Brisbane Roar’s faint hopes of stealing a Westfield W-League home final all but vanished after allowing Adelaide United to snatch a 1-1 draw at the Adelaide Shores Football Centre on Saturday night.
Brisbane Roar’s faint hopes of stealing a Westfield W-League home final all but vanished after allowing Adelaide United to snatch a 1-1 draw at the Adelaide Shores Football Centre on Saturday night.
Dominant from the outset, the visitors had to patiently wait more than an hour to get on the board, which they did through super-sub Emily Gielnik in the 64th minute.
Brisbane looked like defending their lead with relative ease until Lady Reds youngster Emily Condon came up with an 87th-minute equaliser, meaning the Roar, already assured a finals berth, will have to vie for the premiership on the road.
It was a case of one that got away for Brisbane, utterly controlling proceedings from the outset but unable to fully capitalise on their ascendancy, largely through the grand work of Adelaide goalkeeper Melissa Barbieri and defender Monique Iannella, whose duel with speedy Roar striker Hayley Raso was a treat.
Larissa Crummer’s 18th-minute rifle sailed high while Katrina-Lee Gorry’s bustling run through the corridor two minutes later following a fine Brook Spence lay-off looked good but didn’t trouble the scorers.
On 29 minutes, Gorry, played through by skipper Clare Polkinghorne, pushed her shot hard into Barbieri, who was up to the task, albeit with a slight bobble.
The United custodian was again forced to produce some of her sharpest work when she denied the dangerous Raso’s fierce strike on the cusp of half-time.
Reds chances were few and far between, with very little play contained in their front third but captain Kristy Moore almost shocked the visitors on 25 minutes with a strong solo effort.
Taking advantage of a Brisbane turnover on 35 minutes, Moore scooted past two would-be tacklers and smacked one hard to Roar keeper Nadine Angerer, who showed why she is the reigning FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year, conjuring an excellent save.
Totally outplayed yet hanging onto a 0-0 half-time scoreline, Adelaide did a better job of matching their opponents after the interval.
Lisa Marie-Woods almost handed the Reds a shock lead when she curled a quality free kick just outside the box in the 55th minute, which was athletically parried over the crossbar by the outstretched Angerer.
At the other end, Raso made Barbieri work hard to save a good-looking shot in the 60th minute, before the teenaged striker, surprisingly, was substituted off a minute later.
Holding the momentum, Brisbane struck in the 64th minute when the tall Gielnik, who had been on the field for barely 11 minutes, slotted her third goal of the season, the ball rebounding perfectly into her path after ricocheting off the unlucky Barbieri, who had just blocked Gorry’s attempt.
It was just reward for the Roar’s dominance and the visitors looked like hanging on until Adelaide, from out of nowhere, equalised three minutes from regulation.
Snez Veljanovska lofted a beautiful lofted ball to second-half substitute Condon, who smartly beat Brisbane’s defence, catching a piece of the post with her pushed shot and finding the back of the net, helping United escape with a point.
Adelaide United 1 (Condon 87)
Brisbane Roar 1 (Gielnik 64)
@ Adelaide Shores Football Centre, 1/2/2014
Adelaide United: 1. Melissa Barbieri (GK), 6. Laura Stockdale, 9. Lisa-Marie Woods (18. Jessica Nagel 71′), 10. Monique Iannella, 12. Daila Tais-Borg, 14. Jayah Brown (8. Emily Condon 45′), 15. Jenna McCormick, 17. Tiarn Powell, 21. Snez Veljanovska, 23. Kristy Moore (C), 24. Louise Mason (7. Rachael Quigley 45′)
Unused subs: 20. Kelly Barltrop
Brisbane Roar: 1. Nadine Angerer (GK), 2. Laura Alleway, 4. Clare Polkinghorne (C), 5. Brook Spence, 7. Kim Carroll, 8. Elise Kellond-Knight, 9. Larissa Crummer (17. Emily Gielnik 53′), 10. Katrina-Lee Gorry, 11. Vedrana Popovic, 13. Tameka Butt, 16. Hayley Raso (6. Joanne Burgess 61′)
Unused subs: 19. Ayesha Norrie, 20. Kate Stewart
