by Emma Burke (16/11/24)
Above: Melbourne City celebrate their second goal. Photo: Tilly McDonald for Impetus.
Melbourne City 2-2 Central Coast Mariners
Under the sun at Casey Fields, Melbourne City and Central Coast Mariners have shared the spoils in a two-all draw for Round Three of the A-League Women.
It took City all of three minutes to open the scoring, when defender Alexia Apostolakis found herself in space outside the 18-yard box, firing a well placed shot into the top right hand corner of the goal.
Central Coast had a reply for City only two minutes later. Young striker Annalise Rasmussen pounced on a poor back-pass from defender Taylor Otto to her keeper Malena Mieres, leaving her to score into an open net.
City claimed the lead before half time through a free kick by Lourdes Bosch. Bosch’s delivery went through the legs of a teammate and an opposition player, catching Mariners keeper Sarah Langman off guard and unable to reach the ball in time.
Despite the mandatory breaks in play for drinks, the heat clearly had an impact on both teams.
The second half looked much slower than the first, and both side’s goalkeepers were put to the test, each making crucial saves.
Isabel Gomez found her side the equaliser, a perfect end to her week after been called up to the Matildas for the first time in her career.
An initial shot came in from English international Jade Pennock, which was blocked by a diving keeper, directly into the path of Gomez.
Gomez was able to put the ball over Mieres, and into the net, though it may have collected a final touch from Alexia Apostolakis in an effort to clear the ball.
In the final period of play both City and Central Coast made an effort to find a winner, though neither were able to do so.
With a point taken by each side, City remain top of the table, while Central Coast sit fifth.
As Round Four is Unite Round, both teams will head to Sydney for their fixtures at Leichhardt Oval. Central Coast Mariners will play Melbourne Victory on Saturday the 23rd of November at 2:15pm. City will play Sydney FC in a rematch of last year’s Grand Final on Sunday the 24th at 4:15pm.
For more of Tilly McDonald’s images from the game for us, check out our Instagram page @ImpetusFootball.
Teams: MELBOURNE CITY (4-3-3): Mieres, Apostolakis, Stott, Otto, Roestbakken, Pollicina, Huges, Davidson, Speckmaier, Harvey, Bosch. Substitutes: Vlajnic, Henry, McKenna, Karic.
Scorers: Apostolakis 3’, Bosch 33’.
CENTRAL COAST MARINERS (4-1-4-1): Langman, Martin, Irwin, Nash, Riley, Gomez, Nunn, Galic, Ray, Pennock, Rasmussen. Substitutes: Trimis, McMahon, Puxty, Quilligan
Scorers: Rasmussen 5’, Gomez 76’.
Referee: Kelly Jones.
Attendance: 562.
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