Set Pieces - Round 3

Photo: Joseph Mayers Photography

Round 3 saw the W-League ladder start to take shape with Sydney FC and Perth Glory remaining the only undefeated sides after strong wins over the Western Sydney Wanderers and Adelaide United, respectively.

Brisbane Roar got on the board with their first win and points with Emily Gielnik continuing her strong scoring form while Canberra United suffered a home to an ever improving Melbourne Victory.

Team of the Week – Notes

• Casey Dumont: a third start in the TOTW sees Dumont the early leader for Goalkeeper of the Year thanks to another strong performance and clean sheet
• Shelina Zadorsky: has been strong all season alongside defensive partner Alanna Kennedy
• Emma Checker: did an excellent job on keeping the dangerous Michelle Heyman relatively quiet. Checker consistently read the play well and broke up Canberra attacks through the middle
• Vedrana Popovic: defensively worked well up and down the Brisbane flanks and provided support in attack
• Steph Catley: subdued Stephanie Ochs down the left flank while getting forward often. Rewarded with a goal for her efforts
• Tori Huster: anchored the Jets midfield well and won the key battles
• Elisa D'Ovidio: worked hard all afternoon and scored the opening goal while providing assists on the other two.
• Amy Harrison: quickly growing into one of the key Sydney FC players as she grows into her attacking role. Finished off her work with a goal but could have had more.
• Sam Kerr: the fulcrum of the Perth attack. Kerr finally made it count on the scoreboard but could easily have had a hattrick if not for Melissa Barbieri
• Lisa De Vanna: Melbourne's forward creator who put an exclamation mark on a good afternoon's work with a cheeky lob
• Hayley Raso: been the spark up front for Brisbane and this week finished off her work with two goals

Honourable mentions: Melissa Barbieri, Emily Gielnik, Lauren Steer, Caitlin Foord, Christine Nairn, Nicole Begg

Note: The players are in no particular formation just the nominated defenders, midfielders and strikers

Short Corners

• Sunday saw Canberra United suffer their biggest home defeat in their history as they went down to Melbourne Victory 4-2. To put that in context, in that one match they conceded half of their 'Goals Against' tally (8) of Season 6.

• For the second week in a row a player was sent off in a W-League match with Linda O'Neill only lasting 85 minutes on her return. Red cards aren't a rarity in the W-League with 20 over the history of the league. 2011/12 saw the most card action with 5 players getting their marching orders in Season 4.

• For the third straight match Brisbane Roar striker Emily Gielnik found herself on the scoreboard. Gielnik has transitioned well from her early days as Brisbane's "super sub" to become a consistent scorer for the Roar and at 22 is the second youngest player in the Top 10 of the All time goalscorers list.

• Who is youngest player on that list? 21 year old Perth Glory forward Sam Kerr who, with her 19th W-League goal on Saturday, moved into the Top 10 for the first time.
  Black in action for the Matildas

As a prodigiously talented teenager, Kerr is still the youngest ever W-League goalscorer at just 15 years 2 months. She is also the youngest ever player to make her W-League debut at 15 years and 1 month.

• At the other end of the spectrum, Lori Lindsey (34 years and 6 months) and became the third oldest W-League goalscorer thanks to her stunning free kick.

The oldest ever W-League goalscorer is South Australian legend Sharon Black with her 90th minute goal against Perth Glory giving her the record way back in Season 1.

It was Black's last professional season after a top flight career that spanned 17 years and included 61 caps (20 goals) for the Matildas and World Cup (1999) and Olympic Games (2000) appearances.

Black and fellow Matildas teammate Alison Foreman (playing for Fortuna Hjørring) are the only Australian women to appear in the UEFA Women's Champions League final