Canberra United 1-1 Central Coast Mariners
by Alice de Koster Kitto (8/2/25)
Above: Canberra United celebrate Michelle Heyman’s equalising goal today. Photo: Canberra United.
Central Coast Mariners and Canberra United have shared the points in a well-fought battle at McKellar Park on Saturday.
The meeting was a crucial one for both sides, with Central Coast Mariners looking to maintain their current fifth-place ranking, whilst Canberra United fought to make their way into the top end of the table.
While the Mariners were the favourites to take the match and held the majority of the possession throughout, it was a fairly even pairing that could have gone either way.
The majority of the action took place in the midfield, with few opportunities presenting themselves early on. It was the Mariners however, who were responsible for most of what few shots on goal there were.
An excellent chance from Brooke Nunn, assisted by Jade Pennock, almost saw the Mariners take the lead early on, but Nunn was just out of position when taking the shot. Though the strike was missed, the attempt brought the visitors further into the attacking line, and was the start of a series of great attempts from Emily Husband’s side.
Although Central Coast maintained their dominance, Canberra put up a good fight, retaliating with a dangerous run from Maja Markovski that was intercepted by Mariners captain Bianca Galic.
Hayley Taylor-Young proved to be a crucial part of the home side, making several ambitious strikes that could have gotten the hosts in front in the first half.
The scoring was finally opened in the 39th minute when Nunn ran the ball to Pennock, whose strike bounced off the post and into the back of the net, leaving Central Coast Mariners with a 1-0 lead at the break.
The scoring continued less than a minute into the second half, when Markovski delivered the ball directly to Michelle Heyman, who shot home, earning Canberra United their equaliser.
The goal shifted the momentum for the hosts, as Markovski looked to set up another goal almost immediately, but was caught offside.
Although Canberra settled into their attack during the second half, the Mariners continued to dominate on both possession and shots, while their almost impenetrable defence kept their opponent out of the box.
As stoppage time approached, Canberra’s attack became more aggressive, as they seemed to finally find and capitalize on the Mariners weaknesses. Heyman looked desperately for a brace and it looked as though her unrivaled scoring history, combined with a seamless link-up with Markovski might prove fruitful – but it never quite happened.
The final minute of play saw one last attempt from the hosts when an extremely close-range header from Emma Robers was saved down at the bottom corner by Sarah Langman.
Round 16 of the Ninja A-League will see great pressure for both of these sides, as they head on the road to face two of the league’s top teams. Canberra United will take on i-form third place side Adelaide United at Coopers Stadium, while Central Coast Mariners will travel to the Home of The Matildas, to take on Melbourne Victory, who currently hold second place on the ladder.
Teams: CANBERRA UNITED (4-3-3): James, Anton, Satanic-Floody, Robers, Taylor-Young, Christopherson, Markovski, Heyman, Malone, Bertolissio, Gordon. Substitutes: McKenzie, Ayson, Dos Santos, Keane, Majstorovic.
Scorer: Heyman 46’.
CENTRAL COAST MARINERS (3-4-3): Langman, Seaman, Nash, Martin, Pennock, Galic, Ray, Fuller, Rowe, Quilligan, Nunn. Substitutions: Carmichael, Rasmussen, Kraszula, Puxty, Trimis.
Scorer: Pennock 39’.
Referee: Caitlin Williams.
Attendance: 1,376.
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