Western Sydney Wanderers 1-3 Central Coast Mariners
By Kieran Yap 12/1/25
Above: The Central Coast Mariners after their win over Western Sydney. Photo: Central Coast Mariners.
The Central Coast Mariners have battled their way to a 3-1 win against Western Sydney Wanderers. Goals from Brooke Nunn, Tess Quilligan, and Bianca Galic ensured the three points against the luckless hosts.
The Mariners are a difficult side to beat under the best conditions. Emily Husband’s team has built a reputation for being organized, tough and dangerous in attack. Not withstanding the one-hour weather delay, things were hard for the home side before this game even kicked off, and the Wanderers afternoon only got worse with a series of self-inflicted problems.
Western Sydney entered this game without the talismanic goalkeeper Sham Khamis and despite an encouraging and confident start, they soon put themselves under pressure. A back pass to goalkeeper Keeley Segavcic was turned over to Brooke Nunn who scored from point-blank range to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
Bianca Galic almost doubled the lead with a stinging shot that Segavcic did well to keep out.
Tess Quilligan eventually doubled the lead. The 19-year-old’s initial shot was well-struck but blocked. The rebound fell nicely for the Mariners midfielder who’s second attempt flew into the top corner.
The Wanderers made some curious moves at half time, subbing off leading scorer Sienna Saveska. It left Sophie Harding as the only recognized sorcerer on the pitch and although the Mariners defence was also understrength on paper, Taylor Ray looked more than comfortable alongside Jessika Nash.
The result if not the scoreline was made certain when Amy Harrison was judged to have fouled a runaway Galic. There was some discussion between the referee and her assistant to determine if the foul was inside the 18-yard box, and eventually the penalty was given. Galic tucked away the resulting spot kick to make it 3-0 in the 69th minute.
When former Wanderers ball-kid Tianna Fuller entered the match, it looked like more pain was to come, but Segevcic kept out her strong attempt.
There was some late consolation for the home side when Olvia Price finished emphatically in the dying stages of the game, but it felt like a footnote on a long afternoon.
It was a strange match for Western Sydney. Between the overly cautious substitutions, the basic defensive errors and struggling to match The Mariners physicality, they barely felt in this game. The brightest spots came very early in the match and Saveska’s ability to convert half chances was something they could have used.
Central Coast looked solid despite a reshuffled midfield and defence. Ray was strong in defence, while her passing and set pieces caused problems for The Wanderers. Nash was excellent against the reigning Dolan Medallist and showed why she has captained Australia at youth level with calm leadership in a chaotic game.
The Mariners sit in sixth place after this win and can further solidify their finals credentials with a win against 11th placed Sydney FC next week. Western Sydney face the unpredictable yet dangerous Canberra United. Their chances will be greatly enhanced by keeping their leading Scoton the field, and they will hope some knocks and bruises to other players like the important Amy Chessari have healed by then.
Teams: WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS (3-4-1-2): Segavcic, Buchanan, Harrison, Ferris, Rue, Price, Chessari, Matos, Younis, Saveska, Harding. Substitutes: Bennett, Trew, Cassar, Harada, Hall.
Scorer: Price 90+3’.
CENTRAL COAST MARINERS (4-3-3): Langman, Rowe, Nash, Ray, Martin, Quilligan, Galic, Nunn, Evans, Pennock, Rasmussen. Substitutes: Fuller, Kraszula, Puxty, Trimis, Carmichael.
Scorers: Nunn 10’, Quilligan 23’, Galic 69’.
Referee: Sarah Jones.
Attendance: 892.
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