Keane brace secures ALW win for United

A DOUBLE from American striker Hannah Keane has lifted her to top spot in the A-League Women golden boot race and handed Western United a 2-1 home win over Western Sydney Wanderers.

Keane scored once in each half to increase her season’s tally to 13, one ahead of Canberra’s Michelle Heyman.

A near-post header from a 23rd-minute in swinging corner from Tyla-Jay Vlajnic broke the deadlock at Melbourne’s City Vista Reservation Reserve.

Keane doubled United’s advantage in the 55th minute when she read the bounce of a long ball better than Wanderers defender Gemma Ferris.

The forward raced into the penalty area where she drilled a precise drive past goalkeeper Sham Khamis.

“We kind of made a promise to each other to believe in ourselves even if things weren’t going well and today everyone was so nice and the belief was there and you could tell on the field we were working harder than we have in the past games,” Keane said.

“It means a lot to have confidence going into the finals.”

Teenage substitute Sienna Saveska pulled one back for Wanderers in the 80th minute with a well-struck shot from the edge of the penalty area.

But it was a deserved morale-boosting win for United who have limped towards the finals in recent weeks and had not won a game on the field since late February.

They had lost their three previous matches, though one of those results – a 2-0 defeat by Brisbane – was changed to a 3-0 win for United after the Roar fielded an ineligible player.

Western Sydney did not have a shot on target until added time in the first half, but looked more threatening after the break.

The result means Western Sydney completed the season without registering an away win, having drawn two and lost seven.

They are winless in their last 13 away games, with their last victory on the road coming in January 2022.

– BY ADRIAN WARREN/ SEN