Natasha Dowie is on fire

Natasha Dowie once again takes the spotlight, this time in Round Ten against Adelaide United.

She was quality up front tonight for Melbourne Victory, taking on defenders, driving the ball into space, setting up opportunities, and most importantly: scoring goals.

Dowie created numerous opportunities for Melbourne. Her 17th minute goal was especially important in setting the pace for the rest of the game, and her 81st minute goal went a long way to securing the win for her side.

She knows exactly when the goals need to be scored, and she seems to satisfy on every occasion. 

The 31-year-old has been superb for Victory all season. She’ll be a vital part of Jeff Hopkins’ plan to remain in the top four on the table with finals time quickly approaching.  

Adelaide done and dusted

The team in last place with one point might have mathematically had the chance of making the finals before tonight’s game, but their 3-0 loss to Melbourne Victory means that prospect is now impossible.

The team in red hasn’t had the most successful season. They’ve only had one draw so far against Perth Glory last week, and they found it difficult to match it with fifth placed Melbourne Victory tonight – and Mary Fowler's absence once again didn’t help.

Adelaide couldn’t string many passes together, and although they tried to push forward to break Melbourne’s defence, luck was not on their side. They did create a few promising attacks throughout the game, but their final pass let them down.

United fought hard but at the end of the 90 minutes they left Marden Sports Complex empty handed.

Adelaide remains on the bottom of the ladder and will have to make the most of their last four games in their W-League campaign.

Keepers make all the difference

Sarah Willacy’s side might be out of the finals race, but this season could have been even more disastrous if it wasn’t for their shot-stopper.

Willacy has been in form all season, and today was no different.

Another save to add to the highlights reel came for Willacy in the 50th minute, when she was able to stop Rosie Sutton’s attempt on goal in a one-on-one situation by stretching out to stop the ball in its path.

Without a keeper of Willacy’s calibre, Adelaide might have lost tonight’s game, and many others, by a much larger margin.

The keeper did all the small stuff right, as did Casey Dumont at the other end of the field.

Dumont kept a calm head and was steadfast in her defence. She communicated well with her side and distributed the ball perfectly when she was called upon - and to top it all off, she kept a clean sheet.

How good have the keepers been in our W-League season so far?!