Gabby Hollar scored twice inside a minute as Glory ran out 5-2 winners in Sunday’s Challenge Cup clash with the Gold Fields WA State Team at Dorrien Gardens.
Watch Stephen Peters’ post-match interview HERE.
Glory made the best possible start as Kelli Brown fired them ahead just two minutes in and Georgia Cassidy then doubled her side’s lead on the half-hour mark when her cross was palmed into the net by WA ‘keeper Bec Bennett.
Hollar’s brace early in the second half effectively made the game safe, the American finding the net via a neat one-on-one finish and a close-range shot, before the State Team mustered two late replies through Momo Sakairi and a Baxter Thew own-goal.
Glory were to have the final word, however, as Gabby Dal Busco spilled Lucy Jerram’s cross and Miku Sunaga forced the loose ball in.
In front of a bumper crowd on a glorious spring afternoon in Perth, Stephen Peters’ side came flying out of the blocks as Brown found a pocket of space just inside the box and crashed a shot into the roof of the net.
Glory continued to control proceedings as the first half wore on and were rewarded when Cassidy delivered a cross from the right and in her attempt to punch it clear, Bennett could only help the ball over the line.
2-0 became 3-0 eight minutes into the second half, Sunaga bisecting the WA defence with a fine through-ball and Hollar timing her run to perfection before applying a clinical finish.
And immediately after the restart, Glory struck again, this time a goalmouth scramble culminating in Hollar’s shot bobbling its way home.
The WA side could have been forgiven for downing tools at that point, but driven on by former Glory players Sarah Carroll, Abbey Green and Jamie Lee Gale, they instead remained competitive throughout and managed to pull two goals back in the final nine minutes.
Sakairi claimed the first having been teed up by Green and the second arrived when Gale’s cross from the right was deflected into the net by the luckless Thew.
It was Glory who completed the scoring, however, Gabby Dal Busco failing to gather Jerram’s cross from the left and Sunaga prodding home from point-blank range.
Match Details
2024 Gold Fields Challenge Cup
Gold Fields WA Women’s State Team 2 (Sakairi 81′, Thew (o.g.) 88′) Perth Glory 5 (Brown 2′, Cassidy 29′, Hollar 53′. 54′, Sunaga 90+3′)
Half-time: 0-2
Dorrien Gardens
Sunday 13 October 2024
Referee: Niall Gilmour
Gold Fields WA State Team: 89.Bec BENNETT (gk), 2.Sarah CARROLL, 3.Olivia WOOD, 5.Reina KAGAMI, 8.Jamie Lee GALE, 10.Abbey GREEN, 11.Abbey MEAKINS, 12.Andy TEIXEIRA, 14.Caitlin DOEGLAS, 21.Queyan DOAN, 43.Annabelle LEEK
Substitutes: 4.Sam MATHERS, 6.Stella ZAMPOGNA, 7.Daisy MCALLISTER, 9.Sofia OSBORNE, 13.Momo SAKAIRI, 19.Gabby DAL BUSCO (gk)
Yellow Cards: None
Red Cards: None
Perth Glory: 1.Miranda TEMPLEMAN (gk) (20.Jessica SKINNER (gk) 62′), 2.Mischa ANDERSON (17.Charli WAINWRIGHT 62′), 3.Baxter THEW (T*), 5.Grace JOHNSTON (4.Lucy JERRAM (T*) 57′), 6.Izzy DALTON, 7.Megan WYNNE (15.Ella LINCOLN 71′), 8.Georgia CASSIDY, 9.Gabby HOLLAR, 10.Kelli BROWN (19.Sarah O’DONOGHUE 34′), 13.Ella ABDUL MASSIH (16.Tanika LALA 62′), 19.Miku SUNAGA
Substitutes not used: None
Yellow Cards: Cassidy
Red Cards: None
(*T denotes trialist)
(photo courtesy of Tom McCarthy)
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