Western United struck four goals in 23 first-half minutes to romp to a 4-2 win over Wellington Phoenix on opening night of the 2024/25 Ninja A-League Women season.
After going behind early in the first half, the Green and Black turned it on thanks to a brace from Chloe Logarzo and one each from Aimee Medwin and Kahli Johnson.
Logarzo’s first goal came just seconds after United had gone behind, while Johnson’s was arguably the pick of the bunch as she hammered home on the half-volley via the crossbar.
The win gets United’s season off to a perfect start with another Friday night home fixture to come next week against Central Coast Mariners.
Western United Team News
Kat Smith named a strong line-up featuring three Western United debutants in Sasha Grove, Isabel Dehakiz and Emily Roach.
Catherine Zimmerman lined up alongside Johnson and Medwin in a front three, with a box midfield separating them from a back three.
First Half
It was Wellington that made the faster start in the game, although Logarzo nearly scored an outrageous opener from the halfway line.
The Phoenix looked sharp on the break and were able to get down the sides of United’s back three, eventually taking the lead when Alyssa Whinham’s ball across was turned into her own net by Grove.
That was seemingly the spark that United needed because a 23-minute onslaught followed suit as the home side took complete control of the contest.
It started immediately from kick-off as Grace Maher played Logarzo in with a perfect ball over the top and the captain finished at the second time of asking after her initial effort was saved.
Just a couple of minutes later, Johnson broke down the left wing and played a perfect ball for Medwin to finish at the back post.
The front three were humming and Zimmerman got a piece of the action when she played a sumptuous cross into the box for an onrushing Johnson to slam into the net off the crossbar.
Logarzo then doubled her tally to cap off the first-half blitz, capitalising on a mix-up at the back to bundle the ball in from a prone position on the goal line.
Second Half
The first half started in quite a similar fashion to the first with Wellington starting positively, though this time United was able to sit in its defensive structure and limit any chances for the visitors.
The Green and Black was able to maintain relative control in and out of possession to manage the contest, though there were still a couple of chances on goal.
Sandra Ibarguen came off the bench for her debut and made a nuisance of herself immediately, getting through on goal before being tackled right at the final moment.
A lull in the game meant really neither goal was troubled until the final 10 minutes when Wellington were awarded a penalty which Emma Main dispatched with aplomb, firing in off the crossbar.
That gave the visitors a sniff at the end of the game but after pushing with a couple of corners late on, there was no miraculous late comeback and Western United held on to a deserved and important three points on opening night.
