Western United had Grace Maher to thank after the centre-back scored an incredible long-range goal to help her side to a 1-1 draw against Newcastle Jets in the Ninja A-League Women on Saturday.
The Green and Black had plenty of chances across the 90 minutes, including a first-half penalty from Chloe Logarzo that cannoned off the post.
When the Jets took the lead with 20 minutes to play it seemed as if United might be headed for defeat, but Maher had other ideas with a spectacular strike sent flying into the top corner to secure a point.
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Kat Smith made three changes to the starting XI with Chloe Lincoln coming in for her Western United debut in goal.
Logarzo made her return in midfield and Melissa Taranto was also restored from the start, while Avaani Prakash returned to the bench.
First Half
It was a relatively slow start to the contest until Maher found Sasha Grove in acres of space on the left wing.
After making her way into the box, Grove’s shot was deflected by the hand of a Jets defender and a penalty was awarded, but Logarzo just couldn’t convert as the ball rebounded back off the inside of the post and away from danger.
Newcastle had a big chance of their own shortly after following a scramble in the box from a wide free-kick, with Alana Cerne placed perfectly to clear the ball away from the goal line.
Both sides largely traded possession without troubling the opposition goal for the remainder of the opening half, though Lincoln was sharp to make a couple of routine saves on her Green and Black debut.
Logarzo had another look-in with a sliding effort in the box, but the half-time whistle came with both teams having work to do in order to break the deadlock.
Second Half
Western United made a fast start to the second half with Catherine Zimmerman in the thick of the action, firing a ball across the face of goal and having a huge chance tackled away at the last minute.
With United finding ways to break through and around Newcastle’s defence, Sara Eggesvik tried her luck from distance with a superb effort, denied only by an equally impressive stop from Tiahna Robertson.
Lincoln followed suit as she came into her own after the hour mark with two excellent interventions to deny Sheridan Gallagher – the first a brave smother at the striker’s feet and the second a vital one-on-one save with an outstretched leg.
There was nothing the Matildas goalkeeper could do in the 70th minute, though, as Claudia Cicco found the bottom left corner from just outside the box.
Newcastle remained on the front foot and Lincoln made another superb one-on-one save two minutes later to keep United in the game, a stop that would later prove pivotal.
With just over 10 minutes remaining, United recycled possession from a corner as Maher picked up the ball with nothing but green grass around her.
After seeing the pitch continue to open up in front of her, Maher swung her left boot through the ball and watched as it sailed into the very top corner of the net for one of her trademark long-range efforts.
There was one more big chance that fell United’s way at the beginning of stoppage time when Prakash found Johnson in the box, but the latter couldn’t keep her effort down as it flew over the crossbar, forcing United to be content with a point in Unite Round.
