Blacktown Spartans 0-3 Manly United
Manly United returned to winning ways over the weekend, convincingly defeating Blacktown Spartans 3-0 at Blacktown Football Park.
After surprising the Illawarra Stingrays last time out, Spartans would have been gunning to add to Manly’s misery as the away side had gone eight league games without a win.
Despite a loss of form in recent times, it was Manly who had the first real chance on six minutes when a Daisy Arrowsmith cross eluded Spartans shotstopper Anna Norton, but Emily Minett wasn’t able to turn the ball goalwards.
Manly didn’t have to wait long for the opener. In the 11th minute, Arrowsmith pounced on a loose ball after Kahli Johnson’s shot was blocked, unleashing a thunderous strike that sailed into the roof of the net.
Arrowsmith was millimetres away from scoring a second in the 17th minute, hitting the underside of the crossbar from 20 yards after being set up by Tegan Biasi. Five minutes later, Johnson did likewise, her speculative long range effort bouncing off the frame of the goal.
At the other end, Corinne Winkler was perfectly positioned when Jodie Drever couldn’t claim a cross, blocking a goalbound shot from Jynaya dos Santos. The elder dos Santos sister threatened again on 27 minutes, shooting over after being pressured by Leah Burton and Ariella Cabezas.
With halftime approaching, Arrowsmith caught everyone by surprise to double Manly’s lead, her inswinging corner kick flying directly into the goal.
Emily Minett proceeded to make it 3-0 in the 51st minute. Manly’s leading scorer finished past a crowd of Spartans defenders after Tegan Biasi’s cross caused havoc in the penalty area.
Nicole Stuart could have made it 4-0 on 58 minutes after Arrowsmith played her into space, but Norton was agile enough to tip the shot over the crossbar.
Spartans hadn’t given up, and in the 67th minute Allyssa Ng Saad twisted past a challenge before forcing a fine save from Drever.
However, Manly were able to weather the storm, holding out for a 3-0 triumph, their first win in the league since Round 9.
