In front of a buzzing home crowd at Spencer Park, the Roar secured a crucial 3-1 win over Canberra United, climbing to third place on the ladder.
The Roar started brightly, and within minutes a cross from Bente Jansen found the head of Aimee Medwin, but her effort bounced into the hands of Canberra keeper Sally James. Minutes later, a corner from Marianna Seidl curled dangerously towards the far post; however, Canberra’s Michelle Heyman was on hand to nod the ball clear off the goal line and deny an early opener.
Canberra opened the scoring against the run of play in the 14th minute when Sofia Christopherson seized on a wayward pass from Chloe Lincoln and finished the ball into the bottom corner of the net.
The Roar repeatedly tested James and the Canberra backline and found their breakthrough in the 45th minute. Bente Jansen burst into space and threaded a pass through to Ashlyn Miller, who slipped past Canberra centre-back Elizabeth Anton and towards goal. Miller crossed it for 19-year-old forward Daisy Brown to slot home first time into the bottom left corner and make it 1-1.
In the second half, the first significant chance came in the 62nd minute when the ball bounced out from the goalbox to Jansen, whose powerful volley flew over the bar.
Minutes later, Sharn Freier gave the Roar the lead with a dazzling solo effort. She latched onto a long ball from just over halfway and outpaced Hayley Taylor-Young before drilling it into the far-right corner beyond James’ reach.
The next 30 minutes saw end-to-end action, but neither side could find a breakthrough.
In the 89th minute, a loose ball from a goalbox scramble fell to Bente Jansen, who made no mistake, powering it into the bottom left corner to make it 3-1.
Not long after, the final whistle sealed the Roar’s victory.
The Roar will host the Central Coast Mariners at Spencer Park next Friday night in their third consecutive home fixture.
