Glory women lose grand final
Two goals and a missed penalty in the space of three second-half minutes proved decisive as Perth Glory women lost their W-League grand final 3-1 to Canberra United at nib Stadium today.
The score was all square at 1-1 before Canberra went ahead for the second time on 75 minutes through a smart finish by striker Ash Sykes after she had held off Shelina Zadorsky's challenge.
Glory then had a great chance to equalise when they were awarded a rather soft penalty, but Kate Gill had her weak effort easily saved by Chantel Jones.
And Sykes made Gill pay for her miss when she capitalised on a mistake by Glory keeper Mackenzie Arnold, to nod in Canberra’s third.
United were even afforded the luxury of a missed penalty of their own in injury time when Arnold stopped Grace Gill's spot-kick, but that was of little consolation for Glory or nearly all of the 2671 crowd.
Stephanie Ochs, Michelle Heyman and Catherine Brown of Canberra pose with the trophy after winning the W-League grand final. Pic: Getty Images
Glory, who were hot favourites after finishing top of the ladder by a whopping 10 points, trailed at half-time to a well-struck shot by American import Stephanie Ochs on 20 minutes.
But they got on terms on 63 minutes thanks to Collette McCallum’s fine equaliser, before the drama which meant heartache for Jamie Harnwell’s side and a second W-League title for Canberra.
Glory coach Harnwell admitted Kate Gill's missed penalty was the turning point.
"We had the opportunity to go back to 2-2. I think that would have broken Canberra's back," he said.
"Kate has been fantastic for us all year - the Golden Boot winner.
"She's got the courage to step up in a grand final, but this time it doesn't go in.
"There's no blame attached to any of the girls, because they went out to win and they gave it her best shot.
"I'm so proud of the girls. We've broken records this season. No one can deny who the best team is, but we just couldn't be the best team in the grand final."
A day to forget for Glory's women's side. Pic: Getty Images
Glory also came to rue their decision to field a weakened side against Canberra in the final game of the regular season - United's 2-1 win allowed them to sneak into the finals.
"There were times during the season when Glory were flogging teams and we thought they were unbeatable," Sykes said.
"But I guess the last game of the season gave us a little bit of confidence knowing that we could beat them.
"I think we executed our plans perfectly today."
As a club Glory have now lost three finals in the 10 years since their last triumph in the 2004 A-League decider.
The men's side lost to Brisbane in the 2012 A-League grand final, then they were beaten by Adelaide in the inaugural FFA Cup final five days ago.
Now the women's side have added to the the unwanted list.
