Michelle Heyman enjoys stellar return for Canberra United in W-League against Adelaide

A Heyman hat-trick capped off a fairytale return to Canberra United in their W-League season opener with a 4-3 win over Adelaide United at Viking Park on Wednesday night.

Canberra stepped onto the pitch as something of an unknown, for the Vicki Linton era brought with it a revamped roster and renewed hope about ending a finals exile.

Heyman made Linton's introduction as Canberra coach a night to remember in front of 1167 people in the capital's south, with the hosts clawing their way back from a 2-0 deficit to secure a stunning win to open their account.

The returning Canberra star netted two goals to level the scores before Laura Hughes put United one clear in the 91^st minute. Within moments Heyman had her third, and the crowd erupted amid a remarkable finish, with Adelaide's late strike coming to no avail.

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"It feels bloody special, not going to lie," Heyman said.

"Being able to be back playing for Canberra United is a very special moment for myself, and to be able to grab a hat-trick in the first game back is unbelievable. A great effort by the team.

"We have that never die attitude and we kept putting it to Adelaide. I'm just grateful we didn't give up and we managed to come away with the three points.

"It feels really nice. I definitely needed that year off, I was mentally drained and physically broken. Just taking one year off, it fixed my body.

"Now I'm feeling 100 times better and you can definitely see that in my movement. I'm not running with pain, I might be running with cramps at the end of the game but that's just fitness and trying to get that workload back.

"For myself to be able to be back here at Canberra United playing football again, I've been doing it since I was nine years old, so it's the love of the game and just a special moment for myself."

A seven-minute blitz put Adelaide ahead against a United outfit which showed plenty of grit to fight their way back into the contest, before Heyman's second-half masterclass revived the home crowd.

Both sides traded half-chances in the opening exchanges before Linton called to Heyman from the sideline in the 18^th minute with a simple message - "we're not getting enough pressure".

Soon enough the hosts found themselves under pressure when Adelaide drew first blood via Maria José Rojas' left boot in the 21^st minute.

Seven minutes later Canberra goalkeeper Sally James was beaten again by Isabel Hodgson's strike to give the visitors an imposing 2-0 lead heading into the break.

It left Canberra desperately searching for a sign of life - and it came from Heyman who marked her return to the club with a goal early in the second stanza, and then another in the 75^th minute to set up a grandstand finish.

"It says a lot about this group, and that's what I said to them at the end of the game. So much pride and admiration for how they dug it out," Linton said.

"It was a few key players really leading the way out there, Michelle being one of them, and Kendall [Fletcher] at the back as well. They really just lifted.

"The first half wasn't reflective of the ability of this team, so I'm really proud they came out and turned things around."

Canberra now face a short turnaround before round two after a COVID-19 cluster on Sydney's northern beaches threw their fixture into disarray.

Now their next clash comes back on their newfound home turf - adopted after McKellar Park's gates remained locked in the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic - against Melbourne City on Sunday.

AT A GLANCE

W-League round one: CANBERRA UNITED 4 (Michelle Heyman 48' 75' 93', Laura Hughes 91') bt ADELAIDE UNITED 3 (Maria Jose Rojas 21', Isabel Hodgson 28', Mallory Weber 94') at Viking Park.