Finals Football Locked In for Mariners Women

Central Coast Mariners Women have had their finals spot in the Ninja A-League confirmed, despite defeat on Friday evening.

The Mariners were on the end of a narrow 1-0 loss to Premiers Plate contenders Melbourne Victory on Friday evening, but after Brisbane Roar dropped points on Sunday, our finals spot was mathematically confirmed with a game to spare.

Roar let a 3-1 lead slip to Western Sydney Wanderers on Sunday evening, in an entertaining match at Perry Park which saw both sides have a player sent off before the game ended 4-4.

The Mariners are able to briefly celebrate before turning our attention to Saturday’s F3 Derby in Newcastle, where we are focussed on attaining a fourth placed finish which would give us a home Elimination Final for the first time.

Making finals for a second consecutive season since our return to the competition is another phenomenal achievement for Emily Husband and her team, who have been consistent performers in the Ninja A-League this term.

Only the top two sides Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory (21) have conceded fewer goals than the Mariners (24 this season) with a solid defence the foundation of Husband’s success so far.

Standout performers from the season so far

Husband recruited smartly after losing a number of key players from last season, with the following names just a few to stand out in what has been a true team effort so far.

Sarah Langman has stepped up as Number One this season, playing every minute and keeping six clean sheets so far, making it the best season of her career to date as she ticked over 100 A-League appearances earlier in the campaign.

In front of Langman, Jessika Nash and Taylor Ray have both excelled in their first seasons with the club, they are the only two outfield players for the Mariners yet to miss a minute of action with the latter playing the majority of her season out of position at centre-back and earning fan-favourite status with her selfless, all-action displays.

At the other end of the pitch, 19-year-old Annalise Rasmussen has continued to progress tremendously in her second A-League season, leading the line for the majority of the season whilst also leading the club’s Golden Boot race.

Tiana Fuller has proved to be another outstanding piece of scouting from Husband and her team, the 16-year-old forward has quietly emerged as one of the rising stars of the Ninja A-League, contributing five goals so far in an incredible debut campaign.

Fuller also sits second in the league for goals per minute (0.75) behind only Holly McNamara (1.57) and ahead of big name players such as Emily Gielnik (0.7), Tameka Yallop (0.67) and Fiona Worts (0.65).

Last but not least and despite missing three months through injury, Izzy Gomez‘s contributions simply cannot be ignored with her flying form since returning from injury playing a huge part in crucial recent wins over Wellington Phoenix and Brisbane Roar.

‘Incredible’ Izzy Gomez sweeps PFA March Player Of The Month