Glory’s ALW Finals hopes suffered a major blow on Saturday evening as Canberra United ran out 2-1 winners at the Sam Kerr Football Centre.
Click HERE for full match highlights
Click HERE for Izzy Dalton’s post-match interview
Click HERE for Stephen Peters’ post-match media conference
Victory for the women in purple would have seen them move level on points with sixth-placed Brisbane Roar, but they made the worst possible start as Michelle Heyman fired United in front after 15 minutes and Mary Stanic-Floody swiftly doubled the visitors’ lead from the spot.
After Bethany Gordon missed a penalty for Canberra early in the second half, Tijan McKenna halved the arrears on the hour-mark, but although Onyi Zogg saw a late header thump against the post, Glory were ultimately unable to break through for a second time.
The result means that Stephen Peters’ side now sit five points outside the top six with two games of the regular season left to play.
Glory lost Natalie Tathem to a knee injury inside the opening ten minutes and were dealt a further blow moments later when a neat flick-on from Stanic-Floody allowed Heyman to race in behind before calmly slotting past the advancing Casey Dumont.
And things soon went from bad to worse for the home side as Tijan McKenna was adjudged to have impeded former Glory winger Aideen Keane in the box and Stanic-Floody finished emphatically from the spot to make it 2-0.
McKenna attempted to make amends in the shadows of half-time by firing in a low shot, but another former Glory representative, Sally James, got down well to make the save at the near post and ensure that her side would take their two-goal lead into the break.
Canberra then wasted a fine opportunity to make it 3-0 in the opening minutes of the second half as Bethany Gordon fired over from the penalty spot after Dumont had upended Heyman in a one-on-one situation.
And Glory made the most of that let-off by pulling a goal back on the hour-mark.
Kelli Brown supplied the deep cross from the right and McKenna applied a composed finish at the back post to claim her second goal in three games.
Urged on by a vocal home crowd, Glory proceeded to pour forward in search of an equaliser, with Susan Phonsongkham and Kelli Brown both just failing to convert decent chances.
The hosts duly went even closer three minutes from time as Zogg rose highest to meet an Izzy Foletta free-kick, but when her header crashed against the inside of the post and the ball bounced back out instead of crossing the line, Glory’s hopes of salvaging something from the game effectively went with it.
Match Details
Ninja A-League 2024-25 Season Round 21
Perth Glory 1 (McKenna 60′) Canberra United 2 (Heyman 16′, Stanic-Floody (pen) 21′)
Half-time: 0-2
Sam Kerr Football Centre
Saturday 29 March 2025
Referee: Molly Godsell
Attendance: 896
Perth Glory: 1.Casey DUMONT (gk), 5.Grace JOHNSTON (18.Izzy FOLETTA 83′), 6.Tijan MCKENNA, 7.Megan WYNNE (25.Ella LINCOLN 64′), 8.Georgia CASSIDY, 11.Natalie TATHEM (27.Charli WAINWRIGHT 15′), 13.Naomi CHINNAMA, 19.Sarah O’DONOGHUE (10.Susan PHONSONGKHAM 64′), 23.Izzy DALTON (c), 29.Onyinyechi ZOGG, 44.Kelli BROWN
Substitutes not used: 21.Miranda TEMPLEMAN (gk)
Yellow Cards: Cassidy, Dumont, Wainwright
Red Cards: None
Canberra United: 1. Sally JAMES, 5. Madison AYSON, 10. Mary STANIC-FLOODY (17. Maja MARKOVSKI 64′), 11. Emma ROBERS, 12. Hayley TAYLOR-YOUNG, 13. Sofia CHRISTOPHERSON, 21. Aideen KEANE (4.Holly MURRAY 64′), 23. Michelle HEYMAN, 25. Darcey MALONE, 28. Tegan BERTOLISSIO, 32. Bethany GORDON (7. Jynaya DOS SANTOS 86′)
Substitutes not used: 2. Alex MCKENZIE, 18. Coco MAJSTOROVIC (gk)
Yellow Cards: None
Red Cards: None
#ONEGlory
