Rylee Baisden grabbed two goals and fellow-American Cyera Hintzen also found the net as Glory came from 2-0 to secure a remarkable 3-2 victory over Canberra United in Sunday’s Liberty A-League clash at Macedonia Park.
View the match highlights HERE.
The five-goal Round 5 thriller was yet another unforgettable episode in what has become one of the most compelling rivalries in Australian women’s football, with the drama getting underway early as Nickoletta Flannery fired the visitors into a 13th-minute lead.
Vesna Milivojevic duly doubled their advantage shortly after the half-hour mark to leave Glory with a mountain to climb, but they gained a foothold in the shadows of half-time when Baisden crashed home her first of the game from close range to halve the arrears.
Hintzen then drew Glory level early in the second half with an emphatic finish, before turning provider to tee Baisden up for what proved to be the winner in the 69th minute.
While quick to point out that there is still plenty or room for improvement, Head Coach Alex Epakis also took great pride in his charges’ performance.
Listen to his full post-match media conference HERE.
“It was a performance built on resilience and character,” he said.
“We went down 2-0 and that obviously wasn’t the start that we wanted, but the players knew that it was really important to get something today.
“We knew internally that we were capable of performances and results like that against strong teams, but it was just a case of actually doing it and today the players did us all very proud.”
On a typically sunny and breezy Perth afternoon, the visitors managed to find the net with the first chance of the game, Michelle Heyman making a typically strong burst down the right before delivering an inch-perfect cross to the far post where Flannery was left with the simplest of tap-ins.
After Chloe Lincoln was forced into a fine save to prevent Hana Lowry from equalising almost immediately, United doubled their lead courtesy of Milivojevic who crashed home a shot having been teed up by Grace Jale.
Glory refused to crumble, however and after Alana Jancevski had rattled the crossbar from long-range, they went one better in first-half stoppage-time.
The Canberra defence failed to deal with Lowry’s corner and when the ball fell kindly for Baisden, she needed no second invitation to find the roof of the net.
That goal changed the entire complexion of the game and with the momentum now very much in their favour, Glory levelled things up shortly after the restart when Hintzen found a pocket of space in the box and arrowed a rasping drive past Lincoln.
With the home crowd getting right behind them, Epakis’ side continued to pour forward and were rewarded for their adventure again 21 minutes from time when Hintzen found Baisden and she took her tally for the season to four with a pinpoint low shot.
The latter stages saw Canberra bombard the Glory area in a desperate bid to salvage something from the game, but with the returning Kim Carroll very much to the fore, the home side held firm to lock in a very welcome first win of the campaign.
Match Details
Liberty A-League 2022/23 Season Round 5
Perth Glory 3 (Baisden 45+2′, 69′, Hintzen 53′) Canberra United 2 (Flannery 13′, Milivojevic 34′)
Half-time: 1-2
Macedonia Park
Referee: Kelly Jones
Perth Glory: 20.Sarah LANGMAN (gk), 3.Kim CARROLL, 4.Natasha RIGBY (c), 7.Liz ANTON, 8.Hana LOWRY, 10.Susan PHONSONGKHAM (12.Sofia SAKALIS 60′), 11.Rylee BAISDEN, 15.Cyera HINTZEN, 18.Sadie LAWRENCE, 21.Ella MASTRANTONIO (9.Demi KOULIZAKIS 75′), 23.Alana JANCEVSKI (42.Gabriella COLEMAN 68′),
Substitutes not used: 1.Morgan AQUINO (gk), 17.Abbey GREEN
Yellow Cards: Jancevski
Red Cards: None
Canberra United: 18. Chloe LINCOLN (gk), 5. Emma ILIJOSKI, 6. Laura HUGHES, 8. Sasha GROVE,10. Grace MAHER (12. Hayley TAYLOR-YOUNG 79′), 11. Grace JALE, 15. Madison McCOMASKY, 16. Kennedy FAULKNOR, 17. Vesna MILIVOJEVIC, 19. Nickoletta FLANNERY (13. Sophia CHRISTOPHERSON 60′), 23. Michelle HEYMAN
Substitutes not used: 1. Keeley RICHARDS (GK). 7. Ellie BRUSH, 24. Ellen GETT
Yellow Cards: Hughes
Red Cards: None
#ONEGlory
