Canberra heads to sunny Queensland for their penultimate match of the Westfield W-League season on 29th November as they meet Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium as part of another double-header with the Hyundai A-League.
Canberra heads to sunny Queensland for their penultimate match of the Westfield W-League season on 29th November as they meet Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium as part of another double-header with the Hyundai A-League. And with the race for a top four spot hotting up, United really needs to return from the Sunshine State with a positive result to secure their semi-final status.
But the Roar would like nothing better than to inflict what could be a mortal wound on their old rivals and bring a glimmer of light to a season of disappointment for the star-studded locals. The Roar, complete with their mini-army of Matildas’ internationals, have under-achieved in Season 7 of the Westfield W-League and will miss out on playing finals football for the first time in their history.
A season of woe was compounded last weekend as Melbourne Victory came from behind to down the Roar in front of the live TV cameras. The loss left Brisbane ten points adrift of the fourth placed spot, currently occupied by their opponents in this match, Canberra United. United is one of three teams locked on seventeen points with only goal difference separating them from Victory and Sydney FC on the ladder.
Defeat in this match, and three points for the Western Sydney Wanderers against Adelaide United, would send Belinda Wilson and her team into the final round of action in early December with the distinct possibility that they could end the campaign with the wooden spoon. Such a thought was laughable at the start of the season but a combination of bad luck, untimely injuries, and some superb performances from their opponents has left the Roar floundering.
There is no doubt whatsoever though that this Roar team still contains the basis of a quality side. With class acts such as Kim Carroll, Clare Polkinghorne, Elise Kellond-Knight and Katrina Gorry amongst their squad, Canberra will not be taking the challenge lightly. Indeed, in former United winger Hayley Raso, Brisbane possess a real threat out wide and, at the other end, German international goalkeeper Nadine Angerer adds even more quality to the ranks.
When the teams met earlier in the season at McKellar Park it was Canberra who came out on top winning the encounter 2-0 in front of a crowd of 762. Goals from Grace Field, her first in Canberra green, and leading scorer Michelle Heyman did the damage for Canberra on that occasion and it has been no secret that the green team have been performing better on their travels than at home this season.
To be successful at Suncorp Canberra will need to improve on a record that has seen them win only twice on eight visits to Queensland. They did manage to rack up three points on their trip north last season with a Heyman double adding to an early Lori Lindsey strike in a comfortable 3-0 win at AJ Kelly Fields. A repeat of that score-line would do very nicely for Elisabeth Migchelsen and her team as they look to claim a home semi-final.
SQUAD
1. Chantel JONES, 2. Catherine BROWN, 3. Julia DE ANGELIS, 4. Kendall FLETCHER, 5. Grace FIELD, 6. Caitlin MUNOZ, 7. Ellie BRUSH, 9. Grace GILL, 10. Grace MAHER, 11. Michelle HEYMAN, 12. Sally ROJAHN, 13. Nicole BEGG, 14. Ashleigh SYKES, 15. Tegan RIDING, 16. Lori LINDSEY, 17. Holly HOUSTON, 18. Rebecca KITING, 20. Melissa MAIZELS, 22. Stephanie OCHS
UNAVAILABLE: 8. Meg McLAUGHLIN (injured – season)
