![Hannah Wilkinson of Melbourne City scored the opening goal. Picture Getty Images Hannah Wilkinson of Melbourne City scored the opening goal. Picture Getty Images](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/168198572/0c743c0e-0204-4d65-acd8-bdb33ab8adc9.jpg/r0_176_3439_2117_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
It was so very close, but just wasn't to be for Canberra United.
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The team fought as hard as they could to keep their A-League Women championship dream alive.
Needing a win in the last round of the regular season to overtake Melbourne Victory in fourth spot on the ladder and clinch a finals berth, it all came down to 90 minutes of football.
Despite a gallant effort in Melbourne, United fell agonisingly short at the biggest - and last - hurdle, an enthralling 3-3 draw with City ending its A-League campaign in heartbreaking circumstances.
The result meant Canberra finished the season on equal points with Victory (29) but on goal difference it was edged out of the finals race.
To call this season a rollercoaster would be an understatement.
Under new coach Njegosh Popovich Canberra showed flashes of its championship-winning calibre with plenty of memorable moments to savour.
Michelle Heyman finished one goal short of winning the Golden Boot. Club legend Ellie Brush called time on her glittering football career with a memorable year.
But injury hurdles, form slumps and a controversial points deduction threatened it all.
Through every setback, Canberra kept coming with a fighting spirit, and in round 20 that approach was no different.
The visitors in green went down 1-0 in the 12th minute despite a dominant start, caught on the counter by City's speedy forwards.
But just a minute after Hannah Wilkinson's opening goal, United hit right back.
![Canberra United's Vesna Milivojevic scored a brace against Melbourne City. Picture Getty Images Canberra United's Vesna Milivojevic scored a brace against Melbourne City. Picture Getty Images](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/168198572/afa2391e-a6cf-41e5-8083-b97114f566b3.jpg/r0_39_3537_2035_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Grace Jale finished a neat sequence that began with Vesna Milivojevic's tenacity to steal possession in midfield, before Michelle Heyman crossed the ball back to Canberra's New Zealand international to score.
City's class was on display for its second and third goals, as United rued missed golden chances, particularly Chengshu Wu who had an air swing and a mishit from point-blank range.
Rhianna Pollicina put the home side ahead before half-time and when Holly McNamara's pace again exposed United's defence in the 59th minute, the mountain began to look too great to climb for Canberra.
Two goals down, United continued to pepper City's goalkeeper Melissa Barbieri with 27 shots - most coming in the second 45.
Then came Milivojevic. The Serbian nearly single-handedly rescued Canberra's season, with two quick-fire goals in the final 10 minutes, not long after City had switched out three starters for substitutes.
However, United simply ran out of time for a miracle, and crashed out of the finals race on goal difference.
A-League Women - Round 22
MELBOURNE CITY 3 (Hanna Wilkinson 12m, Rhianna Pollicina 34m, Holly McNamara 59m) drew with CANBERRA UNITED 3 (Grace Jale 14m, Vesna Milivojevi 80m, 88m) at Melbourne Park on Sunday night.
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