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Ton-Up For Heyman In Capital City Derby
by Jeremy Ruane
Michelle Heyman scored her hundredth Ninja A-League Women's goal for Canberra United on 10 November as she led her side to a 1-0 win over Wellington Phoenix in front of 645 fans at Jerry Collins Stadium in Porirua, the venue for the season's first Capital City Derby.
Wellington enjoyed the better of the early exchanges - their passing out of defence was a lot more accurate compared to their opening fixture - but it was Canberra who opened the scoring with their first attack, in the eleventh minute.
Emma Robers latched onto a loose ball in the centre circle and unleashed a scintillating through ball which split Wellington's defence and allowed Maja Markovski to storm through the inside left channel into the penalty area.
She lured Carolina Vilao out of goal before unselfishly slipping the ball across to one of the competition's most prolific markswomen in Matildas star Heyman, who fair slammed home her 100th goal in a Canberra shirt to break the deadlock.
The home team looked to get back into the contest, but too often their attempts to conjure something up in the attacking third foundered on a stray pass. Their first opening came in the nineteenth minute, Annalie Longo lobbing the ball forward for Grace Jale, whose deft headed flick found Manaia Elliott racing in behind. Her volley sizzled over the near post.
Four minutes later, Vilao's clearance was dummied by Emma Main for the benefit of Alissa Whinham, who thundered through the inside right channel with Jale in support, and only Liz Anton standing between the pair of them and United goalkeeper Sally James.
The Football Ferns defender dealt with the situation superbly, her covering run preventing Whinham from angling a pass through for Jale. When she tried to do so, Anton swooped and averted the danger - a brilliant piece of defending.
Just before the half-hour mark, Longo, Jale and Whinham combined on the right, with Jale delivering a super cross to the far post. Elliott was the beneficiary, but her progress was snuffed out by the covering defenders, Darcey Malone combining with Hayley Taylor-Young to shut down the threat posed by the Junior Fern.
In the 32nd minute, United mustered their first threat on goal since opening the scoring. Aideen Keane got the better of Rebecca Lake on the visitors' right flank before delivering a low cross to the near post, Markovski her target. Tiana Jaber had other ideas, however, her timely tackle thwarting the danger.
Canberra went close again two minutes before half-time, with Sofia Christopherson picking out Heyman with a cross which she steered into the stride of Keane. Vilao dashed out of goal to save at the striker's feet, but copped a "Charlie" in the process, and was replaced twixt the sticks for the second spell by Aimee Feinberg-Danieli.
Before the interval, however, Canberra should have doubled their advantage. Jale's stray pass was pounced on by Mary Stanic-Floody, who instantly sent the ball downfield. Keane set off in hot pursuit, but as she raced past Jaber, her right hamstring gave way.
Instinct kicked in, and she fired a shot past the struggling figure of Vilao, but also past the far post - one suspects that a fully fit Keane would have found the net to bring the half to a close with Canberra well on top. Instead, they only led by Heyman's goal against a Wellington team which was far from out of this contest.
As they proved just fifteen seconds into the second half. Receiving the ball from the kick-off, Longo set sail downfield on one of her trademark jinking runs, leaving a trail of opponents in her wake before setting up Elliott, who squandered a glorious opportunity to equalise by blazing the ball over the bar from ten yards.
The sight of Longo on manoeuvres captured more than Canberra's attention, as play was held up because of a pitch invasion - a dog decided this was the perfect time to do its own rendition of what had just occurred.
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Adding extra mirth to the mix was the fact that the dog was Longo's pet pooch, and it eventually ran to its owner, who sheepishly brought it to the sideline so it could be reunited with its minders, and play could continue.
More Wellington pressure followed, Longo's 52nd minute corner being superbly met by Jale, who looked on in disbelief as James produced a brilliant save to keep out her header, which was in for all money - a splendid stop, diving to her left.
James intervened again six minutes later, this time thwarting a fifteen-yarder from Main, while the post came to Canberra's rescue as the hour mark approached, Whinham the unfortunate player denied after Elliott and Main had combined to invite the playmaker to do what she does best - one of her twinkle-toed runs which mesmerise defenders, three on this occasion, before firing past James, only to see the ball strike the woodwork, rather than the net.
A rare Canberra raid soon after the hour saw half-time substitute Ruby Nathan played in by Markovski, only for Mackenzie Barry to thwart her progress as she looked to set up Heyman for a second goal.
Back came the home side, Elliott and Whinham combining to play Jale in through the inside right channel. Her cross found Main darting in to meet the ball, but James parried it away from her, but straight to the incoming figure of Whinham, who snatched at the chance and sent the ball soaring over the top of a gaping goal, much to the shooter's dismay.
After Whinham had stung the gloves of James with another attempt to level the scores, the visitors went desperately close to doubling their lead halfway through the second half. Christopherson got in on the right before looking to pick out Heyman with an inviting cross, one which the retreating figure of Barry had to head over her own crossbar to keep the deficit to just the one goal.
Wellington kept plugging away in search of an equaliser, but it was United who carved out the next opportunity, thirteen minutes from time. Substitute Jynaya Dos Santos' first contribution after entering the fray mere seconds earlier saw her work a one-two with Heyman before drawing a smothering save from Feinberg-Danieli, whose goal had been little threatened since her introduction to the fray.
The same cannot be said of the goal defended by her opposite number, and James once more saved the day for Canberra twelve minutes from time, turning Elliott's shot round the post after Jaber had evaded a challenge and delivered quality to the near post.
From Longo's resulting corner, substitute Lara Wall set an eighteen-yarder flying inches over the bar. Longo herself was soon struggling, having found herself on the wrong end of a clattering tackle from Holly Murray. But with Wellington having used their final substitute a mere sixty seconds earlier, she had to soldier on and play through the pain barrier.
Stoppage time saw Wellington piling on the pressure in search of an equaliser. Maya McCutcheon saw her header, from a Longo corner, parried to safety by James, while referee Beth Rattray was perfectly placed to turn down Wellington claims for a penalty as substitute Olivia Fergusson, on debut, went to ground under the challenge of Taylor-Young.
Longo then pinged one over the top, inviting Fergusson to tear past the last defender, only for James to dash out and save at her feet. The striker went in on the game's most influential player with a wee bit too much venom, however, earning herself a booking as Wellington's last chance to level the scores went west, as did the three points, destination Canberra in this latest instalment of the Capital City Derby.
Wellington: Vilao (Feinberg-Danieli, 46); Jaber, Barry, Lake (Brazendale, 82); McMeeken (Wall, 75), Longo, McCutcheon, Whinham (Tanaka, 75), Elliott (Fergusson, 79 (booked, 90)); Main, Jale
Canberra: James; Taylor-Young, Anton, McKenzie; Christopherson, Malone, Stanic-Floody (booked, 74 (Dos Santos, 76)), Robers (Murray, 72); Keane (Nathan, 46), Heyman, Markovski (Bertolissio, 67)
Referee: Beth Rattray
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