The Lady Reds finished off their 2011/12 Westfield W-League campaign with a 4-1 loss to Melbourne Victory at Burton Park.
The Lady Reds finished off their 2011/12 Westfield W-League campaign with a 4-1 loss to Melbourne Victory at Burton Park.
Adelaide United made a promising start with the opening goal of the game before they were overpowered by an impressive Victory outfit who, despite finishing fourth, is set to cause plenty of problems for the top three in the finals.
Winger Donna Cockayne had the perfect chance to put the Lady Reds ahead inside five minutes when she latched onto a cross at the back post from Katherine Ebbs but blasted her effort over the bar.
Former Lady Reds midfielder Katrina Gorry was in outstanding form for Melbourne as she gained control of the match and provided plenty of attack for the visitors, including a delightful through-ball for Ashley Brown whose shot rebounded off the post.
Marijana Rajcic when close minutes later when Racheal Quigley saw her header denied and Rajcic followed up with her own header which was expertly tipped over the bar by Victory keeper, Brianna Davey.
From the resulting corner Rajcic made no mistake connecting with Anna Green-s corner and looping her header over Davey and into the net to gift Adelaide the lead.
Melbourne kicked-up the pressure and found three goals before the break in a 15-minute period of dominance.
It was Gorry who equalised for Victory running onto a through ball from Jodie Taylor before sliding her shot under the onrushing Sian McLaren in the Lady Reds goal.
For all her efforts Brown eventually got on the score sheet with her maiden WWL goal when her cross from the right, wrong-footed McLaren and found its way into the back of the net, giving Victory the lead.
McLaren was again left stranded minutes later when on the stroke of half time, Caitlin Friend scored in similar fashion to Brown as her cross from the left flew over the Lady Reds keeper and into the top corner.
The visitors took their foot off the pedal in the second half and chances were few and far between.
Gorry though continued to torment Adelaide and was denied her second with McLaren using her legs to block the midfielder-s one-on-one effort from just inside the area.
Victory finished the match with a fourth in injury time when Kendall Fletcher knocked a shot in from close range after the ball had initially ricocheted off Lady Reds skipper Abby Erceg.
Adelaide United 1 (Mariana Rajcic 23-)
Melbourne Victory 4 (Katrina Gorry 31-, Ashley Brown 36-, Caitlin Friend 45+1-, Kendall Fletcher 90+2-)
Sunday 15 January
Burton Park, Adelaide
Adelaide United: Sian McLAREN (gk), Ruth WALLACE (Nenita BURGESS 56-), Anna GREEN, Abby ERCEG, Ebony PHILCOX (Georgia MARCRI 29-), Racheal QUIGLEY, Marijana RAJCIC, Donna COCKAYNE, Emma CHECKER, Grace HENRY, Katherine EBBS (Vanessa REED 78-)
Substitutes not used: Kristi HARVEY (gk)
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Melbourne Victory: Brianna DAVEY (gk), Rebekah STOTT, Maika RUYTER-HOOLEY (Rita MANKOWSKA 63-), Kendall FLETCHER, Danielle JOHNSON, Stephanie CATLEY, Ashley BROWN (Louisa BISBY 71-), Jodie TAYLOR, Catlin FRIEND, Katrina GORRY, Amy JACKSON (Georgie KOUTROUVELIS 87-)
Substitutes not used: Cassandra DIMOVSKI (gk)
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
