A 4-1 loss to Brisbane Roar brought the curtain down on Canberra United’s Season 10 of the Westfield W-League on Sunday.
Two goals in either half for the Roar including a brace from substitute Abbey Lloyd proved enough for them to overcome United despite a stunning goal from Elise Thorsnes.
Both sides got off to a cagey start with neither pushing the envelope, but it took only 11 minutes for the Roar to find the back of the net. A corner was floated in and when United failed to clear, Hayley Raso was on hand to slot the loose ball in to the net from close range.
Three minutes later Katrina Gorry lashed an effort off the crossbar, and shortly after Ellie Carpenter created United’s best early chance as she turned her defender inside out before firing an effort at Mackenzie Arnold.
Raso had two more solid chances inside the half hour but could not make the most of them, and Carpenter continued to trouble the Roar defence with her pace.
Haley Kopmeyer was putting in a solid shift in goals as per usual, denying Allira Toby as she raced away from the defence and providing a commanding presence behind the backline.
But five minutes before the break it came undone at the back once more; Emily Gielnik meeting a corner unmarked at the near post to tap home and give the Roar a 2-0 lead.
United looked to create a chance in stoppage time as she raced away from the defence, but Carson Pickett somehow escaped a booking for hauling the speedster back with a handful of material.
The visiting defence was tested again early in the second half with Toni Pressley and Kopmeyer both called on to block shots, before Michelle Heyman had an effort stopped on the post up the other end.
With 23 minutes to go Lloyd replaced Allira Toby, and it took only five minutes to pay dividends as she raced away from Pressley before finishing past Kopmeyer to extend the lead.
That sparked United to life though, and a superb strike from Elise Thorsnes just two minutes later trimmed the lead back down.
Carpenter latched onto a threaded ball from Liana Danaskos on the left edge of the area only to see it hacked away by a defender. But the ball made it only as far as the Norwegian forward who lashed a sensational first-time volley past Arnold and into the far corner.
Thorsnes was involved again three minutes from time when she cut the ball back for Sykes, only to see her shot blocked by Gorry in front of goals.
And three minutes later the Roar sealed the deal with Lloyd’s second. The substitute struck the post with a curling effort, but made sure she was first to the rebound and hammered a strike off the crossbar and in to secure Brisbane’s third Westfield W-League Premiership.
