Despite a dominating performance for Western Sydney Wanderers it took an injury time equaliser from Catherine Cannuli to earn a point against Adelaide United in Round 1 of the Westfield W-League.
Despite a dominating performance for Western Sydney Wanderers it took an injury time equaliser from Catherine Cannuli to earn a point against Adelaide United in Round 1 of the Westfield W-League.
Cannuli-s finish from inside the box gave the Wanderers a share of a match that they really should have won having created almost all of the game-s chances.
The Wanderers started strong, pegging Adelaide into their own half and the early pressure almost paid off after ten minutes.
Teigan Allen crossed in a delightful ball toward the near post for Michelle Carney with strong defensive pressure forcing her shot from close range to slide just wide of the upright.
Completely against the run of play Adelaide took the lead. Following a corner a mass of bodies in the box resulted in the ball pinballing unpredictably in the box. The ball ended up at the feet of Alexandra Gummer who dutifully poked the ball into the back of the net.
Not to be disheartened by the goal, the Wanderers continued to control the match and could have equalised just before half time. Another dangerous ball from the right led to Carney forcing an impressive save by Adelaide keeper Melissa Barberi.
There was a double substitution on the hour mark as Rachael Soutar had to be stretchered off the field after an ugly clash.
As the Wanderers gained further momentum with the introduction of Linda O-Neill only sheer luck and two great saves kept Adelaide in the lead as a few close efforts fell to Catherine Cannuli in a matter of minutes.
A diving header, a well-connected volley and a powerful low effort all somehow managed to avoid the back of the net.
With five minutes to go it was Cannuli at the centre of it again. The Wanderers right side was working overtime and another great ball saw Cannuli connect with a goal bound volley but an astonishing save by Barbieri once again denied the Red and Black.
In the first minute of stoppage time Cannuli-s hard work payed off. A deep corner into the box wasn-t cleared and Cannuli was there to volley home past Barbieri for the equaliser.
