Central Coast Mariners goalkeeper Casey Dumont says the feeling is simply ‘pretty bloody good’ after her penalty shoot-out heroics helped the Mariners to a historic win on Saturday evening.
Emily Husband’s side won a Women’s Finals match for the first time in the club’s history, defeating Melbourne Victory at the Home of the Matildas on penalties following a 0-0 draw after extra time.
The historic victory tees up a massive Double Header at Our Paradise this weekend. Our Liberty A-League Semi-Final first leg against Sydney will kick-off at 5:45pm, following our final home match of the Isuzu UTE A-League regular season, against Adelaide United at 3pm.
Dumont followed up a strong performance over 120 minutes with shoot-out heroics, saving two and scoring one of her own to help the Mariners win 4-2 on penalties, with Bianca Galic slotting home the winning spot-kick.
Going into the shootout, Dumont says she felt confident as she held a previous 100% record.
“I knew we had it as soon as it went to penalties.” Dumont told media after the game.
“It’s funny because I think Jeff Hopkins had the same stat, until tonight.”
The win for Dumont would have felt even sweeter, coming against her former club where she spent five years before joining the Mariners at the start of this season.
“It’s good to play against your old club. My first game this season was against them, I was a bit rusty and we lost but to come back when it means the most, in the Elimination Final it feels pretty bloody good.“
“Victory are also known to dig deep and pull through in finals but we showed they are still beatable. Our team stepped up when it mattered the most.” Dumont said.
It was Dumont who stepped up first for the Mariners, finding the back of the net before going on to save two herself.
“I’m a veteran of the league and in penalties now. I think if you have that person that you believe in, it helps the young payers to step up. I also use it for my own momentum.” Dumont said.
“I knew once I scored, I got in my own mojo of ‘now it’s time to save them’ and thats what happened which is awesome.”
Dumont looked ahead to the semi-final first leg on Sunday, and believes the Mariners’ underdog mentality and community base can help them ‘go all the way’ in Finals.
“I think everyone thought we were the underdogs. So many teams come in confident thinking ‘we’ll beat them.'”
“We are open, we make a mistake and move on. We have our own belief, what is within or team is working and we have proved people wrong.”
“I think if we rock up like we did today, we can go all the way. That is the belief in the team.”
“Our biggest concern right now is getting home and recovering right. That’s the biggest thing because playing 120 minutes and going to penalties takes its toll on any team.”
“We just have to focus on ourselves, then we can get ready for Sydney. I have all the confidence that our team can go all the way, it’s just a case of doing all the right things to get there.”
“The community base of the club speaks for itself. I can guarantee there is going to be a big crowd. Our Men’s team will be there to support us too.”
“I’m excited to see how many people come, it will be really good. To have a final in our area, a lot the local clubs will come and support and no matter the result, will be there, cheering loud.”
“I think it’s a very community based club for sure. As soon as we came we had community events and appearances and then there are always photos after the games, making sure we include everyone who comes, because they are our 12th man and hearing them does help us push that bit more.”
“Yesterday after training, Em put the men’s game straight on. We won the Club Championship which is brilliant, especially with it being the first season back for the women, both teams have been able to perform and get those points.”
You can watch both teams in action on the coast this weekend, with our HUGE Double at Our Paradise. Get your tickets here now.
