Hopkins hails Victory’s penalty-saving queen Dumont

Jeff Hopkins says it’s at the stage where he know expects Casey Dumont to save penalties after the Melbourne Victory keeper did just that in their 2-1 win over Perth Glory on Saturday night.

Dumont made a sensational save down low to her right to keep out Crystal Thomas’ penalty midway through the first half at Dorrien Gardens.

The match was goalless at that stage, with Victory taking the lead less than 10 minutes later on their way to a win that keeps their finals hopes alive.

It was Dumont’s third penalty save this season having denied both Tameka Yallop and Emily van Egmond earlier in the campaign.

"It was amazing. We're almost expecting her to save everything now," Hopkins told Victory’s official website.

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"It was a really important save for us because it kept us at 0-0 and we kind on moved on from there. I felt we had a really good start to the game and that could've spoilt that.

"I don't know how she does it, but she seems to be able to read the way the ball is going to go every time and get herself in position to save it so great contribution from her.

“She dealt with a lot of balls in the air, they were quite direct and got the ball into the box a lot and she took away a lot of the pressure a lot of the time with some good takes above her head as well."

While Dumont was the hero at one end, midfielder Amy Jackson was the star at the other, scoring both goals for the defending premiers.

In just her second start of the Westfield W-League campaign, Jackson scored in either half including a 25-metre rocket that went in off the underside of the crossbar for the opener.

"We brought Amy in to give us a little bit of defensive stability in midfield alongside Haley Hanson and they both did really well, but obviously Amy has got a lot more to her game than just that and it's fantastic," Hopkins said.

"The first goal was an amazing strike from distance and she contributed a lot going forward and it wasn't a surprise when she got on the scoresheet for the second one as well."

Victory is next in action on Sunday, January 5 when they host Newcastle Jets at AAMI Park, as part of a double-header with the Hyundai A-League, kicking off at 4pm AEDT.

Get tickets HERE and follow the action in the LIVE MATCH CENTRE.

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While Victory moved to within two points of the top four – with a game in hand – Glory remain second from bottom with just one point for the season.

"I'm disappointed that we didn't get anything out of the game, especially after the first half when we had so much possession and created the better chances,” Glory boss Bobby Despotovski said.

"We missed a penalty, hit the post, hit the crossbar and just couldn't convert.

"At this moment in time, we're not that far away. We haven't been smashed by anyone, but we're never holding a lead, we're just not converting."

Glory are next in action on Friday, January 3 when they travel to Marden Sports Complex to play Adelaide United, kicking off at 7.30pm AEDT.

Get tickets HERE and follow the action in the LIVE MATCH CENTRE.

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