A late goal saw the Roar narrowly fall 1-0 to the Western Sydney Wanderers in a tense clash in Round 3 of the Ninja A-League.
The Roar started brightly, and just four minutes in, Bente Jansen split the defence with a perfectly weighted through ball to 18-year-old Grace Kuilamu. Kuilamu burst through on goal and fired a shot, but it was pushed wide by a diving save from Wanderers’ goalkeeper Sham Khamis.
The Roar pressed on with attacking runs down the flanks through Ashlyn Miller and Sharn Freier, though their crosses into the box went unmet.
In the 23rd minute, Wanderers’ South Korean forward Kim Soeun (Sony) cut back near the goal line and struck from close range, but Roar’s CommBank Matildas keeper Chloe Lincoln stood tall to make the save.
The Wanderers continued to test the Roar’s backline and launched a series of threatening attacks on the Roar goal, yet each attempt went just wide.
The two sides went into halftime scoreless after a free-flowing first half, with chances at both ends.
Three minutes into the second half, Yallop threaded a through ball to Jansen, who executed her familiar cut inside to the left and curled a shot from the edge of the box just wide.
For the next thirty minutes, possession and attack flowed both ways, but neither team could seriously threaten the goal. The Roar linked up in their attacking third and won a series of corners, but the Wanderers’ defence held firm.
In the 88th minute, Wanderers’ left-back Ella Buchanan made a run to the back post and forced a frantic scramble in front of the Roar goal. The ball fell to Olivia Price, who made no mistake and slotted it into the open net.
The Roar pushed for a late equaliser, but the Wanderers held firm to claim the 1-0 win.
After a bye next week, the Roar will travel to face the Newcastle Jets in Round 5 of Ninja A-league.
MATCH DETAILS
Ninja A-League Women 25/26 – Round 3: Brisbane Roar FC vs Western Sydney Wanderers FC
Spencer Park, Newmarket
Sunday, 16 November (3:00pm AEST KO) LIVE on Paramount+
