Central Coast Mariners 1-3 Melbourne City
By Kieran Yap 20/2/26
Above: Aideen Keane celebrates her goal. Photo: Melbourne City
Three second half goals and a virtuoso performance from Aideen Keane secured three points for Melbourne City against The Central Coast Mariners in Gosford. Bryleeh Henry scored the opener and set up the sealer, while captain Rebekkah Stott added one of her own.
Melbourne City arrived in Gosford facing a tough opponent in a must-win fixture. A loss here would see them potentially lose top spot to Wellington Phoenix, and The Mariners have been in strong form of late.
Lead by the power of Izabel Gomez, the guile of Avaani Prakash and the skill of Peta Trimis, Kory Babbington’s side has been hard to beat and were coming off a win away in Wellington last week.
Melbourne City entered this game as the top placed side, but not as impervious or invincible as last season, and for most of the first half, The Mariners had the upper hand.
Tamar Levin combined with Trimis early to produce the first good chance of the game. Levin’s cross from deep saw the Young Matildas forward only centimetre’s away from prodding home an opening goal.
A typical surging run from Gomez created another opening. But her shot after trading passes with Trimis could not find the back of the net.
It was not until the final 10 minutes of the half that City clicked into gear. Bryleeh Henry’s shot from outside of the box brought the best out of Annalee Grove,
Melbourne City found the breakthrough early in the second half after coming out after the break playing at full throttle. Aideen Keane and Holly McNamara burst down the left and The Matildas striker cut the ball back to Henry who finished off her left foot to beat Grove.
It was a typical Henry goal in many ways, and few forwards are as skilled as losing defenders even in crowded penalty areas. Henry did not just attack the far post, she changed the direction of her run completely with the defence backpedaling and the result was her second goal in three games.
The Mariners came close to an instant response. Trimi’s was presented with a free-kick in an identical position as her goal of the week effort against Wellington last week. The shot looked goal bound, but narrowly missed.
The visitors almost doubled the lead through Leticia McKenna. The playmaker’s free kick was almost perfect, but crashed off the crossbar with Grove beaten.
City’s second goal came through a likely combination in an unlikely part of the pitch. One centre back delivering the ball for another to finish. Taylor Otto’s cut back found her defensive partner Sott to double City’s lead.
The Mariners are always a challenge, and nobody knows that better than Melbourne City. two-nil hardly felt like a safe margin and the home side was still asking questions of the City defence.
But Aideen Keane scored in the 74th minute to give the visitors room the breathe. The roles were inversed from the opening goal. This time it was Henry’s surging, aggressive run with the ball that opened up space for Keane to produce a quality finish.
The game ended 3-1 after Gomez pulled one back almost instantly and Central Coast will wonder what might have been had their early opportunities been taken. The star midfielder nodded home following a set piece, it was not enough to get The Mariners back into the contest, but their performance on the night deserved at least one.
The Asian Cup break is an unfortunate time to lose, they will have to wait to make amends and correct this season’s trajectory. They travel to face Perth Glory on the 21st of March.
Melbourne City will enter the break on top of the ladder and their only frustration will be that it might interrupt their attacking players finding their best form of the season. This was an impressive and important win and delivered in some style.
Teams: CENTRAL COAST MARINERS (4-3-3): Grove, Barwick-Grey, Martin, Gomez, Prakash, Farrow, Levin, Kraszula, King, Trimis, Baumann. Substitutes: Fuller, Buchanan, Quilligan, Familton, Hughes, Varley.
Goals: Gomez 77′
MELBOURNE CITY (4-3-3): Mieres, Roestbakken, Otto, Stott, Turner, Mckenna, McMahon, Jackson, Henry, Keane, McNamara. Substitutes: Barbieri, Apostolakis, Butrus, Karic, Davidson, Uchendu.
Goals: Henry 52’ Stott 68’ Keane 74’
Referee: Lara Lee
Attendance: TBC
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