Central Coast Mariners 1-1 Melbourne City
by Jamie Spangher (15/12/23)
Above: Leticia McKenna in action for Melbourne City at Central Coast Mariners today. Photo: Melbourne City.
A superb strike from Rebekah Stott 12 minutes from the end of regular time earned Melbourne City a point at Central Coast.
A power outage at Central Coast Stadium saw the evening’s fixture subject to a half-hour delay. Both sides entered the clash with poised aggression. Melbourne City have commenced the Liberty A-League season with impressive trot, occupying the second spot on the league table prior to this evening’s kick-off. Central Coast Mariners would need to be well disciplined heading into the fixture in order to manage the threat of this City side.
City looked to test the Mariners’ last line, earning four corners in the opening eight minutes of play. Though the abundance of crosses placed from Rhianna Pollicina remained unanswered, as goalkeeper Lysianne Proulx dictated her Mariners side with authority inside the area.
The opening fifteen minutes saw Melbourne City controlling the tempo of the game, dictating 75% of possession with authoritative composure.
An opportunity arose for City when Hannah Wilkinson accelerated inside the area, though the pass was unable to match the endeavour as her cross was intercepted by Isabel Gomez. The Mariners midfielder was fouled by a tracking Laura Hughes, awarded the free-kick inside of the area and able to evade the danger.
A first opportunity for the hosts arose when a blunder at the back saw Taylor Otto’s deflection strike the woodwork, a tracking Leia Varley able to save the day for City and see the ball away. Just moments later the Mariners found a way to get a further shot off on target, as a helter-skelter attack saw Wurigumula slide in an attempt on goal, only to be denied by Proulx.
City saw the opportunity to pull ahead in the final ten minutes of the opening term in Gosford, though Pollicina’s strike was denied the advantage by the width of the crossbar.
Another brilliant save by Proulx denied the Mariners once again, the Canadian goalkeeper able to block the strike of an advancing Bianca Galic. Despite the action-packed opening term, neither side could break the deadlock heading into the break.
The home side immediately made their presence known following the interval, as Jazmin Wardlow broke down the left side to find Wurigumula inside the area, however. the Mariners striker lacked conviction, as her shot failed to trouble anyone.
The deadlock was broken when the quality of Gomez superbly broke City’s last line to find an advancing Rola Badawiya in on goal. A one-touch shot from Badawiya saw the ball find the back of the net, her second goal of the season providing Central Coast the advantage in the 52nd minute of play.
Trouble continued for Melbourne City, as a scramble inside the Central Coast area nearly saw the Mariners double their advantage. Though a double save from Proulx saw Stott finish clearing the job, the Mariners denied their second.
City aggressively looked to find the equaliser as the clock ran into the final minutes of the fixture. Wilkinson’s squaring ball picked out Pollicina in a prime scoring position, but an excellent display of goalkeeping from Sarah Langman saw City unable to revive the deficit.
Only a few minutes had elapsed since Pollicina’s attempt on goal and Melbourne City found the equaliser through a driving attempt by Stott. A left-footed strike from just outside the area floated expertly into the top corner, providing City the equaliser in what is the defender’s first goal since March 2020.
Melbourne City pushed strongly for a winner in the closing minutes, with Emina Ekic’s bottom-corner finish ruled out by the assistant referee’s offside flag raised. Neither side was able to clinch a winner before the final whistle was blown.
Teams: CENTRAL COAST MARINERS (4-2-2-2): Langman, Irwin, King, Wardlow, Hayward, Quilligan, B. Galic, Gomez, Badawiya, Wurigumula. Substitutes: Dumont (GK), Woodall, Karambasis, Trimis, Evans.
Scorers: Badawiya 52’.
MELBOURNE CITY (3-2-4-1): Proulx, Varley, Otto, Stott, Chinnama, L.McKenna, Wilkinson, Hughes, D. Galic, Ekic, Pollicina. Substitutes: Barbieri (GK), Grosso, T.McKenna, Meyers, Roestbakken.
Scorers: Stott 78’.
Referee: Caitlin Williams.
Attendance: TBD.
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