Tameka Yallop’s fifth goal of the season has kept Brisbane Roar’s finals hopes alive as they left Marden Sports Complex with all three points, defeating Adelaide United 2-1.
The visitors found the back of the net in the ninth minute as wing-back Deborah-Anne De la Harpe sprinted forward down the Brisbane right before firing the ball across the keeper and into the far corner to make it 1-0.
Brisbane then had two good chances to double the lead but went into the break level after Chelsie Dawber equalised in the 26th minute following a goalkeeping error.
Adelaide were then left frustrated in the 74th minute of the contest as Brisbane bagged the match-winner through Tameka Yallop despite the Matildas midfielder appearing to have strayed beyond the last defender.
The home side went all out in their attempts to find an equaliser but Alex Smith’s side held on for a valuable three points which moves them within striking distance of the top six with just two games left to play.
Both teams came into this contest knowing a win was vital if they were to have any hope of securing a finals spot and it was the away side who hit the front in the ninth minute.
Matilda Tameka Yallop played a simple ball into the path of De la Harpe who then proceeded to run the length of the Adelaide half unchallenged before cooly slotting the ball beyond Adelaide keeper Claudia Jenkins.
The Roar should have been two goals to the good before half-time but striker Mia Corbin couldn’t convert from close range while Ashlee Brodigan then saw her goal-bound effort well cleared by Ella Tonkin, and the misses would come back to haunt them.
Shortly after the first half drinks break, Holmes played a brilliant ball beyond the Brisbane defence and into the path of Chelsie Dawber, who then slotted the ball into the net after pouncing on a mistake by Roar keeper Keeley Richards.
Richards then atoned for her earlier error, sprinting off her line to close down the space between herself and the on-rushing Holmes before denying the midfielder with a smart save.
Both sides created half-chances after the interval but the game was broken wide open in the 74th minute and it was a Matilda at the heart of the action.
Collecting the ball in her own half, Yallop fed the ball into the feet of Corbin before continuing her run forward to latch on to the return pass and while the midfielder appeared to have strayed beyond the last defender, the flag stayed down and she cooly rounded the keeper before dispatching the ball into the net to make it 2-1.
Midfielder Nanako Sasaki came close to bagging an equaliser in the 89th minute of the contest but thankfully for the Brisbane keeper, her long range effort flew narrowly over the crossbar.
