In a must-win game, Canberra United fell tantalisingly short of playing finals football as a result of a player-of-the-match performance by Holly McNamara, who had one goal and two assists in only 60 minutes.
Dario Vidosic told McNamara before the game had begun that she wasn’t going to get a full 90 minutes due to the fact that she had a 16-hour flight that left bound for London to join the rest of the Matildas for the international break, only a few hours after the game’s final whistle had blown.
Mission accepted, McNamara said. As soon as the first half began McNamara made dangerous run after dangerous run, incisive pass.
She got her first reward in the 12th minute when McNamara received a perfect ball from Katie Bowen at centre-back, which she controlled at full pace and laid off a pass to the back post which Hannah Wilkinson tapped in to put Melbourne City 1-0 up.
Then 20 minutes later McNamara on the right-wing looked up to see strike partnership Wilkinson and Rojas making runs into the box, but showing her intelligence the 20-year-old saw an unmarked Rhianna Pollicina making a late run to the edge of the box which led to McNamara picking her out to give Melbourne City their second.
To top it off in the second half, McNamara got herself a goal after she received a defence- splitting pass from Bowen which saw her one-on-one with the keeper, McNamara then proceeded to pull off a fantastic chip which gave Melbourne City a two goal lead.
Moments after McNamara’s goal Vidosic decided to give the Matilda a rest as the game looked firmly like a Melbourne City victory. But, Canberra were able to stage an attempt for a historic comeback which would have seen them knock Melbourne Victory out of the finals positions as they needed all three points to overtake Victory on the table.
Ultimately, they fell one goal short as the game ended 3-3.
“We had to look after Holly [McNamara] so we took her off earlier than we probably would have liked,” Vidosic said.
“We know she’s jumping on a flight tonight at 2:30 in the morning going to London, so she was probably one I considered at halftime but then she said ‘don’t take me off’.
“I’m like, okay, let’s come to an agreement here. But I told her early this morning I said you’re 60 minutes and that’s it.”
Since coming back from injuring her ACL this game from McNamara looked for the first time like she was back to the fine form she was in prior to her season-ending injury. With a Women’s World Cup on the horizon, the 20-year-old will be hoping to show off that form to Tony Gustavsson and his staff when the Matildas take on Scotland and England in the upcoming international break.
But, if a World Cup place doesnt come her way this year, McNamara can keep her head held high knowing that she is young enough to have a long bright future ahead of her.
Featured Image Credit: Melbourne City FC
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