Brisbane Roar Women have vowed to bounce back after a 2-0 loss against Perth Glory Women in Round 5 of the Westfield W-League at Suncorp Stadium today.
The Roar Women faced a strong opening from Perth Glory and conceded an early goal after keeper Haley Kopmeyer cleared the ball but it fell to Samantha Kerr who laid it off for Vanessa DiBernardo to drive into the net from 12m.
For the remainder of the first half, the Roar Women were in control, dominated possession and looked confident in defence. But they couldn’t claw back an equaliser.
A late speculative shot from long range by DiBernarndo looped over Kopmeyer and into the net to provide the visitors with a winning margin that perhaps didn’t reflect the closeness of the game.
After a good start to the season, the Roar Women have now suffered consecutive losses and need to recover quickly, both physically and mentally, when they take on an undefeated Melbourne City away from home next weekend.
There were plenty of positives for the Roar Women to build on.
Defenders Angela Beard (above) and Ruth Blackburn were stunning on the left side of the field and ensured Matildas duo Caitlin Foord and Kerr couldn’t get a shot on goal.
The Roar’s Katrina Gorry and fellow midfielder Tameka Butt continued to give good service to the forwards with surging runs and through balls to Emily Gielnik (below) but the Perth defence was solid and prevented any clear shots on goal.
The home side was fortunate not to concede a penalty when Foord went down just outside the 18-yard box in the early part of the second half.
The remainder of the half proved to be full of chances for the Roar Women but none could be capitalised on to give them a chance of taking something out of the match.
Goals
8’: Roar keeper Haley Kopmeyer tries to kick the ball out of box but it hits Sam Kerr who calmly controls it and passes to Vanessa DiBernardo for her debut goal. 0-1
88’: DiBernardo scores a second by sensationally lobbing the ball from 25m out on the left over the top of Kopmeyer and into the back of the net. 0-2
Talking points
Perth lost star Matildas striker Samantha Kerr early on with an ankle injury. Brisbane had an opportunity to take control of the match at that point, but didn’t.
Quote Unquote
Roar midfielder Tameka Butt: “We had the right attitude and we kept going until the very end, so now we just have to look forward to next weekend.”
Roar Women Coach Belinda Wilson: “It was frustrating, we spoke at halftime about a few things we wanted to improve on.
“I thought we were getting on top and might over-run them, but at the end of the day they hit one and it hit the net.”
Roar defender Ruth Blackburn: “We are looking for another upset (against Melbourne City) just like we did against Canberra. We are the underdogs going into it and we are happy with that.
“We are definitely going to give them a run for their money. “
What now?
Brisbane Roar Women are away against top-of-the-table and undefeated Melbourne City on Sunday. They need at least a point, if not a win, to get their season back on track.
Match stats
Westfield W-League 2015/16 Round 5. Sunday, 15 November, 2015, Suncorp Stadium.
Brisbane Roar 0
Perth Glory 2 (DiBernardo 8’, 88’)
Halftime: 0-1
Brisbane Roar FC: 1. Haley KOPMEYER (gk), 3. Amy CHAPMAN , 4. Clare POLKINGHORNE (c), 6. Angela BEARD, 9. Cortee VINE (Persson 61’), 10. Katrina GORRY, 11. Kirsty YALLOP, 12. Alisha FOOTE (above), 13. Tameka BUTT (Forbes 74’), 15. Ruth BLACKBURN, 17. Emily GEILNIK,
Subs not used: 20. Carrie SIMPSON (gk)
Yellow cards: Ruth Blackburn (85’) Katrina Gorry (90’) Red cards: Nil
Perth Glory squad: 1. Mackenzie ARNOLD (gk), 3. Kim CARROLL, 4. Katie HOLTHAM, 5. Shannon MAY, 6. Carla BENNETT (Doeglas 32’), 7. Nicole STANTON, 9. Caitlin FOORD, 23. Vanessa DIBERNARDO, 13. Danielle BROGAN, 16. Thia EASTMAN (Mastrantonio 62’), 20. Samantha KERR (c) (Schubert 21’)
Subs not used: 20. Gabrielle DAL BUSCO (gk)
Yellow cards: Nil Red cards: Nil
Referee: Katie Patterson Assistance Referee 1: Allyson Flynn Assistant Referee 2: Sarah Pratt Fourth Official: Ken Macdougall
