Wanderers, Victory share spoils in ALW

Melbourne Victory avoided a banana skin away to Western Sydney on Wednesday as they were held to a 0-0 draw in the A-League Women.

The Wanderers have been the easybeats of the competition over the last 12 months but came into this week’s game on the back of upset wins over Melbourne City and Western United.

They matched the reigning ALW champions at Western Sydney Football Park and had claims for a late penalty denied when forward Sophie Harding was brought down inside the Victory box with less than 10 minutes to go.

Victory, who were playing the second of four games in the space of 12 days, began to tire as the game wore on after failing to make their first-half dominance count.

“They (the Wanderers) are a well organised team and they’ve been like that all season,” said Victory coach Jeff Hopkins, whose side remain fourth.

“Sarina Bolden causes a lot of problems up top but I’m really pleased with how we were in control and able to limit them in transition.

“We looked really fresh in the first half, we were sharp and positive on the ball.

“We made a few substitutions and that messes up with your flow but I’m really proud with our effort tonight.”

The draw extends Victory’s unbeaten run to seven straight games.

Fatigue was also a factor for the Wanderers, who were backing up from Saturday’s victory over league leaders Western.

“It’s always going to be a tough game against Victory,” said Wanderers boss Kat Smith.

“For them to come here and have a little less recovery time, we wanted to take advantage and go at them.

“I think a share of the spoils is a fair result and you’re always happy with a clean sheet.

Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson was a keen observer but there would have been little for the national team coach to read.

On short turnarounds and with the temperature at 30C come kick-off, both sides lacked spark at a venue where there was a mid-game powercut.

Victory slowly began to turn the screw towards the end of the first half and came close when Rikke Madsen flashed an effort just wide of Jordyn Bloomer’s post.

Amy Harrison tested Victory goalkeeper Casey Dumont soon after half-time but the biggest flashpoint came when Victory’s Nathalie Tathem brought down Harding as full-time neared.

Despite claims from the Wanderers bench referee Isabelle Libri waved away their claims and Victory clung on for a point.