Returning Melbourne Victory star Beattie Goad has masterminded a comfortable 5-3 A-League Women win against Wellington Phoenix.
In her first outing since December 23, after which she took a medical study break, Goad scored two goals and created another as the Victory reeled off a seventh straight game without defeat.
Sunday’s other contests saw Central Coast shore up their finals credentials with a 2-0 win against Adelaide, while Perth survived an absolute barrage from Newcastle to pinch a 1-1 draw in Maitland.
Wellington trailed 5-1 but struck twice in injury time to add some respectability to the scoreline, although they were well beaten at the Home of the Matildas.
The win helped the Victory keep the pressure on the ALW’s top-three sides, within six points of top-ranked Western United after their hot recent form.
Goad’s addition could well help them close that gap further, after she needed just 10 minutes to find the back of the net against the Phoenix.
The versatile wide player got too much power on a header from an Emily Gielnik cross for Wellington keeper Rylee Foster to handle.
Goad then whipped in a corner so wicked that teammate Tori Hansen barely knew she was bundling it home from close-range, before an Alex Chidiac set-piece allowed Goad to do the same soon after.
Chidiac forced an own goal from Foster for a 4-0 halftime scoreline, but Jamilla Rankin returned the favour after the break by turning in a Phoenix corner.
Rachel Lowe made it 5-1 on 64 minutes, while late goals from Michaela Robertson and Mariana Speckmaier - just one minute apart - dragged the score back to 5-3.
The defeat continued the Phoenix’s most unwanted away record. They have lost eight consecutive matches on Australian soil to plummet down the ladder.
The Mariners found two second-half goals to see off Adelaide United and solidify fifth on the ALW table.
An 18-yard box scramble on 50 minutes allowed Tiarna Karambasis to jab home her first goal of the season, before Chinese striker Wurigumula lashed a second home for some breathing room.
They remain on track to play finals, locked inside the top six with a four-point cushion.
But Newcastle wasted an opportunity to boost their finals chances, held to a 1-1 draw with Perth despite registering a whopping 41 shots to their opponent’s five.
The Glory took the lead inside two minutes, although it wasn’t one of their players that found the back of the net.
Newcastle’s Natasha Prior couldn’t handle a cross put in by Perth’s Natasha Rigby and turned it in.
What followed was an absolute onslaught from the Jets, although only Melinda Barbieri was able to break through Perth keeper Morgan Aquino with her 77th-minute strike.
Teenage substitute Josie Allan almost nicked the points in the 96th minute, but a stunning right-hand save from Aquino denied her.
Newcastle remain sixth on the table, but blew a chance to put a three-point gap between them and the seventh-ranked Glory.
