Brisbane Roar have defeated Perth Glory 5-2 in a dominant display at Inglewood’s 6PR Stadium in Round 5 of the Westfield W-League.
Tameka Butt was the hero for the visiting team, bagging a hat-trick as Westfield Matildas coach Tom Sermanni watched on from the stands.
Despite a valiant effort from the Glory, Brisbane showed their class throughout the 90-minute display.
The unmarked Butt got the ball rolling early with a long-range effort which was inches away from the palms of Glory goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold and buried it into the top left corner of the goal for the opener.
Butt was in the thick of every attack forward for Brisbane and she was only denied her second by a brilliant diving save from a committed Arnold.
As the reigning champions continued to press, Perth’s first chance at goal came through Katarina Jukic’s cut-back for Marianna Tabain, but Roar goalkeeper Casey Dumont was alert to the danger and saved easily.
Ellen Beaumont was marshalling the defence well for the visitors and her outstretched leg saved a Perth attack through on goal as Emma Kete’s intended pass for Shannon May was cut out.
Kete then equalised from the spot after Elisa D’Ovidio’s touchline run and shot hit the outstretched hand of Ellen Beaumont.
Referee Trent Fleskens didn’t hesitate in pointing to the penalty mark and Kete didn’t disappoint by drilling her shot past the stranded Dumont in goals for Brisbane.
Another Kete shot just minutes later was saved by Dumont as the home side continued to search for the lead as half-time approached.
Brisbane then shocked the team in purple after Butt danced around some poor Glory defending and slotted past Arnold to make it 2-1 on the stroke of the interval.
As the Glory continued to match it with their more-fancied rivals, substitute Emily Gielnik provided the spark to shock Perth and extend Brisbane’s lead.
The standing Gielnik received the ball on the edge of the area and rocketed her shot into the bottom-left corner of the net to silence the home crowd.
Champions Brisbane showed their resilience through the second half and a dangerous corner was then tucked away by captain Clare Polkinghorne to make it 4-1 to the visitors.
To their credit, the Glory never gave up and a great pass from D’-Ovidio to Marianna Tabain pulled one back as the Perth starlet slammed her shot into the roof of the net and cut back the deficit.
But a late handball call against Katie Holtham saw Fleskens point to the spot again and Butt made no mistake to seal the win and bag a memorable hat-trick.
Perth Glory 2 (Kete 25p, Tabain 78)
Brisbane Roar 5 (Butt 6, 44, 74p, Gielnik 60, Polkinghorne 72)
