A snapshot of round five of the ALW
Shayne Hope |
THEY SAID IT: “I’m going to go and buy a lottery ticket” – Melbourne Victory coach Jeff Hopkins reckoned he’d never seen a centre-back score a hat-trick until Kayla Morrison produced the goods against Newcastle.
BEAT THAT: Chloe Logarzo’s first goal for Western United was a belter. She danced between Melbourne City midfielders, played a one-two with Emma Robers, had an attempted pass blocked then ripped a wonderful long-range strike into the roof of the net.
WOMAN OF THE WEEK: Morrison saw Melbourne Victory teammate Melina Ayres score a brace in the opening stages of the clash with Newcastle and thought she’d go one better. The defender made a menace of herself at set pieces, scoring twice before half-time and adding a third goal to complete her hat-trick in the dying stages and see off the Jets’ challenge.
WORLD CUP WATCH: Logarzo underlined her plans to cement herself in the Matildas fold with a brace for Western United, while Katrina Gorry reminded everyone of her quality in her Brisbane Roar return. Ayres is uncapped but her fifth goal in three weeks keeps the pressure on other forwards to perform.
UNDER PRESSURE: Western Sydney have opened the season with four straight defeats and have failed to score in their last three outings. The latest failure was a 1-0 loss to Brisbane Roar. Only Wellington Phoenix are keeping the Wanderers off the foot of the table.
WHAT’S NEXT: There are only three games this week, with Canberra hosting Melbourne City and Newcastle taking on Brisbane on Friday night. Sydney FC meet Western Sydney in a derby on Christmas Eve.
AAP
