One draw, two wins, three days quarantine and now more than two weeks between matches. It’s been a busy start to the Westfield W-League season for Canberra United.
Their most recent clash saw them share the points on the road against Brisbane Roar, thanks to some brave goalkeeping from Sally James and an incredible long range shot from Grace Maher late in the game.
Top of the table is up for grabs heading into the Round 5 matchup against Perth Glory, with Canberra having slipped into second place following the Round 4 bye, now sitting two points off ladder leaders Sydney FC.
This will be the first time Glory has played a team other than Adelaide United in the 2020/21 season and they will be eager to get some points on the board. The young side, coached by former Canberra United assistant coach Alex Epakis, went down 2-1 to the Lady Reds at home in their Round 4 match. Behind by one, Caitlin Doeglas scored her first goal in the Westfield W-League giving the Perth contingent some hope, however it didn’t take long before Adelaide hit back with a well-placed header from Emma Condon in the 74th minute.
This will not be the first time that Perth Glory have travelled to Viking Park to take on Canberra United. In a memorable matchup between the two in 2014, goalkeeper Chantel Jones had made the switch from Perth to Canberra and a spot in the finals was on the line heading into the last game of the season.
Canberra needed an equaliser to keep their season alive, and in the 68th minute, Canberra had a breakthrough. A diagonal pass was nodded down by Caitlin Munoz and Michelle Heyman smashed a half-volley past Dal Busco from close range as the roof threatened to come off the stand at Viking Park such was the roar of relief from the home support.
And now, with Jones rejoining the Canberra United squad ahead of the match this Sunday, old feelings may creep to the surface when two sides clash meet again at Viking Park from 4:05pm.
