Mariners Elimination final opponent confirmed after CRAZY Liberty A-League climax

Central Coast Mariners will take on Melbourne Victory in their Liberty A-League Elimination Final, after a dramatic final day.

Victory thrashed would-be Champions Sydney FC 4-0 to move up to fourth on the ladder, and in doing so handed their city rivals Melbourne City a chance to claim top spot, they took that chance to win their third title and deny Sydney a fourth consecutive Premiership.

The Mariners had already claimed their finals spot with two games to spare, an incredible achievement for the club in our first season back in the competition. A 1-1 draw with Western United in our final match of the season on Thursday evening, left us waiting for the final day action to see who we would meet in the Elimination Final.

Emily Husband’s side will now travel to The Home of The Matildas, Melbourne, on Sunday 14th April, 4pm kick-off. Ticket details are to follow in due course.

A close contest is expected with Victory, as was the case when the two sides met on both occasions during the regular season. A 2-1 defeat in Melbourne, followed by a 1-1 draw when Victory visited Our Paradise.

🗣 Kyah Simon “Victory are a quality side. We’re looking forward to it.”

Our Matilda Kyah Simon was a special guest on the final Dub Zone show of the season, following the crazy final day action.

Kyah spoke about the growth of the group as a newly formed squad and the influence of Husband.

“When we first came in as a group, there wasn’t a lot of us that had played together. It was a completely new squad, players from different teams and part of the world but one consistent theme is we have a great group of people. That makes it so easy when you come into work, getting along with the girls in the dressing room and being able to work together on the pitch.” Kyah said.

“It’s just a really great group of girls who want to learn and buy into what Emily wants to do. For me, it has been so enjoyable to be a part of this group and share the dressing room with that group.”

“It’s the first time I’ve been coached by Em and one thing she has instilled in us as a group is to be versatile and flexible. I think that is evident in the way our season has gone, we are versatile with the formations we play.”

“That’s a strength of ours, to play in different systems no matter who we play against. Em set us up for that from the start of the season which has benefitted us and causes other teams problems.”

“There is buy in and the willingness to work hard day in day out. No matter what challenges we’re faced with, the girls are there to work hard and want to grow and excel as a team.”

It’s been so great for me to come into a team with no egos, just the willingness to work together and buy into the coach and get the job done.

The receptiveness to take on information from older players or coaches and the eagerness to learn means there is no lid on our potential and where we can take this season. That’s the exciting thing of being a part of this team.

Kyah returned from a length spell on the sidelines in late January, a late substitute as we beat Newcastle Jets 2-0. She followed that up with two more substitute appearances before making her first start against Perth Glory, and she marked her starting return with a goal in a huge 3-1 win.

Simon’s return to the starting eleven coincided with the Mariners best run of the season as we won four consecutive matches to confirm our Finals spot with two games to spare, with our number 17 scoring three in those four.

After getting through her first 90 minutes of the season against Melbourne City in the penultimate game of the season, Kyah managed her minutes on the final day, playing just 45 against Western and she is now ready for battle as we prepare to take on Victory.

“Victory are a quality side, they showed that against the almost premiers Sydney FC. They are a great team on paper and when we’ve faced them it’s been really competitive.” Kyah said.

“We knew any team in the top six would be a competitive game and a bit of a battle and it’s been like that the two times we’ve faced [Victory] this season, so we’re really looking forward to it.”

Hopefully we can get the job done, it’s going to be a cracker of a game. We have a week to prepare to face them down in Melbourne, I’m really looking forward to it.

Kyah Simon ahead of Melbourne Victory clash.

Kyah also discussed life back on the Coast for her lengthy injury recovery, up and coming teammate Peta Trimis and more. You can watch the full show here.

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