Central Coast Mariners 3-3 Perth Glory
by Ben Gilby (14/3/25)
Above: Tijan McKenna (light shirt) wins a header. Her late equaliser would earn the Glory a point. Photo: Perth Glory.
A goal three minutes into injury time at the end of 90 minutes from Tijan McKenna gave Perth Glory a point from a dramatic game in which they lost a 2-1 lead against Central Coast Mariners.
This was a thrilling encounter from the off between two sides who needed a win to keep pushing for a spot in the top six. Perth went into the game on the back of a superb 3-0 win against Western United, but had been hamstrung by an inability to win on the road this season. They went all out tonight at Industree Group Stadium to change that stat.
McKenna symbolised exactly what the Glory were hoping to achieve when she hit the game’s first serious effort on goal after 12 minutes. And what an effort!
Taking possession around 25 yards outside the Mariners’ area, the Young Matilda took a touch, cut into a slightly more central position, and let fly with an absolute rocket from almost 30 yards that former Perth goalkeeper Sarah Langman somehow managed to claw down and dive onto. It was a stunning shot, and a superb save which set the tone for what was to follow.
Six minutes later though, the home side hit the front. Following Taylor Ray’s corner on the right, Peta Trimis crashed in a cross shot from the right that Casey Dumont repelled, and set in motion a scramble of playground style proportions that ended with Jessika Nash cooly slotting home from the centre of the 18-yard box.
As the half wore on, the Mariners had a golden chance to double their lead. A mis-kick in the middle of the box from Onyi Zogg allowed Isabel Gomez to break clear. Dumont came out to narrow the angle, and it worked with Gomez’s shot going agonisingly wide of the right hand post.
Shortly after the interval, Perth made sure that Central Coast rued that missed opportunity. The visitors were awarded a free-kick around 30 yards out on the left hand side of the pitch. Sarah O’Donoghue’s shot came in low and bounced in front of Langman, squirming all the way into the net to level the scores.
From the re-start, the Mariners looked to apply the pressure immediately. Gomez strode purposefully through the middle of the park with acres of space ahead of her. Trimis came up in support on the left and was fed possession. Showing pace and superb footwork, the young star made herself space to fire in a shot from 15 yards out, left of centre which Dumont pushed over the top.
With 56 on the clock, it was Perth’s turn to threaten. Naomi Chinnama chipped a ball across the midfield for Megan Wynne on the left flank. The Welsh wizard played a sumptuous pass through that bisected the Mariners’ defence and fell perfectly into the path of O’Donoghue running into the box. Advancing one-on-one with Langman, the Glory attacker lifted the ball into the net for the icing on the cake – a classy move from start to finish.
Just four minutes later, Trimis once more showed her outstanding ability on the left. The teen star advanced before curling a low ball around the Perth defence into the path of Annalise Rasmussen who couldn’t miss from less than 10 yards at the back post. Another superb move full of skill and vision that finished with a goal.
With just over 20 minutes remaining, the home side completed their comeback by hitting the front. An errant pass in midfield gave possession to Central Coast in the form of Gomez. There were acres of space in front of her to play a perfectly weighted pass for Tiana Fuller to run onto. Dumont came out to meet her, but Fuller showed icy calm to round the Glory keeper and roll the ball home.
But the drama was not over yet. Three minutes into the allotted five of stoppage time at the end of 90 minutes, up stepped McKenna.
From the middle of the park, substitute Ella Lincoln threaded a perfectly pass through to find O’Donoghue. As the Glory co-captain entered the area, she laid off the ball for McKenna outside her on the left hand edge of the box. The Western Australian youngster took a touch before hitting a low shot first time that beat the despairing dive of Langman to claim a point for Perth.
This was a game full of outstanding moments of individual skill and sublime team play. So many young stars were showcased – the one frustrating thing for both sides is that neither could get the win that they really needed.
Being placed higher on the ladder, Central Coast will be more pleased than the Glory. For the visitors, the wait for an away win goes on. Until they can achieve one, it will be extremely challenging to get a top six reward for the immense character and continued improvement that they have shown this season.
Teams: CENTRAL COAST MARINERS (4-2-3-1): Langman, Stowe, Nash, Ray, Martin, Quilligan, Gomez, Pennock, Galic, Trimis, Rasmussen. Substitutes: Carmichael, Fuller, Hughes, McMahon, Nunn.
Scorers: Nash 18′, Rasmussen 61′, Fuller 69′.
PERTH GLORY (4-3-3): Dumont, McKenna, Zogg, Chinnama, Foletta, Palmer, Dalton, Tathem, Wynne, O’Donoghue, Johnston. Substitutes: Anderson, Lincoln, Phonsongkham, Templeman, Wainwright.
Scorers: O’Donoghue 49′, 57′. McKenna 90+3.
Referee: Molly Godsell.
Attendance: 1,115.
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