Hooray, hooray, it’s a Holly Holly day for ALW double
Joanna Guelas |
Western Sydney striker Holly Caspers has pulled off a brace as the Wanderers beat reigning A-League Women champions Central Coast to end a dismal winless streak.
Caspers scored the opener at Polytec Stadium in the 35th minute before netting the match-winner in the 57th minute to snare the Wanderers’ first win in nine games.
But Caspers wasn’t the only Holly to score twice on Saturday, with rising Matildas star Holly McNamara guiding league leaders Melbourne City to a 2-0 win over Perth Glory.
Western Sydney’s second win of the season came after veteran Matildas midfielder Chloe Logarzo Berryhill announced her immediate retirement earlier in the day.
Logarzo Berryhill’s dream of playing in this year’s Asian Cup ended after the 31-year-old suffered an ACL, LCL and tendon avulsion injury in last week’s clash against Brisbane.
In Logarzo Berryhill’s absence, 17-year-old Talia Younis caused chaos in the midfield, burning Lorena Baumann down the left wing to set up Caspers in the second half.
The Wanderers are the first side to defeat Central Coast at their Gosford home this season, but are still dead-last in 11th (nine points), seven points behind sixth-placed Melbourne Victory.
Western Sydney have proved somewhat of a bogey team for Central Coast, who have not won at home in six meetings with the Wanderers.
The fourth-placed Mariners (18 points) could drop out of the top six this round, should fifth-placed Adelaide United (17) and sixth-ranked Melbourne Victory (16) win their games on Sunday.
Annalise Rasmussen scored the lone goal for the Mariners in the 41st minute, snaring her ninth of the season to momentarily share the lead in the league’s golden boot race with McNamara (11).
The Mariners found the equaliser before halftime thanks to Avaani Prakash, who kept her feet after a tackle from Wanderers skipper Amy Harrison to set up Rasmussen.
At the Sam Kerr Football Centre, defending premiers Melbourne City returned to their winning ways after a loss and a draw, thanks to McNamara’s goalscoring prowess.
The Matildas striker first got on the scoresheet in the 20th minute, when City defender Danielle Turner intercepted Perth right-back Grace Johnston’s pass to fire long-range to McNamara’s advantage for the opener.
City capitalised on another lapse in Perth’s defence for McNamara’s 11th goal of the season, with Bryleeh Henry threading the ball past three defenders in the 72nd minute.
There was ultimately a gulf in class, with the eighth-placed Glory managing just one shot in the first half.
Onyinyechi Zogg’s blocked shot in the 74th minute was the best chance out of a total of four attempts.
Suffering their first defeat after two wins and a draw, Glory will also be sweating on scans after young midfielder Tijan McKenna’s day ended in the 15th minute with a knee concern.
AAP
