Adelaide United suffered a 1-0 loss to Canberra United in Round 11 of the Westfield W-League 2018/19 season on Sunday.
Ellie Carpenter’s second-half goal proved the difference as Adelaide struggled to create clear-cut opportunities.
The Reds now have three successive home games to end the season as they aim to secure a maiden finals appearance, starting with Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday, 19 January.
One change was made to the starting line-up by Head Coach, Ivan Karlović, with Fanndís Friðriksdóttir replacing Charlotte Grant on the wing.
Adelaide settled quicker of the two sides and controlled possession early.
On her return to the Capital, Heyman almost opened the scoring when she rounded goalkeeper, Shamiran Khamis but saw her shot blocked by Taren King.
From there it was Canberra, who swung the momentum in their favour which saw the Reds needing to absorb a lot of pressure for the majority of the first-half.
Nickoletta Flannery was unable to keep her close-range effort down in the 15th minute, volleying over a beautiful early cross from Nikola Orgill on the right.
Amber Brooks continued to display why she is one of the competition’s most revered defenders, committing several crucial interventions and blocks.
The hosts continued to find joy on the right wing as Maria Rojas thought she scored a header after connecting with another superb cross from Orgill. However, it was swiftly and correctly ruled out for offside.
Canberra began the second-half in identical fashion to how they ended the first.
Carpenter forced Sarah Willacy into a smart save, parrying her shot out for a corner.
But she would not be denied in the 59th minute with an opportunistic goal after profiting from a fortuitous miskick.
Ashleigh Sykes low cross into the box found another substitute in Meaghan McElligott, and her miskick fell to Carpenter, who slotted her finish past Willacy from close proximity.
Twelve minutes later, Friðriksdóttir struck the crossbar when her shot was saved onto the woodwork brilliantly by Khamis.
The match opened up with Adelaide pushing for an equaliser, but they could not restore parity as their two-match winning streak came to an end.
Key moments:
11’ | Heyman rounds Khamis though her shot is blocked by King.
33’ | Rojas thought she scored after a clever header past but the assistant referee quickly raised her flag after
59’ | GOAL: The ball falls to Carpenter and makes no mistake from McElligott
71’ | CHANCE! Friðriksdóttir receives a pass from Grant and her thumping left-footed strike is tipped onto the bar by Khamis.
Match details:
Sunday, 13 January
Westfield W-League 2018/19 – Round 11
Canberra United 1 (Carpenter 59’)
Adelaide United 0
