The W-League’s opening weekend was just as exciting as anticipated for Portland fans, with scoring starts for both Caitlin Foord and Ellie Carpenter. International players are wielding a bigger influence down under than ever before: Not only did visa players score three of seven goals in the league in round one, the other goals were all scored by Australian international players.
Britt Eckerstrom’s Newcastle Jets opened the season with a bye week, and Hayley Raso is still making her recovery from injury, but every other Thorn played 90 minutes.
Western Sydney Wanderers 0, Sydney FC 3
The W-League’s curtain raiser ended up not being particularly close, with Sydney FC showing how strong they remain after falling in last year’s final.