By Alyce Collett 13/5/25
Above: Central Coast Mariners coach Emily Husband. Photo: A-Leagues
Central Coast Mariners coach Emily Husband spoke to the media following the semi final win. Alyce Collett was in attendance.
The Central Coast Mariners pulled off one of the upsets of the A-League Women’s seasons last weekend as they picked off the previously invincible Melbourne City to book their spot in the 2024/25 Grand Final.
Speaking moments after the history making win, the joy that Mariners coach Emily Husband was feeling was clear for all to see.
She said that in that moment she was “just really proud. Really proud of the girls and what they’ve done this season and what they’ve achieved and the performances that they’re repeatedly putting on.”
“Just really, really proud of them.”
Heading into the game, Husband said that the mindset had not changed too much after the first leg of the tie.
“For us it was very similar, but I think we just needed to be a little bit more attacking and a little bit better in possession,” Husband explained.
“Obviously, we weren’t anticipating the game to go the way that it went, but I think for me, the great thing about this bunch is that we’re so flexible and adaptable to be able to take whatever the game throws at us.”
Things got significantly easier for her side early when Melbourne City lost two of their first choice starters to injury (Holly McNamara) and a red card (Lourdes Bosch) respectively. However, that did not alter things too much for Husband in terms of her and her side’s approach.
“Look, obviously a sending off will always affect a game in one way or another,” Husband did.
“So we knew that we might see a little bit more of the ball. But ultimately for us it was continuing to focus on what we could control and what we can do with the ball and, and to try and create as many opportunities as we could. “
The match winning goal from Isabel Gomez came with mere minutes left in stoppage time of extra time, but Husband said everything was ready to go in case the game did end up going to penalties.
“We were already set if it went to pens, everyone knew exactly what the plan was. Everybody knew what their role was, so everything was already set,” Husband said.
“Like I said, the girls were ready for whatever the game through today, so that was a massive part of us also wanting to leave Gomez on for as long as we could do, because you give her an opportunity and she’ll always take it.”
Looking ahead to the big dance, Husband already has a plan for how she and her team will prepare for the biggest game of the club’s history since their return to the league.
“We’ll go back over the last few games that we’ve played,” Husband confirmed.
“We’ve played them three times already this year, so we’ve had plenty of practice at it, and now it’s just about us again taking our moments when we’re creating.”
The Mariners will be the underdog in the clash against Melbourne Victory next weekend, but that’s not an issue for the Mariners’ boss.
“Yeah, look, we’ve always been in the underdogs, right?” Husband said.
“The club that we come from, it gives us that title, and we’ve only been in the league two years, so we’re never going to come in all guns blazing. It’s probably where we’re best, where we’re fit, and we’re obviously good at it.”
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