There is often a fine line between clever play and good sportsmanship. Ellie Carpenter toed it with her Australian W-League goal on Thursday.
Canberra United was seeking the first goal of the match in the second half against last-place Western Sydney when WSW goalkeeper Jada Mathyssen-Whyman came out of her box to kick the ball away from United striker Rhoda Mulaudzi.
Mathyssen-Whyman was able to scuff the ball away toward the sideline before going down with an apparent injury. The ball didn’t make it out of bounds and the referee signaled “play on” as the injury wasn’t head-related.
So Carpenter kept playing and took advantage of the open net with a long-range goal.
Fair or foul?
By the letter of the law, Carpenter did nothing wrong. The referee didn’t stop the action, so she was within her rights to continue to play. Mulaudzi may have been marginally offside on the shot (it's hard to tell from replays), but seeing as she didn’t interfere with anyone, it would be harsh to blow the whistle on her.
Mathyssen-Whyman, meanwhile, was tended to after the goal, but continued playing. She didn’t appear to make contact with Mulaudzi when she cleared the ball, so it’s unclear if she actually hurt herself or tried to go down to slow play down to allow her to get back into position.
One could argue the referee should have stopped play because of the injury, but goalies shouldn’t be treated any differently than any other player, especially when outside of the 18-yard box.
Personally, while it’s harsh and unfortunate for Western Sydney, I think it was a fair goal. Ultimately, it cost Western Sydney its first win of the season, as the match finished in a 2-2 draw. It was, however, the club’s first point of the season after opening with five straight losses.
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