The Central Coast Mariners’ Westfield W-League team was brought back down to earth in Round 4 but have set their sights on redemption against southern rivals Sydney FC in the first Westfield W-League derby at Campbelltown Stadium on Saturday.
The Central Coast Mariners- Westfield W-League team was brought back down to earth in Round 4 but have set their sights on redemption against southern rivals Sydney FC in the first Westfield W-League derby at Campbelltown Stadium on Saturday.
Against the Queensland Roar a week ago, the Mariners held their own and perhaps outplayed their more experienced opponents for much of the opening hour.
Ultimately though, the Mariners would suffer a 5-0 defeat after a goal against the run of play, followed by an impressive Lana Harch finish, broke the spirits of the youthful Mariners outfit.
Mariners Westfield W-League captain Caitlin Cooper summed up the mood at training following the Mariners- heaviest defeat of the new season.
“It was extremely disappointing, the girls are all very down with the way the match went,” said Cooper.
“We held our own early and really did well following the tough win in Canberra last weekend, though we did let ourselves down with a poor second-half.”
Despite the result, Mariners Westfield W-League Head Coach Stephen Roche did take positives from the Roar match and will be looking to have the negatives ironed out in time for Saturday-s showdown against Sydney FC.
“I was happy with our first-half performance; we created a few chances where, had we scored, the match would have taken a totally different direction,” said Roche.
“I was happy with the impact of Kyah Simon and Renee Rollason up-front, along with the input from midfield.
“The first goal we conceded was scrappy and the Roar then showed their experience in the second-half. I am just disappointed that we threw in the towel the way we did, which is something that I do not want to see again from this side.
“We-ll re-visit the match with Queensland Roar and analyse where we went wrong. We-ll work hard at it this week and ensure that we don-t lapse as we did last weekend.”
The Mariners- Westfield W-League campaign continues on Saturday, 22 November with a derby clash against southern rivals Sydney FC at Campbelltown Stadium. Kick off is at 6pm.
