Melbourne Victory 2-0 Central Coast Mariners
By Alyce Collett 17/2/25
Above: Nikki Flannery and Sarah Rowe fight for possession. Photo: Beck Hartley for Impetus
Melbourne Victory have tightened their grip on second spot on the ladder after a 2-0 win over the Central Coast Mariners.
The match was won in the first half, where Victory led the possession, looked more threatening in attack, and were rewarded with two first half goals to Emily Gielnik.
For the most part it was a free flowing beginning to the match, but it was the Mainers who got the first dangerous shot on target, with Jade Pennock and Brooke Nunn looking particularly dangerous.
However it was the Victory who struck on the scoreboard first, after Alana Murphy slotted a through ball perfectly to Gielnik, who guided it past Sarah Langman in the Mariners’ net.
The early goal seemed to give the Victory a boost of confidence, as their possession dominance rose and their defensive pressure also rose, really trapping the Mariners in their defensive half. Alex Chidiac never stopped running, as she seamlessly swivelled to feed Nikki Flannery out on one side and Gielnik on the other.
Even when the Mariners did get close to their attacking goal, the Victory defence was so tight and compact that the Mariners really struggled to find a free target.
This was in stark contrast to the Victory, who were really using the wide areas well and able to find the likes of Gielnik and Flannery regularly. Victory were also able to execute the switch with a lot more ease and a lot less passes than their visitors.
The Mariners had a late corner chance that was headed away by the Victory defence and then Gielnik blew a chance to get herself a second goal by skying a penalty, but Gielnik would not have to wait long to make amends for her error.
Minutes after Gielnik’s missed penalty, Murphy curled a corner kick into the box and ultimately a Chidiac shot was deflected off Gielnik and into the back of the net to double Victory’s lead in first half extra time.
Shay Evans went within inches of getting one back for the Mariners with seconds left in the half, but ultimately the Mariners went into half time two goals down and with plenty to think about.
The half time stats told an interesting tale.
The Victory had about 7.5% more of the possession than the Mariners did, but were less accurate with their passing. However, they had three of their eight shots go on target, compared to the visitors’ one of seven.
This translated on field in the regards that Victory were able to find specific targets like Gielnik with relative ease, while the Mariners were aiming more for the goal area than specific players in front of it, which worked right into the hands of the Victory defenders.
Initially in the second it looked like whatever Emily Husband had said to her troops at half time worked, as the game was really free flowing and defensive efforts from the Mariners really lifted and were more at Victory’s level.
However as the half progressed the Mariners continued to rack up the chances, but just could not get them on target. The Mariners had nine shots in the second half – five more than the Victory did – but the stumbling block for the visitors was that despite having the advantage in shot volume, both sides got two of their second half shots on target, so the volume advantage was neutralise and meant that neither side was able to change the half time ledger.
One positive thing for the Mariners was the return of Izzy Gomez, who was subbed on at the hour mark for her first minutes since going down injured in round four.
To view Beck Hartley’s set of exclusive images from the match for Impetus, check out our Instagram page – @ImpetusFootball
Teams: MELBOURNE VICTORY (4-3-3): Newbon, Bunge, Murphy, Chidiac, Flannery, D’Appolonia, Gielnik, Morrison, Lowe, Pickett, Curtis. Substitutes: Candy, Sakalis, O’Grady, Furphy, Jančevski.
Scorer: Gielnik 10’, 45+1’
CENTRAL COAST MARINERS (4-2-2-2): Langman, Seaman, Nash, Martin, Pennock, Ray, Rasmussen, Rowe, Quilligan, Nunn, Evans. Substitutions: Carmichael, Gomez, Fuller, Kraszula, Trimis.
Referee: Caitlin Williams
Attendance: 887.
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