The Central Coast Mariners Women's side played 2nd placed Melbourne Victory last night, losing 1 goal to nil in a tight encounter.
The Mariners started the game well and had the first real opportunity of the game in the 17th minute. A well-worked move after Victory turned the ball over saw Mariner's Gomez take possesion and pass to Rasmussen. Rasmussen in turn passed back to Gomez who squared the ball to Jade Pennock. Pennock only had the goalkeeper to beat but unfortunately her shot went straight to the Victory goalkeeper.
Pennock had another chance 11 minutes later after she received the ball near the halfway line, beating two Victory players. She advanced the ball and took a shot from 25 metres out from goal that had the goalkeeper beat. Unfortunately the shot was just high, going over the crossbar.
Victory had a chance in the 37th minute from free kick. The free kick was well taken and came into the box at speed. Mariner's goalkeeper Langman got a hand to the ball where a resulting header from Victory's Morrison was well saved by Langman.
Each team continued to pressure the other but the score remained at 0-0 at half-time.
The second half started as the first one finished. Unfortunately for the Mariners it was Victory who would score in the 58th minute from a corner. The corner was taken by Victory's Chidiac finding Claudia Bunge whose header found the target to make the score 1-0 to Victory.
Both teams continued to pressure the other. Victory has some chances and so did Mariners. The best opportunity for the Mariners was another chance to Pennock that also went high of the intended target.
The match was particularly important as it saw Mariner's Tarin King start the match on the bench after not playing for 15 months due to an ACL injury. Tarin came on as a substitute in the 86th minute and made some important interceptions to repel the Victory attack.
The Mariner's Women's next match is their final match for the regular season. Their Round 23 match is against Newcastle Jets on Saturday, 19th April 2025. Kick-off is scheduled for 4:00pm (AEST) at Maitland Sports Ground, Maitland.
