An undercooked Melbourne Victory has fallen victim to the Perth Glory double act of Caitlin Foord and Sam Kerr, giving up a shock lead to fall 2-1 at ABD Stadium.
Laura Spiranovic profited early from a Makenzie Arnold spill to tap her side into a 1-0 lead before Foord equalised with one of the final actions of the first half.
Kerr and Foord combined in the second half to secure the come from behind victory in a game that was largely played at the visitors tempo.
Victory worked hard to grab a fast start in the contest and did so through Spiranovic who scored in the eight minute.
The goal on the counter started through Annabel Martin, who found speedster Hayley Raso on the right.
The Matildas winger then squared up for American Christine Nairn who fancied her chances with a strike from 25-yards.
Her effort was spilled by Arnold, which allowed Spiranovic to ghost in, take a touch and lift the ball over the Matildas shot-stopper.
Thea Slatyer was rock solid on her return to W-League football and made a number of crucial blocks throughout the contest including a brave stop with her face off a Kerr volley.
Kerr was everywhere, and she found Foord with a low cross in the 20th minute, who forced Melissa Barbieri into a strong low save.
Perth defender Sarah Carroll nearly sent the ball into her own net soon after, but was spared by a last ditch clearance off the goal face.
That was a rare sight on goal for Victory, who failed to threaten too often in the first half despite holding the lead for its majority.
They even survived a penalty scare as the otherwise impressive Alex Natoli bundled Kerr over from behind in her defensive area; Barbieri stood firm to deny the Perth winger from the spot, holding her low shot.
But with the final action of the first half, Perth found their equaliser through a Foord stunner, the forward skipping seamlessly through the Victory defence before finishing with aplomb across the face of goals.
Perth were somehow denied a second for the afternoon after a goalmouth scramble saw Kerr thrice denied from close range; Natoli and Briar Palmer combining to shut out the classy attacker from the goal line.
Kerr further stretched the Victory defence with a dazzling run, which saw her blaze past three defenders. However her finish from the edge of the area lacked conviction as Barbieri held comfortably.
The Victory nearly profited for a second time from an Arnold spill, the keeper mistimed her punch from Briar Palmer’s corner, which allowed Spiranovic to get a high header on the cross.
Nairn then cannoned a shot from a tight angle on the right, but the American’s shot hit the side netting.
Selin Kuralay narrowly missed the bottom left corner with a shot from 30-yards before becoming the unfortunate casualty of a serious knee injury, Slatyer also succumbing to cramp on her way out of the contest.
The injuries disrupted much of the momentum at a time where Victory looked more threatening, with Kerr and Foord enjoying chances sporadically spread throughout the final 15 minutes.
***
MATCH DETAILS:
Melbourne Victory: 20. Melissa BARBIERI (GK, C), 5. Briar PALMER, 9. Laura SPIRANOVIC (11. Melindaj BARBIERI 90’), 2. Alexandra NATOLI, 14. Selin KURALAY (15. Adriana TARANTO 78’), 6. Annabel MARTIN, 7. Enza BARILLA, 13. Thea SLATYER (18. Jessica PITTS 70’), 10. Christine NAIRN, 16. Hayley RASO, 8. Jamie POLLOCK
Unused Substitute(s): 1. Cassandra DIMOVSKI (GK)
Yellow Card(s): Nil
Red Card(s): Nil
Perth Glory: 1. Mackenzie ARNOLD (GK), 2. Sarah CARROLL, 3. Kim CARROLL, 4. Katie HOLTHAM, 5. Shannon MAY, 9. Caitlin FOORD, 12. Katie SCHUBERT, 13. Danielle BROGAN, 14. Caitlin DOEGLAS (6. Carla BENNETT 46′), 19. Ella MASTRANTONIO (8. Shawn BILLAM 66′), 20. Sam KERR (C)
Unused Substitute(s): Gabby DAL BUSCO (GK), 16.Thia EASTMAN
Yellow Card(s): Billam 85′
Red Card(s): Nil