Central Coast Mariners are through to the Ninja A-League Semi-Finals after a brace from star import Jade Pennock sealed a 2-1 comeback win over Canberra United in Monday night’s Elimination Final at Industree Group Stadium.
Canberra led 1-0 at half-time thanks to Ninja A-League legend Michelle Heyman’s 43rd-minute strike but less than one minute into the second half, the Mariners struck back through Pennock, who equalised for the hosts at the perfect time.
Having brought her side back onto level terms, Pennock became the hero midway through the second half with a phenomenal, long-range shot dispatched into the top-right corner as the Mariners came from one goal down to eliminate Canberra from the Finals Series.
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Monday’s 2-1 Elimination Final win ensured the Mariners returned to the Semi-Finals for the second consecutive season, where they’ll meet Premiers Melbourne City for a place in the Grand Final over two legs.
Adelaide United, meanwhile, will face Melbourne Victory in the other Semi-Final, with the two Semi-Final winners set to face off in the Grand Final on the weekend of May 16-18.
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Mariners centre-back Jessika Nash scored her first-ever Ninja A-League goal in March and the young defender looked to double her career tally 11 minutes into Monday’s Elimination Final with a long-range lob that set Canberra keeper Sally James scrambling towards the goal line.
James leapt backwards to tip the ball over the bar and keep Nash and the Mariners off the scoresheet.
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Chances were few and far between through the first half until a flurry of action from the visitors as the ever-dangerous Michelle Heyman became a threat in Gosford.
Played behind Central Coast’s defence by Sofia Christopherson, Heyman charged toward Mariners keeper Sarah Langman and, in a one-on-one, attempted to find the bottom-right corner with her weaker left foot.
But Langman did well to get off her line, close the angle and make a strong save low to her left.
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Minutes later, Canberra went on the attack once again through Aideen Keane.
The young striker showed power and pace as she broke into the box. With space created to her left, Keane took a touch to steady herself before firing an attempt on goal; only the fingertips of Langman prevented Keane from finding the top-left corner.
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The first half looked set to end goalless until Heyman produced a moment of individual quality to fire Canberra into the ascendancy in Gosford.
Once again, it was a searching Christopherson through ball that enticed Heyman into action. Taren King looked well placed to quell the danger but Heyman pounced to rob the Mariners captain of possession, turn onto her left foot and whip a clinical finish into the back of the net.
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Central Coast needed a quick response after the break, and head coach Emily Husband couldn’t have asked for a better start to the second half.
Less than one minute after the restart, teenage Mariner Tiana Fuller played a dangerous ball off the left wing toward the back post, where Annabel Martin’s committed header created the chance for Jade Pennock to blast the home side back on level terms.
The Mariners’ fast start to the second half preceded 30 minutes of cagey football as raised stakes of knockout football led to the prioritisation of caution from both sides.
But for all their defensive acumen, there was nothing Canberra could do to prevent the moment that put the Mariners into the lead.
Already with one goal to her name, Pennock doubled her tally with a phenomenal long-range strike; Canberra keeper James was completely helpless as the ball rifled through the air and into the top-right corner.
In the end, Pennock’s 74th-minute wonder-strike was all the Mariners needed to see off the challenge from Canberra and book their spot in the Semi-Finals, where they’ll take on Premiers Melbourne City over two legs for a spot in the title decider.
Post-game, Pennock was asked to reflect on her stellar match-winning goal, and revealed a concentrated effort to improve her finishing after a wasteful performance against Newcastle Jets in Round 23 was responsible for the additional confidence she felt in front of goal against Canberra.
“I was disappointed in the last game,” Pennock told Network 10. “I had a few chances that I think I should’ve scored or put away. So I worked hard all week in training, and just came up with that in the end.
“We dominated – well, we felt like we dominated – the majority of the half, we were disappointed we went in behind so we just wanted to come out fighting and we did, we scored early on and I think we were just composed and took the game to them.”
Ahead of the Semi-Final first leg, the Mariners will be eager to learn the damage sustained by versatile midfielder Taylor Ray, who was substituted late in the game against Canberra United with a left ankle injury.
Ray fell awkwardly as she attempted to make a clearance and was helped from the field in tears; she was later seen with her left ankle heavily iced.
But while Ray turns her attention to recovering in time to continue to contribute to the Mariners’ cause in the Finals Series, it’s season over for Canberra.
Head coach Antoni Jagarinec hauled the club back into the Finals Series in his first season in charge, and although it was a special campaign for captain Michelle Heyman, who became the first player in Ninja A-League history to amass 200 league appearances in April, the journey ultimately ended in disappointment in Gosford on Monday night.
“It hurts,” Heyman told Network 10. “It hurts deep down inside. I think I said earlier I only probably stepped one metre into my half that entire play (for the Mariners equaliser). But I saw it happening, I saw it unfold, which also hurts even more, because maybe I should’ve done something about it, maybe I should’ve led a bit better.
“But that’s football, and good on them to come out firing. We knew they were going to but we were just hoping it wasn’t that quick.”
