report by Nick Guoth

Although neither coach was happy, two of the contenders for a Finals spot in the W-League fought out a 1-1 draw at McKellar Park on Saturday night. Sydney's Alen Stajcic was frustrated his team did not take advantage of their dominance in the second period, while Canberra's Robert Hooker was likewise bemoaning the tardiness his strikers displayed throughout the match.

Yet, it was a piece of briliance and one of silliness that provided the two scores of the match. First a thundering drive from about 25m by Caitlin Munoz left Sydney keeper Nikola Dieter with no chance. Then just before the break Jordan Marsh converted from the spot following Rhian Davies' poorly-timed tackle on Nicola Bolger.

Along with the two-halved contrast in play, Sydney were also battling without a slurry of stars unavailable through injury while Hooker was unusually able to choose from a complete squad, except for the fact that second keeper Maja Blasch was still on International duty with the Australian Schoolgirls team. This meant that Lydia Williams would have to stay on the field in goals for Canberra until she would have to be carted off.

The game opened cagely with both sides attempting to gain an upper hand. The home side appeared to edge in front in the possession stakes, but abysmal passing into the danger area meant that Dieter rarely had anything to do.

In fact, it was at the other end that current Matildas' incumbent Lydia Williams needed to be in fine form to keep her team in the match. When Leena Khamis was through on goal, Williams ran out and smothered the chance before anyone could blink.

Then with just ten minutes left in the half, Munoz took her chance, sending her 25m drive over the stranded Dieter and sending the local crowd into raptures. The exhilaration lasted a matter of a paultry six minutes before a clumsy challenge from Davies sent Bolger sprawling and referee Prue Donohoe pointed to the spot.

Sydney's injuries nearly took its toll at this decisive moment, as no-one knew who was to take the spot kick, but up stepped Jordan Marsh and her shot was true beating Davies low to her right. Canberra were the better team in the opening period, but their lack of accuracy in the final third was costing them.

Stajcic did not chastise his players at the break given Canberra were outclassing them on the field, but explained that he saw that the opponents had a number of players who had not played regularly. Stajcic said later that 'I knew that if we kept the ball and kept possession, played with a bit of speed and kept getting forward, Canberra would struggle to keep up with the tempo'.

And that was the case in the second period where Sydney showed more composure exposing Canberra down the wings with overlaps, getting forward and creating chances. Yet, the likes of Servet Uzunlar, Kylie Ledbrook and Loren Mahoney could not find a way past Davies, who was taking no prisoners with her strong performance in goals.

At the other end Dieter was finally brought into action twenty minutes into the second period but did not have to move when Amy Chapman sent a well-timed volley straight at her. Yet, alike the first stanza where Canberra held the possession scales and Sydney had the chances, it became a similar scenario in the second.

The best opportunities to break the tie fell to the home side. First a throw from Munoz was headed on by Ashleigh Sykes, but neither Sasha McDonnell nor Kara Mowbray could get a vital touch with the goal begging to be filled. Then a few minutes later a defensive error from Sydney found both Sykes and Munoz heading towards Dieter, but two was one too many and they conspired to tackle each other in a rather commical display.

The final opportunity of the match fell to Sydney with substitute Mahoney sending her shot well over the bar and with it any real chance of giving Sydney a boost heading back home for the final matches of the season. The result saw no movement in the table, both teams still within the mix of reaching the playoff, but Sydney in the better position.

While Hooker believed that the draw, at the end of the day, was a fair result, Stajcic felt different considering the way his team played. "We really should have put a couple away,' Stajcic said, and with Sarah Walsh, Kelly Golebiowski and Jo Burgess all back soon, he expects that problem to be fixed.

Yet Alen Stajcic saw many positives from the game, significantly in the way his charges performed in the second half, the fact they got forward and created a lot of chances.

Hooker also lamented his team's inopportune moment to show a lack of composure in front of goal. "We are not going to score goals if we don't attack the ball'.

Both teams now head to Parramatta Stadium in Sydney next weekend for a key doubleheader where wins are very important.