The first ever meeting between Western United and Central Coast Mariners in the Liberty a-League ‘may be a trivia question in the future’ after being played in a ‘bizarre set of circumstances’ on Saturday afternoon.
Not only was the match – which finished 2-1 to Western United – played in Hobart, neither side’s home turf, but it was actually refereed by two different whistleblowers after an injury saw a change at half-time.
Isabella Blaess refereed the first-half but was unable to take her place after the break due to a hip injury, meaning fourth official Adam Bavcar took charge for the second 45 minutes in a clash that was not short on action.
“We have got confirmation why Isabella Blaess the referee has been replaced at half-time, she has got a hip injury,” Network 10 and Paramount+ commentator Ben Homer explained.
“You don’t hear it too often, referees injured during matches, but it does happen on the rare occasion. There you go. Maybe that is a trivia question in the future.
“The first meeting between these two sides in the history of this competition, it takes place in Hobart on neutral territory and the referee Isabella Blaess has unfortunately suffered a hip injury, so replaced by Adam Bavcar at half-time.
“What a bizarre set of circumstances for the first meeting between these two sides. We wish Isabella the best and hopefully she has a speedy recovery from that injury.”
That rare occurence aside, Western and the Mariners also delivered entertainment from the start, with both sides scoring inside the opening six minutes.
Kat Smith’s Western raced out of the blocks and took the lead through Jaclyn Sawicki after only two minutes, but their lead quickly evaporated as Rola Badawiya struck back for the away side soon after.
However, Western would regain the lead and ultimately take all three points through Hannah Keane, who continued her purple patch by converting the rebound after Adrianna Taranto smashed an effort into the crossbar.
Kyah Simon came close to scoring her first goal since returning to the Liberty A-League, but her effort hit the crossbar late in the match as the Mariners went down away from home.
