Momo Hayashi celebrated her 31st birthday in style, scoring twice as Brisbane Roar triumphed over Perth 5-2 in their final home match of the NINJA A-League season.
Aimee Medwin and Momo Hayashi helped Brisbane establish a 2-0 advantage before Julia Sardo nodded in a corner just before half-time to narrow the gap. Perth came back strong in the second half, equalising through Rola Badawiya a mere four minutes after the restart. However, Kijah Stephenson’s exquisite lob, Hayashi’s second goal, and a composed finish from Tameka Yallop secured a thrilling win for the home side.
This victory elevates Brisbane to fifth place, placing their finals qualification well in their control. Meanwhile, Perth Glory sits in eighth and will need to chase down Melbourne Victory and Central Coast Mariners to secure a spot in the top six.
The scoring began in the 20th minute, thanks to returning player Angie Beard, who delivered a corner that found Aimee Medwin’s head, allowing her to score from close range and notch her first goal for Brisbane.
The Roar doubled their lead shortly after through Momo Hayashi, who, celebrating her birthday while wearing the captain’s armband, capitalised on an error by Georgia Cassidy at the edge of the area to slot the ball into the bottom left corner.
However, just before the half-time whistle, Julia Sardo found the net with a header from Emma Tovar’s corner to make it 2-1 going into the break.
Perth’s momentum surged into the second half, and they levelled the score just four minutes after the break when Rola Badawiya found space inside the box and her cross-shot managed to sneak past Chloe Lincoln at her near post.
Brisbane fought back quickly during an electrifying second half when Alicia Woods intercepted the ball from Tovar and flicked it towards Kijah Stephenson, who expertly lobbed debutant Dayle Schroeder from outside the penalty area.
The goals kept coming, with Hayashi netting her second when her powerful free-kick deflected through the wall and dipped below Schroeder.
It was only fitting that Matildas veteran Tameka Yallop, who came off the bench, sealed the victory. After receiving a square ball from Miller inside the box, the 34-year-old calmly slotted it into the net, bringing the total goals in the match to seven.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
WHAT THEY SAID
Chloe Lincoln
Isobel Dalton
Compiled by SportArena.au.
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