Report: Mulaudzi and Roestbakken leave Sydney blue

Goals to Rhoda Mulaudzi and Karly Roestbakken have condemned Sydney FC to their third consecutive loss of the season following a 2-0 victory at McKellar Park on Sunday. 

Mulaudzi and Roestbakken’s goals either side of half-time gave Canberra United an unassailable lead, as they now sit in equal-fourth with Brisbane Roar.

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Perhaps as expected, the match began in an attritional fashion as both teams cancelled each other out eager to get the upper hand. 

Sydney FC thought they had a penalty on 5 minutes for a handball in the box, before the referee consulted her assistant. As it turned out, the balled was in fact handled by Alanna Kennedy. 

That scare appeared to galvanise Heather Garriock’s women as they thereafter enjoyed the main share of chances. 

On 24 minutes, Karly Roestbakken found the back of the net after firing home a volley, however she was denied by the lineswoman for offside. 

Canberra continued their assault but could not get past a determined Aubrey Bledsloe. The American custodian thwarted Mulaudzi and Paige Nielsen in consecutive minutes, as the half lurched towards a stalemate. 

Then, in the fourth minute of injury time in the first half, Ellie Carpenter delivered a free-kick after being fouled by Harrison. Sydney FC failed to clear their lines and the ball fell to Mulaudzi who, with her back to goal, twisted and lobbed the ball into the bottom left corner for her first goal of the 2018/19 Season since Round 1. 

Trailing 1-0 at the interval, the Sky Blues came out of the blocks in the second half. Savannah McCaskill met a sweeping through ball from Danielle Colaprico, but was denied by Sham Khamis and then the crossbar on her second attempt.

That miss would prove costly as less than two minutes later, on the hour mark, Roestbakken struck Olivia Price’s pass lay-off first time to hammer the ball into the bottom-right corner. 

The game came to a halt for Natasha Prior took a knock in the head from McCaskill, which would eventually take the game to 14 minutes of injury time. 

Sydney FC built pressure in the final stages, but were unable to conjure up a save from Khamis. 

Canberra's win sends them to equal-fourth on the ladder with Brisbane Roar, while the Sky Blues sit in second-last place, three points ahead of Western Sydney Wanderers.