The Central Coast Mariners Liberty A-League Women's have tonight qualified for the Semi-Finals by defeating Melbourne Victory in a penalty shoot-out.
Score was 0-all at the end of normal and extra time.
The first half of normal time was a very tight affair with both teams having chances to score. For the Mariners, Simon, Galic and Hayward all had chances to score while Victory's Alex Chidiac was keeping the Mariner's midfield and defensive players busy.
When play resumed after half-time the Mariners started the strongest. In the first 6 minutes of the second half, Simon, Gomez and Wurigumula had some really good chances that unfortunately were not converted.
At the other end, Victory continued to pressure the Mariners defense with Lowe joining Chidiac in that effort.
The commencement of the penalty shoot-out saw Melbourne Victory earning the honour of taking first shot that was converted by Lowe, followed by Mariner's goalkeeper Casey Dumont levelling the penalty score at one a piece.
The second round of shots saw Victory's Chidiac score, followed by Mariner's Faye Bryson. Score now two penalties a piece.
The third round saw Mariner's goalkeeper Casey Dumont save the Victory penalty taken by Murphy while Mariner's Wurigumula converted hers. Score was now 3-2 in favour of the Mariners.
The fourth penalty for Victory taken by Zois was also saved by Casey Dumont, leaving Mariner's Bianca Galic at the spot to claim the win. Galic calmly fired her shot low and hard low to the left past the Victory goalkeeper's out-stretched hand.
Mariners win the penalty shoot-out by a score of 4-2.
The Mariner's Women now play Sydney FC in the semi-final played over two legs. The first leg at home is on Sunday, 21st April with kick-off scheduled for 5:45pm. This match forms a double header as it is being played after the Mariner's Men game against Adelaide United.