To round out the afternoon, old rivals Adelaide United and Melbourne Victory played out another five-goal thriller as Victory came out on top, sealing a 3-2 win thanks to a stunning late strike from 18-year-old Ava Briedis.
A stunning strike from substitute Ava Briedis in the 92nd minute has helped Melbourne Victory defeat Adelaide United 3-2 in the Original Rivalry.
Coming on for Matildas forward Emily Gielnik, who had earlier bagged two goals herself, Briedis picked up a loose ball inside the box before lacing one past Adelaide keeper Claudia Jenkins to seal the sweetest of victories on the opening day.
In what was a barnstorming contest it took Gielnik just four minutes to open her account for the 2024-25 Ninja A-League season.
The striker’s predatory instincts were on full display early in the game as she tucked home Nikki Flannery’s pinpoint cross in the 4th minute before then heading home a second in first half stoppage time after Fiona Worts had earlier equalised for the Reds.
With the Matildas now under the stewardship of interim coach Tom Sermanni, Gielnik will be hoping a strong start to the campaign will convince the man who gave her a first national team call-up to do the same again.
Adelaide had their own goalscorer extraordinaire to thank for pulling them level as 2021-22 Julie Dolan Medal winner Worts bagged her second of the game to make it 2-2. Worts managed an instant response to Gielnik’s early opener to level things immediately before appearing again in the second half to once again put the Reds on even playing terms.
However 18-year-old Briedis stole the headlines late on to give Jeff Hopkins a winning start to the new season.
