path to victory.
Sydney FC’s struggles continued as they fell to Western United in Tarneit. The hosts were initially held back by a superb save from Talia Franco, who denied an attempt from Keiwa Hieda.
Western opened the scoring ten minutes into the second half when Kahli Johnson raced through the Sydney defense to score from the edge of the box.
Sydney responded quickly, with Amber Luchtmeijer taking advantage of a defensive error to score her first goal of the season.
Kiara De Domizio’s late header clinched victory for Western United.
In another thrilling encounter, Fiona Worts’ brace propelled Adelaide United to another victory, continuing their impressive run this season. The Jets got close but saw a clear shot at the line.
Worts found the net just before half-time when the Newcastle keeper let a free-kick slip away, allowing Worts to slide the ball deep in the ensuing melee.
Worts’ second goal was a simple finish from a Lucia León cross, propelling the Reds to fourth place in the table.
Finally, a late goal from Alana Murphy delivered a dramatic victory for Melbourne Victory over Perth, despite Dumont marking her 150th appearance with a sensational penalty save.
Victory kept their composure, and Murphy’s long-range strike in injury time earned them a hard-fought victory.
