Above: Mariners Head Coach Emily Husband speaking to the media. Image: Central Coast Mariners.
By Ryan Miller-Woods (27/3/2024).
The media heard from Central Coast Mariners Head Coach Emily Husband and Peta Trimis ahead of their upcoming match against Western United on Thursday.
Central Coast go into Thursday’s match off the back of a 3-0 defeat against Melbourne City last round and will be hoping to not only bounce back from the match against City, but to get one over Western United before heading into finals. The last time they faced each other in Round 15 which United prevailed 2-1 on that occasion.
When asked about her thoughts from the match against City, Husband said, “there (were) moments where I think we did well in terms of our press, forcing them into areas and winning the ball back. We just didn’t take our chances and when the momentum was our way, we didn’t really capitalise on that. There were good things to take out of that, but it also gives us a wake-up call that we needed going into finals.”
Should the Mariners win, they will finish third on the ladder, which would be a great achievement for the club in their first season back in the competition. As well as that, it would put them ahead of Western United. A victory won’t be that simple, but Central Coast know that they have the players within their squad that can get the job done when everything gels and clicks for them on the pitch.
When asked what she’s expecting from Western United this round, Husband said, “the last time we faced Western United we lost 2-1 to them, so we’re hungry to come back and make sure we capitalise on a good result this time being our last home game in the league. We know that Western United are always robust and tough to beat. They’ve unfortunately had a few injuries but for us, it’s just about going in and making sure we do make the most of our moments and we continue to do things well that we know we can do.”
While the result last round wasn’t necessarily what the Mariners would have wanted, a massive positive going into their remaining matches of the season was the return of Peta Trimis from international duty with the Young Matildas at the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup, where she had an amazing tournament with three goals and an assist as Australia finished third and qualified for the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup later this year in Colombia.
Additionally, her performances at the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup saw her get a nomination for the ‘Future Star of the Tournament’.
When asked about some of the things she learnt from the international experience at the tournament with the Young Matildas that she’d be able to take back to the A-League Women, Trimis said, “playing against teams like Japan and South Korea just shows how technical they are but quick as well on and off the ball. So, the momentum of the game was just another level and I think the speed of the game coming (back) into (the) A-League (Women).”
When asked about what she sees of Western United as a team and as an opponent, Trimis said, “they’re a very strong team that don’t give up, so it’s going to be a hard game, but I think we can beat them.”
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