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12Feb23
Harding Header Humbles Wellington
by Jeremy Ruane
A Sophie Harding header five minutes before half-time earned Western Sydney Wanderers a 1-0 Liberty A-League win over Wellington Phoenix in front of 313 fans at Wanderers Sports Park in Blacktown on 12 February, leaving the beaten side marooned at the bottom of the table.
The home team enjoyed the better of the cagey early exchanges, Harding seeing her sixth minute shot blocked to safety by Marisa van der Meer after Mackenzie Barry didn't clear Amy Harrison's ball forward as well as she would have liked.
The resulting corner saw Harrison's cross from a short corner routine stabbed past the near post by Clare Hunt, while on the quarter hour Olivia Price evaded two challenges before unselfishly inviting Harrison to shoot. Claudia Cicco's challenge prevented her from doing so, but Price latched onto the loose ball, only to fire her attempt wildly wayward.
Referee Bec Mackie was allowing a lot of challenges to go unchecked, something which prompted Harrison to maintain a running commentary about what should and shouldn't be awarded for the official's benefit. Perhaps the thirteen-times-capped former Matilda plans a future in refereeing after her playing days come to an end …
Wellington were more concerned about the here and now, and every once in a while they got their passing game together. Such as in the 24th minute, when Chloe Knott, Michaela Foster and Betsy Hassett combined, the Football Fern then evading a challenge before releasing Milly Clegg down the left.
She was initially thwarted by Alexia Apostolakis, but the talented teenager isn't one to give up easily, and her persistence forced Wests goalkeeper Jordyn Bloomer to race out of her goal and block Clegg's progress near the right-hand by-line inside the penalty area.
The visitors survived a scare when Harding flicked on a Harrison corner in the 28th minute, the ball ricocheting to safety off Cicco. Four minutes later, Harrison sent another delivery into the heart of the goalmouth which Harding only just failed to make contact with on the volley.
The striker then went down in the area under the challenge of Cicco, one which referee Mackie ruled legal and above board. You can imagine the GBH in the ear'ole she copped from Harrison about that one!
After Clegg had done Danika Matos a treat on the right, only to drill a cross across goal when the shot was on, Brianna Edwards was called into action for the first time in the match six minutes before half-time, plunging to her right to turn a twenty-five yarder from Harrison round the post after Price and Matos had combined down the left.
The resulting corner saw Harding hurtle into the heart of the goalmouth to meet Harrison's delivery with a glancing header which she expertly guided into the top far corner of the net, much to the dismay of Edwards, who was beaten in the air by the striker, whose run wasn't picked up by anyone in a yellow-and-black-striped shirt.
Wellington looked to get back on level terms before the interval, with Hassett combining with Clegg, who evaded two challenges on the left before linking with Grace Wisnewski. Knott was swiftly brought into play, and she invited Cicco to let fly. Sadly for the visitors, 'twas a standard defender's shot, but while it went into orbit, it didn't pose a threat to nearby air traffic!
The final act of the half saw a Foster corner cleared to van der Meer, whose goalbound header was headed off the line by the impressively performed Matos. And it was the visitors who were fastest out of the blocks at the start of the second spell, Paige Satchell, Cicco, Barry, van der Meer and Foster
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combining to get Clegg in on the left, from where she sent a shot skidding past the near post after sweeping past two opponents.
Hassett then prompted Clegg to threaten once more, but after evading two challenges she found Hunt halting her progress. Hassett picked up the pieces and invited Wisnewski to let fly from twenty-five yards, a shot which wasn't far away from the top right-hand corner of Bloomer's goal.
Back came the home team, Harding linking with Matos, whose angled pass was cleverly dummied by Price to allow Sheridan Gallagher to burst into the penalty area. Edwards blocked her shot at close quarters, but took out van der Meer in the process, the covering defender the subject of friendly fire from which she recovered after treatment.
Harrison let rip another twenty-five yarder in the 54th minute, an effort Edwards saved at the second attempt with Bethany Gordon closing in for the kill. The 'keeper required two attempts before saving a Matos drive later on in the contest, the fullback having sent a 63rd minute missile sizzling past Edwards' right-hand post after working an opening with the formidable Harding.
Either side of that incident, Wellington were to the fore in their pursuit of an equaliser. Bloomer dashed out to save at the feet of Ava Pritchard in the 56th minute as she looked to round the 'keeper, having been played through by Clegg, while on the hour Satchell headed over from inside the six-yard box after a pinpoint corner from Foster picked out the diminutive speedster.
Wisnewski and substitute Michaela Robertson prised open Western Sydney's defence in the 65th minute, only for the combined efforts of Hunt and Apostolakis to foil the forward's foray on the edge of the area.
Nine minutes later, substitute Isabel Gomez invited Clegg to cut inside and let fly once more, an attempt which drew a sprawling save from Bloomer, who plucked a Foster cross off the head of the striker eight minutes from time as the visitors continued their pursuit of parity on the scoreboard.
Seconds later, at the other end of the park, Harding came desperately close to clinching victory for the home team when a raking wind-assisted clearance from Bloomer invited the game's lone scorer to attempt to head home a second goal. Edwards grabbed the ball greedily, but one suspects that wouldn't have been the case had Harding allowed the ball to drop into her stride.
Wellington were getting desperate for an equaliser, and in stoppage time, they should have netted one. Gomez picked out Hassett on the left in space. Emma Rolston was too slow to get on the end of her buffet ball across the goalmouth, but when Saskia Vosper picked up the pieces and put the ball back into the danger zone, both Rolston and Robertson were loitering with intent. So, too, was Hunt, and it was the home team's captain who prevailed on this occasion.
With thirty seconds left, Gomez surged out of defence and found support on the left in the form of Foster. She played the ball towards the edge of the penalty area, where Rolston was on hand to play in Clegg. She evaded a challenge before letting fly, only for Bloomer to make a scrambling save which denied the visitors a share of the spoils in the shadows of the final whistle.
West. Syd.: Bloomer; Apostolakis (Abdul Massih, 68), Hunt, Ferris, Matos; Price (Saveska, 90 (booked, 90)), Harrison (Chessari, 75), Steinmetz; Gordon, Harding, Gallagher (Caspers, 75)
Wellington: Edwards; Cicco (Vosper, 79), Barry, van der Meer, Foster; Wisnewski (booked, 35), Knott (Gomez, 71), Hassett; Satchell (Rolston, 71), Pritchard (Robertson, 61), Clegg
Referee: Bec Mackie
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