If ever you had to wait 40-plus games for your maiden Westfield W-League goal to arrive then Georgia Campagnale’s 97th minute strike would be the ideal script to follow.
The 21-year-old had not found the back of the net in her previous 41 matches for Adelaide United.
But that all changed with the last kick of the game in her 42nd appearance against Melbourne City on Saturday night.
With literally seconds remaining on the clock, Campagnale dispatched a brilliant low, first-time drive into the bottom left corner, having only come into match on 85 minutes.
She recalls the lead up to the goal and highlighted Michelle Heyman’s awareness for having the presence of mind to dummy Amber Brooks’ pass. It subsequently was awarded the goal of the round.
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“Veronica (Latsko) got the ball in the final third and she did really well, she beat her player,” she said.
“Saw Amber, who came up front (from centre-back) for the final few minutes trying to get a goal and she ended up getting the ball.
“She turned her player and then she saw Michelle coming and at this stage I was running towards the goal hoping the ball would just fall to me.
“As I was running I noticed Michelle saw me and I know Michelle is a very smart player in how she plays, and I knew she was going to drag all the City players to her.
“And as the ball came to her all the City players went to her and she just dummied it through her legs which was very unselfish and it was fantastic play.
“I just saw the ball and ran and shot and it went in.”
That stunning goal from Campagnale meant the Reds extended their unbeaten streak to four matches to start the season.
She admitted her relief in finally scoring that elusive goal.
“This is my fifth season and I hadn’t score so it is about time I finally scored,” she said.
“And that was one of my goals this season, to finally score and I’ve done that and I’m obviously very happy about it.
“And it’s a bit of a relief that it finally happened so hopefully more is to come.”
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Traditionally deployed as a full-back, Campagnale’s versatility allowed her to feature in the midfield for the final 12 minutes and provide extra energy.
The tactical move by Head Coach, Ivan Karlović, evidently paid massive dividends, while the super-sub was quick to praise the team’s collective effort for the result.
“When I came on I knew I had to make an impact,” she continued.
“And if it wasn’t me, I wanted one of the girls to score and get that draw.
“It was always going to be hard to score two goals in that amount of time, so at least just getting that one goal and getting the draw was great.
“All the girls fought until the very last second of the game which was fantastic, because it shows we don’t give up as a team and we keep fighting right until that final whistle which Ivan was very happy about.”
Adelaide United host Perth Glory in Round 6 of the Westfield W-League 2018/19 season on Thursday, 6 December at Marden Sports Complex. Kick-off is at 7.00pm ACDT. Gates open at 6.00pm.
