A first-half penalty converted by Alana Jancevski earned Melbourne Victory all three points in a 1-0 Big Blue win over Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Jancevski scored from the spot in the 14th minute after the visitors earned a contentious penalty and the opening goal proved decisive as Victory shut out the Sky Blues to record a special win in CommBank Matildas midfielder Beattie Goad’s final Ninja A-League game.
Goad confirmed her imminent retirement ahead of kick-off and played from the start in her 67th and final league fixture as Victory climbed up to second place on the Ninja A-League table.
Saturday’s result extended Sydney’s losing run to four games. The reigning Champions remain planted to the bottom of the Ninja A-League table with six defeats from eight games to begin the 2024-25 campaign.
There was early controversy at Allianz Stadium when the visitors were awarded a penalty after contact between Sydney striker Millie Farrow and Victory star Alex Chidiac in the penalty area.
Farrow and her Sydney teammates argued she had successfully cleared the ball before colliding with Chidiac but referee Rebecca Mackie thought otherwise. Alana Jancevski stepped up to the spot and buried her penalty into the back of the net to give Victory an early lead.
More than half an hour passed without Sydney FC testing Courtney Newbon in Victory’s goal before a free-kick from teenage midfielder Indiana Dos Santos which had the keeper scrambling.
Newbon might have been beaten by the curling effort but, unfortunately for Sydney and Dos Santos, the effort crashed off the left-hand goalpost.
The second half ticked by without either side adding to the scoresheet as Victory held firm to deal Sydney FC their fourth-consecutive defeat and cap off Goad’s 75-game Ninja A-League career with a memorable win on the road.
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