Day one spoils in the Ninja A-League have gone the way of the visitors, with Central Coast, Perth and Melbourne Victory all victorious on the road.
Central Coast have rebounded from pre-season doubts over their future in the Ninja A-League to show they will be a side to watch, scoring an exhilarating 4-2 opening-round away win over 2025/26 semi-finalists Brisbane.
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A new-look side never trailed against the Roar, racking up 19 shots to nine and having twice as many shots on target.
The other two opening-day games finished in 1-0 away wins for Melbourne Victory over Western Sydney and Perth against Newcastle, with set pieces deciding both encounters.
American Rola Badawiya scored the first goal of the season, with her 13th-minute penalty securing the Glory all three points at Hunter City Motor Group Stadium.
A 32nd-minute Alana Jancevski free kick gave the Victory the win at Wanderers Football Park.
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The goals flowed more freely at Gioca Stadium, where the outstanding Peta Trimis put Central Coast ahead in the seventh minute.
The Mariners couldn’t capitalise on their early dominance, with Daisy Brown equalising with a header from a 26th-minute corner.
Talia Kapetanellis blasted an unstoppable shot past Matildas goalkeeper Chloe Lincoln from a tight angle just before halftime and Central Coast doubled their lead just before the hour, with Skye Halmarick netting from close range after a flowing length-of-the-field move.
Just seconds after Trimis hit the outside of a post, debutante Morgan Witz rounded off another fine move with the American firing home from just inside the area.
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Brisbane pulled one back almost immediately with a super strike from substitute and Philippines international midfielder, Katrina Guillou.
“We did well in the second half just to match their energy, we knew they were going to come out hard,” Halmarick told Paramount+ and Network Ten.
At Wanderers Football Park, Jancevski settled the game by firing over the wall and past Western Sydney goalkeeper Sarah Langman.
“I was actually going to hit it to the other side and then I saw a little gap In that top left corner,” Jancevski said.
The hosts struggled to manufacture scoring opportunities, but substitute Alyssa Ng-Saad almost equalised off the bench on two occasions.
Western Sydney suffered a massive blow in the 11th minute when captain, and former Victory player, Rhianna Pollicina went down with a knee injury and hobbled out of the game.
In Newcastle, Badawiya sent Jets goalkeeper Claire Henninger the wrong way with her spot kick, awarded after a Julia Sardo header from a corner struck Josie Allan on the arm.
The home side thought they should have had a penalty of their own after a Libby Copus-Brown shot hit the arm of Perth defender Baxter Thew.
“It hit my face, not my hand,” said Thew.
“We were under the pump at the end and they gave it to us, but I think we kept our heads and did what we needed to do, even if it wasn pretty at times.”
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