Impressive opening round in W-League

The title race in the inaugural W-League season looks set to be hotly contested with numerous teams showing evidence in the opening round that they will provide stiff competition.

Queensland Roar and Sydney FC confirmed their championship credentials with comprehensive victories, but Melbourne Victory, Newcastle Jets and Canberra United also displayed some impressive form.

There was enough quality in the weekend’s matches to suggest that the standard has improved after four years without a national competition since the Women’s National Soccer League was discontinued in 2004.

In Sunday’s only match, Newcastle Jets were forced to recover from conceding a goal after just 90 seconds to record an important 2-1 win over the visiting Canberra United.

Experienced Matildas striker Kate Gill grabbed both goals, taking her chances well after returning from a stint with Swedish Club AIK Solna just 24 hours prior to kick-off.

Canberra showed their intentions early, rocking the home side when a corner from newly-capped Matilda Christine Walters was turned in at the near post by striker Sasha McDonnell.

The only non A-League club in the competition, Canberra showed signs that they could trouble the best in the league with an impressive debut performance.

United though are likely to be without the services of key striker Caitlin Munoz for several weeks after she was forced off in the second half with a knee injury.

Kara Mowbray could have changed the course the match and doubled Canberra’s advantage but blazed over after rounding the goalkeeper.

The Jets fought back and teenage midfielder Emily van Egmond had a header disallowed for offside.

But the home side were not to be denied.

Gill grabbing the first of her brace mid-way through the first half when she latched onto a long ball from skipper Cheryl Salisbury, shrugging off a defender before outpacing the defence to score.

Matildas strike partner Munoz had two good opportunities to score as Canberra dominated large chunks of the second half in a match played at high tempo despite the early afternoon heat.

Seven minutes from time, and against the run of play, Gill grabbed an opportunistic winner finishing with style from just inside the penalty area.

“It was shaky, we haven’t had great preparation but I was always confident in the fact that we had a lot of experience on the park,” said Jets coach Gary Phillips.

“We were a bit underdone which was always going to be an issue especially in the warm conditions.

“Given our experience I was fairly confident that we would create our chances and that we could do enough to get through.”

Sydney FC’s 4-0 win over Perth Glory sees them hold a narrow lead at the top of the table on goal difference over Queensland Roar who defeated Adelaide United 4-1.

In Saturday’s other match Melbourne Victory defeated Central Coast Mariners 2-0 at home.

Round two action will see a number of young stars absent as the Young Matildas compete in the Under-20 World Cup qualifiers in Kuala Lumpur.