Canberra United make the long journey to WA this weekend for their pre-Christmas WWL Round 6 match against Perth Glory.
Canberra United will make the long journey to Western Australia this weekend for their pre-Christmas Westfield W-League Round 6 match against Perth Glory. And following a round of results that puts United second on the ladder ahead of the match, with a game in hand, the team will make the trek in good spirits and confident that they can record a fourth win from five starts this season.
United-s newly-formed strike force of Michelle Heyman and Stephanie Ochs is certainly paying dividends at present with the pair having notched up seven of Canberra-s eight goals between them including all three in the comfortable 3-0 away win at Newcastle Jets last time out. Ochs- brace in that match took her to three goals in four games for the club whilst Heyman improved her record to a remarkable 28 goals in 38 matches.
Goals have certainly been in plentiful supply whenever United meet Perth with an average of four a match from the eight meetings between the clubs to date rising to 4.75 per game whenever United travels to Perth. It-s certainly a fixture that Canberra enjoy, having never lost to the Glory in those eight games.
In Western Australia, high scoring draws have been the norm with three of the four games ending in stalemate. Indeed, the last time Canberra played over in Perth the match ended 3-3, coming on the back of a brace of 2-2 draws in the first matches between the teams in 2008 and 2009 respectively. The only victory for Canberra came in November 2010 when Heyman, on her debut for the club, bagged a hat-trick in a thumping 4-1 win.
Perth heads into the clash in sixth place on the ladder having won twice in their five matches played to date. After thumping the Jets away, 5-2, in their season opener, the team fell to successive home defeats as Brisbane Roar (0-3) and Melbourne Victory (1-3) emerged victorious from visits to WA. A narrow home win over Adelaide United (1-0) was then followed by last week-s reverse to Western Sydney Wanderers with the Red & Blacks convincing in a 3-0 win.
There-s plenty of talent in Jamie Harnwell-s squad however with forwards Kate Gill and Rosie Sutton a handful for most defences. Add in the quality of Matildas- internationals Collette McCallum and Aivi Luik and the Glory represent a decent test for United. One player missing from the match will be former Canberra United defender Bronwyn Studman, the combative stopper serving a one-match ban following her dismissal for the accrual of two yellow cards against the Wanderers.
Elisabeth Migchelsen and her squad will arrive in Perth the day before the match to get their preparation spot on as they look to return to the Capital with an early Christmas present of three vital points.
CANBERRA UNITED SQUAD (to be selected from)
1. Lydia WILLIAMS, 2. Catherine BROWN, 4. Kendall FLETCHER, 7. Ellie BRUSH, 8. Meg McLAUGHLIN, 9. Grace GILL, 11. Michelle HEYMAN, 12. Sally ROJAHN, 13. Nicole SYKES, 14. Ashleigh SYKES, 16. Lori LINDSEY, 17. Holly HOUSTON, 19. Jennifer BISSET, 20. Trudy BURKE, 22. Stephanie OCHS
In: 17. Holly HOUSTON
Out: 3. Georgia YEOMAN-DALE
Unavailable: 6. Caitlin MUNOZ, 15. Sally SHIPARD
LAST TIME OUT
Saturday 22nd December 2012
Perth Glory 3 (Aivi Luik 34-, Elizabeth Milne 35-, Elissa D-Ovidio 49-) Canberra United 3 (Nikki Washington 24-, Hayley Raso 44-, Caitlin Cooper 71-)
COMPLETE RECORD
30/11/08: Perth Glory 2 Canberra United 2
17/10/09: Perth Glory 2 Canberra United 2
14/11/09: Canberra United 4 Perth Glory 0
07/11/10: Perth Glory 1 Canberra United 4
29/01/11: Canberra United 1 Perth Glory 0
29/10/11: Canberra United 3 Perth Glory 2
05/12/12: Canberra United 2 Perth Glory 1
22/12/12: Perth Glory 3 Canberra United 3
OVERALL: Played 8, Won 5, Drawn 3, Lost 0
HOME: Played 4, Won 4, Drawn 0, Lost 0
AWAY: Played 4, Won 1, Drawn 3, Lost 0
