Western United put the foot down in the Ninja A-League Women on Tuesday night, scoring a dominant 4-1 win over Perth Glory at Ironbark Fields.
Grace Maher scored a stunning Olimpico – her second such goal in Western United colours – just two minutes after a Perth own goal to put the Green and Black in a commanding first-half position.
There was more action to come as Melissa Taranto found the net with an excellent long-range strike before Aimee Medwin completed the romp off the bench.
The win takes United back into the top six in the Ninja A-League to kick start the second half of the regular season.
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The sole change to Kat Smith’s starting XI came in goal as Chloe Lincoln was recalled in place of Alyssa Dall’Oste.
Emily Roach returned to the bench after being rested last Friday, while Adriana Taranto started for the second game in a row.
First half
Western United got off to a good start in what was an open beginning to the game, shifting the ball forward quickly and looking to get at Perth’s defence.
Despite that positive play in possession, there was no obvious route to goal for much of the first half hour in the game, with United’s closest looks coming from a couple of dangerous corners.
Adriana Taranto was United’s biggest threat coming in from the right-hand side and it was a superb bit of play from the No.15 that created the opening goal.
Teasing her defender one-on-one, Taranto cut inside and forced a good save from Casey Dumont which fell to Glory defender Claudia Valletta who got her clearance all wrong, slicing it back into her own net.
That was the let off that United needed and within two minutes the lead was double thanks to another piece of Maher magic.
She had threatened to do it earlier on in the game, but the vice-captain was not to be denied as she hit a perfect inswinging corner into the far side of the net, placing United firmly in control at the break.
Second half
Perth looked to issue a response following the interval and started the second half sharply, using the wind at their backs to get on the front foot in search of a route back into the game.
The Green and Black defence remained sturdy, though, ensuring there was no immediate threat threat posed as the hosts continued to push on.
United remained in control of proceedings and added a glorious third goal with 20 minutes to play.
Medwin provided energy off the bench and found Melissa Taranto in space in midfield and the finish was the definition of precision, arrow low into the bottom left corner and out of Dumont’s reach.
Perth did manage to pull one back 10 minutes later but on a dominant evening, it was only right that Western United had the final say as substitutes combined with Kiara De Domizio’s deflected shot falling into Medwin’s path for a simple back-post finish.
Worthy reward for Medwin’s positive display was the bow on top of a fantastic night for Smith and her team with a trip to in-form Adelaide United over the horizon on Saturday night.
