Central Coast Mariners have come from behind to claim an impressive 2-1 win over Wellington Phoenix at Leichhardt Oval on Friday night.
Emma Main opened the scoring for the ‘Nix, before two goals from Rola Badawiya and 17-year-old Peta Trimis overturned the Mariners’ early deficit before half-time.
Central Coast held strong in the second-half to secure their fourth win of the season, with a resolute defensive display and complete a clean sweep of Paul Temple’s side in the process.
The win takes Central Coast into seventh within goal difference of sixth-placed Melbourne Victory on the Liberty A-League ladder, with a game in hand still to be played against Sydney FC on Wednesday evening.
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Meanwhile, Wellington have lost four of their last five games and sit only a point clear of the Mariners, and could fall out of the top six if both Western Sydney Wanderers and Newcastle Jets claim wins this weekend.
Phoenix, however, struck first, taking the lead inside the opening three minutes. Isobel Gomez’ back pass was poorly cleared by Casey Dumont into the path of Main, who played a one-two with Macey Fraser and placed it past the Mariners keeper.
Wellington continued to push with Mariana Speckmaier trying her luck with a curling effort from just inside the box, but her strike went over the bar.
The Mariners worked their way into the contest and got just reward for their efforts, as Badawiya did well to work her way around Michaela Foster and curl her strike past Rylee Foster.
Emily Husband’s side weren’t done there, taking the lead 11 minutes later. Gomez won the ball in the middle of the park, playing it to Shae Evans whose delightful pass fed through Trimis and the teenager made no mistake.
Phoenix upped the pressure after half-time and were unlucky not to bring the scores level, when they were denied twice by goal-line clearances only seconds apart.
Foster’s corner was headed into the air by Tiarna Karambasis and fumbled by Dumont when she came out to claim.
Speckmaier was able to shoot goalwards, but it fell to Rebecca Lake, who had her first effort cleared by Faye Bryson, before trying again and having another shot cleared by the Mariners defender.
As Wellington went for the game, they left themselves open in defence, and Gomez again was key in the middle of the park, playing a lovely ball to Trimis who broke in behind the Phoenix back-line and played a pass to the unguarded Annalise Rasmussen but her strike was saved by Foster.
Rasmussen again had a great chance to put the result beyond doubt as time expired, but her goal-bound effort was blocked by Lake.
Back the other way, Wellington had a shout for a penalty when Dumont brought down Speckmaier inside the box, but referee Bec Mackie’s whistle had already been blown for an offside.
The talking point
Wellington’s road struggles continue to mount as they fell to a fourth defeat in five games.
All four of the games Paul Temple’s side have lost during this stretch have come outside of New Zealand to Adelaide United, Sydney FC, Brisbane Roar and now, Central Coast, despite being the ‘home side’ for the clash during Unite Round.
Their away record is now the third worst in the league, with only three points to their name coming in a win over Western Sydney Wanderers back in Round 2.
Only Canberra United (three points, but worse goal difference) and Melbourne Victory (two points) have worse away records this season.
The star
Peta Trimis, remember the name.
The 17-year-old was the match winner in Central Coast’s win over Wellington, scoring the go-ahead goal in the first-half to lead her side to an impressive victory.
“How great is it to see the youngster score her second goal already for this season?” Liberty A-League legend Catherine Cannuli said on Paramount +.
Trimis was thrusted back into the starting lineup after playing as a substitute in her last four appearances, including in the Mariners’ 3-0 win over Canberra United where she scored her first Liberty A-League goal.
The versatile forward was brilliant all night and was unlucky not to get an assist for Annalise Rasmussen late in the contest.
She was initially signed as one of three scholarship players including Maya Lobo and Tess Quilligan in early August, following an impressive stint with Bulls FC Academy in NSW NPLW, where she scored 10 goals in 23 appearances last season.
Trimis – who played for Football NSW Institute too – is also a Young Matilda, showcasing that her performances not only caught the eye of Mariners coach Emily Husband in the off-season, but youth national team selectors.
What this means
Central Coast are now within touching distance of the top six heading into the remainder of the Unite Round as they plot a top six push in the second-half of the season.
The Mariners are only goal difference behind Melbourne Victory on the ladder and a point behind Wellington Phoenix.
They still have a game in hand, which will take place on Wednesday night against Sydney FC at Leichhardt Oval.
Meanwhile, Wellington’s month long road trip continues next week when they face league leaders Melbourne City next Saturday.
