Central Coast Mariners 1-2 Western Sydney Wanderers
By Callum Logie 24/1/26
Above: Western Sydney Wanderers players celebrate after scoring against the Central Coast Mariners. Photo: via A Leagues
The Western Sydney Wanderers have pulled off a tightly fought upset 2-1 win over the Central Coast Mariners, thanks to a brace from Holly Caspers.
The game saw early possession dominance from the Mariners, having 88% possession through the first 7 minutes.
The Mariners outside of possession had a traditional back four, but Annabel Martin would roam forward when in possession to act as a holding midfield, allowing the central midfielders to have more fluid positioning.
In attack for the Wanderers, Talia Younis and Amy Harrison would play further up the pitch as more attacking wingers to support the target forward Yuan Cong and the hardworking Caspers.
The pace of the Mariners going forward was proving to be challenging for the Wanderers’ defence, with Peta Trimis and Jyana dos Santos regularly running through the channels to create opportunities in the first 15 minutes. To counteract this, the Wanderers dropped their defensive line to mitigate the impact of balls over the top.
The first meaningful chance came when Greta Kraszula was chased down by Caspers and gave the ball away to Younis. Cutting inside to her right, Younis drove a low effort toward the near post, but Annalee Grove was well positioned and caught the ball to end the attack.
In the middle stages of the first half, the Wanderers built up some more possession, looking to create some opportunities after absorbing a lot of Central Coast territorial pressure. Both defences were quite solid, preventing any meaningful chances at their respective goals.
But just over the half hour mark, Central Coast did have a decent chance off a throw-in. It was taken quickly and caught the Wanderers by surprise which allowed Isabel Gomez a half volley at goal. Her effort was ultimately driven too high, but it showed promising signs for a home side looking to break the deadlock.
However only a matter of minutes later, the the Wanderers were able to break through and take the lead. The Mariners gave the ball away in defence and Western Sydney quickly got the ball to Yuan, who looked up and expertly fed the ball through to Caspers who finished clinically in a one-on-one with Grove.
The goal emboldened the Wanderers, pushing their fullbacks forward to join in on attacks when they got onto the ball, while Harrison would drop back to form a back three with Wang Ying and Poppie Hooks.
However the Wanderer’s lead was short lived, because just before half time some delicate dribbling from Avaani Prakash found the feet of the prolific Annalise Rasmussen who made no mistake drilling the ball into the top corner of the goal, equalising proceedings.
The Mariners started the second half positively, focusing their efforts up the left flank with dos Santos and Baumann regularly pushing forward and sending crosses in toward Rasmussen.
Despite the regular pressure applied by the Mariners early in the second half, the Wanderers broke forward after a terrific dribbling move from Younis who drove a cross directly onto the head of Caspers, who converted from 10 yards and restored the Wanderers lead.
The final period of the game saw Western Sydney slow down the pace, holding their shape against the Mariners who were struggling to get the ball forward with 8 outfield players looking to actively defend.
The Mariners’ did not stop trying to score though, recording a number of promising chances via the likes of Gomez and Eliza Familton, but no goals.
Ultimately the Wanderers held on through the final stages of regular time and seven minutes of added time to secure their second win of the season and their first of the calendar year.
Teams: CENTRAL COAST MARINERS (4-3-3): Grove, Martin, Thew, King, Baumann, Gomez, Kraszula, Prakash, dos Santos, Rasmussen, Trimis. Substitutes: Barwick-Grey, Familton, Farrow, Fuller, Levin, Varley.
Scorers: Rasmussen 41′.
Teams: WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS (4-4-2): Khamis, Bennett, Hooks, Wang, Matos, Harada, Price, Harrison, Younis, Yuan, Caspers. Substitutes: Buchanan, Rue Cerne, Edwards, Chessari, Fazzari.
Scorers: Caspers 35′, 57′
Referee: Caitlin Williams
Attendance: 1,248.
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