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12Jan24
Central Coast Come From Behind To Sink Wellington
by Jeremy Ruane
Central Coast Mariners gave their Liberty A-League play-off hopes a welcome boost at Leichhardt Oval on 12 January, coming from behind to down Wellington Phoenix 2-1 in front of 1938 fans, who saw the beaten team drop out of the top six positions for the first time in eleven rounds.
Everything began swimmingly for Paul Temple's charges, who took the lead just three minutes into the contest. An awful clearance by former Matildas goalkeeper Casey Dumont was pounced on by Emma Main, who worked a one-two with Macey Fraser before arrowing a fifteen yard drive between Dumont and her near post.
Wellington looked to build on their early advantage, with Dumont and Main in direct confrontation again three minutes later. Fraser played the ball forward for her team-mate, but the goalkeeper dashed out to clear it, only to direct her attempt at Main, off whom the ball ricocheted.
Central Coast got lucky, as Annalie Longo was unable to control the ball on this occasion, while Mariana Speckmaier went close two minutes later with a curling effort past the far post after cutting in off the left flank past two opponents.
This was the first match in which Wellington had deployed Fraser and Alyssa Whinham from the outset, and these two creative talents combined to good effect on the quarter hour, Fraser inviting her team-mate to storm through from halfway before unleashing a twenty-five yard shot on the run which Dumont, diving to her left, denied.
Central Coast didn't feature as an attacking force in the opening fifteen minutes, largely due to poor option-taking, but once they'd got their first sniff of goal - Rylee Foster flew to her right to keep out Peta Trimis' rasping twenty yard drive in the eighteenth minute - they soon got the measure of Wellington and went about restoring parity.
Foster denied them again in the twentieth minute, flying to her left this time to turn away Bianca Galic's eight yard header from a corner. Galic then held off Longo's challenge before releasing Shadeene Evans down the right, from where she picked out Rola Badawiya.
Foster thwarted her attempt to equalise, but could only look on in the 22nd minute as Badawiya butchered a glorious chance to level the scores, the unmarked striker heading past the far post with the goal gaping upon receipt of Faye Bryson's corner to the far post.
Bryson had a fine game for "The Mariners", and she it was who sparked the move which resulted in their 23rd minute equaliser. Her pass invited Badawiya to get the better of Michaela Foster before lashing a shot through a gap between Rylee Foster, Mackenzie Barry and Rebecca Lake, the ball crashing into the bottom far corner of the net - 1-1.
Longo led Wellington's response, a fabulous 27th minute run during which she powered between two opponents before feeding Speckmaier, whose twenty-yarder sizzled inches over the bar.
But Central Coast had the bit between their teeth, and took advantage of a Lake blunder on the half-hour to threaten once more. Wurigumula's pass found its way to Bryson, who was forced to shoot wide by the combined efforts of Rylee Foster and Lake, who was desperate to make amends for her blemish, and succeeded - the error apart, she was solidity personified at the heart of Wellington's rearguard.
Bryson's resulting corner found the head of the unmarked Galic, but while she headed wildly over the top on this occasion, Central Coast's next attack, in the 34th minute, brought far greater reward, as they took the lead.
Main went from hero to villain from Wellington's perspective by giving the ball away cheaply inside her own half. Former Wellington midfielder Isabel Gomez was swift to pounce on the opening, threading a pass through to Evans, whose delicious reverse pass invited Trimis to hold off the challenge of Longo before shooting home beyond Foster - 2-1.
Wellington looked to rally before the interval, Main
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and Fraser combining with Speckmaier in the 39th minute. She surged into the penalty area but was thwarted by the covering defence, only for Whinham to swiftly recover possession and weave past three opponents, only to find her way to goal firmly blocked.
Two minutes later, Dumont punched out a Michaela Foster corner which would have curled home under the bar had she not done so. This prompted the local side to finish the half strongly, with Bryson setting up an opportunity on the stroke of half-time which culminated in Wurigumula shooting straight at Rylee Foster, who smothered a drive from half-time substitute Paige Hayward just forty seconds after play resumed in the second spell.
Cue a decent spell from Wellington in their pursuit of an equaliser. Michaela Foster released Speckmaier down the right, from where she fired in a cross. It was cleared to the fullback, who was following up, and duly unleashed a twenty-five yarder which was smothered by Dumont.
That 49th minute opening was followed six minutes later by a corner from Foster which wasn't cleared, then was spilled by Dumont. The ball fell to Speckmaier, who hooked it inside for Lake, who had two attempts at turning the ball home, only to see Bryson block both of them on the line.
Back came "The Mariners", aided by Wellington's penchant for giving the ball away in their own half of the pitch - definitely an element of their game on which work is needed! On this occasion, Rylee Foster was little troubled by Hayward's long-range effort, while in the 72nd minute, substitute Annalise Rasmussen got the better of Mackenzie Barry and played in Galic, only for Lake to produce a superbly timed tackle which stopped this attack dead.
After Fraser had stung the gloves of Dumont from distance, Central Coast should have wrapped up the contest with fifteen minutes to play. Gomez outpaced Kate Taylor on the counter-attack as the Kiwi starlet looked to make amends for gifting possession to her former team-mate.
Gomez kept on running before sending Trimis tearing through the inside left channel, from where she delivered the ball on a plate to Rasmussen. Rylee Foster saved superbly with her legs in this one-on-one situation, one which showed why the substitute isn't worthy of a place in Central Coast's starting eleven.
They had another chance to close out the game three minutes from time, after Hailey Davidson gave the ball away cheaply. Galic was the beneficiary, and she got the better of Barry as the defender tried to rescue the situation on the edge of the penalty area. Galic's low cross found Rasmussen, but Taylor was on hand to block her shot and spark a late Wellington flurry in search of an equaliser.
A super counter-attack came to an end when Dumont took out Speckmaier in the penalty area. But with Wellington anticipating a penalty being awarded, referee Bec Mackie - who, it must be said, policed the visitors far more severely than their opponents - signalled a defensive free-kick was in order, and pointed to the raised offside flag as to why. Suffice to say, Dumont was mightily relieved, but the video evidence suggested that Speckmaier had been onside …
The Venezuelan featured in Wellington's final attack of the contest, in stoppage time. Playe through the inside right channel by Fraser's pass, she twice got the better of Bryson, only for her low cross to be cleared by covering defenders, who ensured a come-from-behind 2-1 victory would be Central Coast's reward from this encounter.
Central Coast: Dumont; Irwin, Karambasis, Wardlow (Martin, 46); Bryson (booked, 69), Gomez, Trimis, Galic, Badawiya (Lobo, 81); Wurigumula (Hayward, 46), Evans (Rasmussen, 70)
Wellington: R. Foster; McMeeken (Davidson, 46), Barry, Lake, M. Foster (booked, 70); Longo (booked, 37), Taylor, Whinham (booked, 25 (Breslin, 65)), Fraser (booked, 79); Main (Brown, 66), Speckmaier
Referee: Bec Mackie
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