Wellington Phoenix 1-2 Central Coast Mariners
By Callum Logie 15/2/26
Above: Brooke Nunn and Tamar Levin fight for possession. Photo: Wellington Phoenix
The windy Porirua Park hosted an interesting game between two positive sides, Mariners securing a massive win in their campaign to go back-to-back off Peta Trimis and Tamar Levin goals.
Flying high off their comprehensive victory over the Jets, Wellington made a few rotational changes to keep their team fresh heading towards the finals. Grace Jale was unavailable which saw Daisy Brazendale return to the side in midfield. Emma Pijnenburg also dropped to the bench with Mackenzie Anthony getting the start.
The Mariners came into the game off their bye week, and in round 15, came away with a 2-2 draw with Brisbane Roar. The only change made to the starting line-up was the Italy bound Annalise Rasmussen departing the club, so the Englishwoman Millie Farrow got the start up front with Trimis.
The hosts started positively, the American forwards causing havoc in the Mariner’s box. Mikala Woods had a close range shot at goal but it was effectively deflected away in the first three minutes. Woods again had a good chance in the eighth minute of the game, using her athleticism to break in behind and force a good save out of Annalee Grove.
When the Mariners went forward, they looked to play with pace, but often fell into the offside trap of the Phoenix, Farrow and Levin both getting caught behind the line in the first 10 minutes. The wind was behind them in the first half which let them create a natural pressure on the Phoenix.
In the 16th minute, the Central Coast Mariners won a free kick on the edge of the box. Trimis stepped up to take the free kick and struck a beautiful curled effort into the top corner to open the scoring of what was poised to be a great contest.
Wellington almost manufactured an immediate response as Brooke Nunn struck a half-volley just over the bar on the other end. The goal did wake up the hosts after a period of defending, moving forward with more urgency now that they were trailing.
In the 28th minute, Wellington were able to strike back after a mistake in possession by Annalee Grove. Grove lost the ball after a press from Lucia Leon, then after a Woods shot was deflected off the goal line by Taren King, Mackenzie Anthony calmly converted the rebound in her first start of the season.
The rest of the first half was very back and forth, with Leon almost taking the lead off a great Nunn cross.
As is often the case though, a missed chance at one end leads to a goal at the other end. In the second minute of added time, a flashy passing move with Avaani Prakash found the run of Tamar Levin who took great control and powered the ball past Victoria Esson to take the lead before the break.
Wellington started the second half on the front foot, putting pressure on the Mariners defenders and playing with a high defensive line to keep good territory. The Phoenix seemed to play better from behind as the game progressed.
The Mariners held firm defensively through the first 20 minutes of the second half, not giving away any major chances while Wellington controlled the majority of possession. Focusing on closing the space Woods had on the ball was a point of focus for Central Coast.
Central Coast sat with usually up to nine players behind the ball on defence as they were playing against the gale force wind in Wellington during the second half. It was hard to play the ball aerially as it was difficult to predict where it would go with the wind.
Wellington had many more shots at goal throughout the game but Central Coast made the most of their chances when they came their way. Parking the bus worked perfectly for the Mariners in the second half and they were able to hold on to their narrow victory at the full-time whistle, staying in firm contention for finals.
Teams: WELLINGTON PHOENIX (4-4-2): Esson, Elliott, van der Meer, Barry, Walker, Leon, Brazendale, Vlok, Nunn, Anthony, Woods. Substitutes: Danieli, Jaber, Main, Wall, Benson, Pijnenburg.
Scorers: Anthony 28′.
CENTRAL COAST MARINERS (4-1-3-2): Grove, Baumann, King, Barwick-Grey, Martin, Gomez, Kraszula, Levin, Prakash, Farrow, Trimis. Substitutes: Buchanan, Familton, Fuller, Quilligan, Thew, Varley.
Scorers: Trimis 16′, Levin 45+2′.
Referee: Anna-Marie Keighly
Attendance: 1,203.
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