CommBank Matildas were in action across the league as Cortnee Vine returned from her hamstring injury to score the winner for Sydney FC against the Newcastle Jets.
Read our review of all of the action below.
A brace to Sophie Harding meant that the Western Sydney Wanderers defeated the Central Coast Mariners 3-0 on Friday night. The Mariners could have taken the lead in the first half but an inability to take their chances left the door open for the Wanderers to take control of the match. The speed of Harding and Cushla Rue in particular proved difficult for the Mariners’ defence to deal with, and the Wanderers ran out of comprehensive winners. Kyah Simon is still injured – the CommBank Matilda is yet to appear in the Mariners’ matchday squad.
Perth Glory reclaimed their place on top of the table with a 3-1 victory over Melbourne City. City struck first through Hannah Wilkinson, the Kiwi international heading home a pinpoint cross from starting debutant Tijan McKenna. However, the Glory soon took control. English national Millie Farrow was on point to score Perth’s first A-League Women's hattrick since Sam Kerr, helping to leapfrog her side back over City into first place.
Holly McNamara was in the stands after undergoing surgery following her ACL injury acquired three weeks ago.
Meanwhile, it was the Taranto show in Adelaide, as twins Melissa and Adriana combined twice to help Western United to a 3-1 victory over the Reds. Melissa found her twin twice at the back post to give Western a 2-0 lead in the second half. Adelaide pulled one back through Chelsie Dawber, but it was last season’s Golden Boot winner Hannah Keane who sealed the result with a goal in stoppage time.
Chloe Logarzo started and played the full match for Western United as an attacking midfielder.
Sunday’s fixtures got underway with a thriller in Wellington, the Melbourne Victory holding on for a 2-2 draw against the Phoenix. Victory got scoring underway from a corner thanks to a first goal as an Australian citizen to centre-back Kayla Morrison. However, the Phoenix hit back almost immediately through a corner of their own, Kiwi international Kate Taylor in the right place to head home after Mariana Speckmaier did just enough to keep the ball in play.
The Phoenix took the lead through Emma Main, but wouldn’t hold it for long. Japanese striker Kurea Okino scored her second in two games, levelling the scores again before halftime. While the home side had the better of the second half they weren’t able to break the deadlock and a hotly contested fixture ended with a point apiece.
Lydia Williams started in goal for the Victory and played the full match. Elise Kellond-Knight also completed a full game in midfield. Emily Gielnik is still unavailable due to injury.
Cortnee Vine was the hero for Sydney FC, scoring her first goal of the season on her return from a hamstring injury as they defeated home side Newcastle Jets 1-0. Vine – still not fully match fit – was substituted in the second half and made an instant impact, her 84th-minute winner being no less than the Sky Blues deserved after a largely dominant performance. Jada Whyman started in goals for Sydney and kept a clean sheet.
Emily van Egmond started the match for the Newcastle Jets but was unable to work the magic that she had done for her previous two games, she was withdrawn from the match at halftime.
Finally, Canberra United turned on the class at McKellar Park, defeating Tameka Yallop’s Brisbane Roar 5-1. Serbian international Vesna Milivojevic was involved in everything – scoring a well-deserved hattrick – while Sophia Christopherson and Mary Stanic-Floody scored their first A-League Women’s goals. Yallop played the full match for the Roar but had little impact on proceedings.
The win was soured by Milivojevic’s withdrawal late in the match due to a knee injury. If it is confirmed to be the worst news, it draws devastating parallels with CommBank Matilda Holly McNamara - similarly injured after a game-breaking hattrick - and all of our thoughts are with the 21-year-old.