Adelaide United 1-1 Central Coast Mariners
By Alice de Koster-Kitto 4/1/26
Above: Erin Healy. Photo: Adelaide United
It was a heated battle at Coopers Stadium this afternoon, as a clash between Adelaide United and Central Coast Mariners saw Adelaide take the points in a 1-0 victory, after dominating in the attacking end at home. The result was a far cry from their last meeting against the Mariners in the opening round, where they faced a 3-0 defeat in Gosford.
There was an early shot from Adriana Taranto, after immediately causing contention in the midfield. Although there was not enough power behind the strike to make anything of it, it set Adelaide off on a positive foot, taking possession early on.
Baxter Thew made an impressive and fluid cross to Avaani Prakash, which flew through a sea of red shirts, and led to a promising attempt from Isabella Coco-Di Sipio, marking the Mariners first real shot of the match.
Annalise Rasmussen took a strike directly to the hands of Ilona Melegh. The shot was her first of the season to not amount to a goal, as she now sits in a conjoined lead in the Golden Boot race, on seven goals, from seven shots throughout the season so far.
There was plenty of end-to-end action, as both sides managed to move the ball with fluidity through the pitch and take a number of chances, with no real dominant side in the early stages of play.
While play remained fairly even in most areas, Annalee Grove was the busier of the two goalkeepers, as Adelaide were able to capitalise on the Mariners’ weak spots and move the ball forward, and make a few decent, yet ultimately uneventful attempts.
Erin Healy got dangerously close to opening the score line for Adelaide, taking on Grove 1-on-1, a position that would characteristically result in a goal for Healy, but the back of the net could not be found this time, although a goal seemed increasingly likely for the Reds.
While Adelaide stayed the dominant side in the first half, Mariners had an excellent response as Peta Trimis took a shot on target, which was cleverly saved by Melegh. The visitors kept possession as the ball was immediately crossed through to Prakash, who also made an attempt.
Prakash was a standout for Central Coast, having involvement in almost all of the changes throughout the first half.
Adelaide broke through and opened the scoring just a minute into the second half, with a thrilling goal from Emily Condon. The initial strike from Healy was denied by Grove, leaving the Mariners’ side feeling safe until the ball was collected by Condon and shot straight into the net from the corner of the box.
The Mariners worked hard to respond, with a shot from distance by Coco-Di Sipio, flying just over the top of the net.
While the first half saw Adelaide dominate primarily in the attacking end, with a somewhat patchy defence, the performance was tight at all ends following their opening goal, as they held on to the momentum of their lead and disallowed any Mariners retaliation.
There was a moment of hope for the Mariners when a scuffle in the box led to an Izzy Gomez header. The ball looked as though it would fly through the legs of Megher and into the net, but it was denied in close contention, and Adelaide remained in front.
It was an aggressive match at all ends, with yellow cards handed to Gomez, Thew, Hodgson, and Adriana Toranto.
Central Coast began to pick up the momentum and seize more opportunities as stoppage time approached. What seemed to be a promising run from Rasmussen was called offside, and the attempt was denied.
Condon went for her second of the match, making a good strike past Mariners’ defence, before the ball flew over the crossbar.
There was no shortage of action and solid attempts across the field at the tail end of the match; there was no second goal to be found, and Adelaide took the points in an unexpected and essential 1-0 victory.
The win marks back-to-back victories for the Reds, as they come off a 5-2 thrashing of the Wanderers in round 10, and will certainly set the squad up for a positive turnaround in 2026.
Round 12 will see Mariners head to No 2 Sportground, as they take on Newcastle Jets for the second F3 derby of the season, where they will be looking to continue their winning streak in the derby, following a 4-1 goalfest against the Jets in December.
Adelaide will stay home to face Sydney FC, where they will be looking to continue what has been a fantastic run of performances.
ADELAIDE UNITED (4-2-3-1) : Melegh, Tolland, Tonkin, McNamara, Hodgson, Zois, M.Taranto, A.Toranto, Healy, Condon, Dawber. Substitutes: Murray, Worts, Hodgson, Makris, Jenkins, Morgan
Goals: Condon 47’
CENTRAL COAST MARINERS (4-3-3:)Grove, Baumann, King, Thew, Martin, Trimis, Prakash, Krazula, Di Sipio, Rasmussen, Gomez. Substitutes: Varley, Levin, Quilligan, Farrow, Hughes, Buchanan
Referee: Izzy Cooper
Attendance: 4,667.
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