Perth Glory have dropped points in their most important fixture of the season, drawing 2-2 with Newcastle Jets in Round 11 of the Westfield W-League.
Perth Glory have dropped points in their most important fixture of the season, drawing 2-2 with Newcastle Jets in Round 11 of the Westfield W-League.
The Glory came in to the match on top of the table, needing just a win to secure their first ever finals appearance.
The result now means the Glory slip to third on the table after Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory enjoyed wins.
Jets star Emily Van Egmond gave the visitors the perfect start, weaving her way through a lacklustre Glory defence to curl the opener into the top-right corner of the net.
It wasn’t the start coach Jamie Harnwell would have wanted after new goalkeeper Kaitlyn Savage was left stranded as she trailed back to try and pull off a miraculous save.
To the home side’s credit, they fought hard in the extreme conditions and continually applied pressure to Jets goalkeeper Eliza Campbell with Rosie Sutton finding the equaliser.
After poor distribution let them down early, the Glory settled and was able to get their talismanic captain Collette McCallum into the match.
The Matildas star was a constant threat in central midfield, playing delicate through balls for her strikers, although she didn’t have her shooting boots as she normally does find the target when an opportunity arises.
An injury to Sasha Andrews forced a reshuffle, with Harnwell bringing on Shannon May with the inaugural player moving to the unfamiliar position of left back.
The second half saw the Glory start the stronger of the two sides, and it didn’t take long for the home side to find the back of the net.
A shocking clearance from Campbell allowed Gill to pounce, opening up the angle and slotting home into the bottom-right corner to give the Glory a deserved lead.
Although the Glory continued to press at every opportunity, a defensive lapse allowed the Jets back into the game through Jasmin Courtenay.
The youngster pounced on the Glory leaving her too much space and she hit her shot on the turn straight into the top corner of the net to make it 2-2.
“We just didn’t turn up to play today,” said Perth Glory captain Collette McCallum.
“We trained hard all week and were looking forward to this match, but definitely didn’t expect this result.
“He (coach Jamie Harnwell) told us to have a good hard look at ourselves and we need to focus better and turn up to win if we are going to play finals.”
Perth will now regroup and travel to Adelaide to take on the Lady Reds in a must-win fixture next Saturday.
Perth Glory 2 (Rosie SUTTON 22-, Kate GILL 56-)
Newcastle Jets 2 (Emily VAN EGMOND 3-, Jasmin COURTENAY 77-)
Saturday 5 January, 2013
Intiga Stadium, Inglewood
Kick-off: 4.00pm local time
Referee: Catherine HOFFMAN
Crowd: 736
Perth Glory: 2. Sarah CARROLL, 4. Bronwyn STUDMAN, 6. Sasha ANDREWS (5. Shannon MAY 36-), 7. Aivi LUIK, 8. Ella MASTRANTONIO, 9. Rosie SUTTON (13. Elisa D-OVIDIO 76-), 12. Kate GILL, 14. Collette McCALLUM (c), 15. Liz MILNE, 17. Marianna TABAIN, 26. Kaitlyn SAVAGE (gk).
Substitutes not used: 20. Zoe PALANDRI (gk), 19. Shawn BILLAM.
Yellow cards: Elisa D-OVIDIO 83-
Newcastle Jets: 1. Eliza CAMPBELL, 2. Hannah BREWER, 3. Hayley CRAWFORD, 4. Gemma PEARCE, 5. Tori HUSTER, 7. Gema SIMON (c), 8. Madeline SEARL (15. Alisha FOOTE 24-), 9. Tara ANDREWS (17. Mikaela HOWELL 87-), 10. Emily VAN EGMOND, 16. Stacey DAY (13. Bronte BATES 90-), 19. Jasmin COURTENAY.
Substitutes not used: 20. Alannah ROSEWOOD (gk).
Yellow cards: Stacey DAY 33-, Emily VAN EGMOND 59-, Tara ANDREWS 73-
