Top six the target as Mariners travel to Perth

Central Coast Mariners Women take on Perth Glory on Sunday evening (10:30pm AEDT), in a thrilling tie in the Liberty A-League.

Both sides are looking to return to winning ways, as a victory for either side would see them jump into the top six of the Liberty A-League at the expense of Newcastle Jets.

The tide has turned considerably since the last meeting between the two, as a 2-1 win for Glory on New Years Eve at Our Paradise took them to within three points of top spot, however they are now battling for a top six spot with the Mariners following a run of five without a win.

📰 Team news

Previously ever-present midfielder Izzy Gomez is a big miss for Emily Husband’s team as she serves a one-match suspension after picking up her fifth yellow card of the season against Melbourne Victory last weekend.

Kyah Simon made her long-awaited return to the field in Gosford last weekend, and almost netted a stunning winner. She has been gradually increasing her minutes on the pitch after returning from a lengthy injury and will be looking to do the same against Perth on Sunday.

⏮ Last time out

The Mariners were held at home to Melbourne Victory in a game of two halves at Our Paradise. Husband’s side started strong and took the lead through Peta Trimis’ third goal of the season, but could not extend their lead despite their first half dominance.

Victory came out strongly in the second half and equalised through Emily Gielnik’s fine solo goal, before Casey Dumont made a string of saves late on to deny the visitors a winner.

Perth also drew at home last time out, as Canberra lifted themselves off the foot of the table with a 2-2 draw at Macedonia Park. It could have been a lot worse though for Glory, as Isobel Dalton equalised in the 92nd minutes to rescue a point for the hosts.

👀 Players to watch

Trimis will be looking to make a big impact again, in her last game before heading off on international duty with the Young Matildas. In a fantastic week on a personal level, Trimis was given a call up for the AFC U20 Women’s Asia Cup in Uzbekistan next month, which means she will miss up to three Liberty A-League fixtures in March.

READ MORE: Mariners star Trimis ‘excited’ ahead of Young Matilda experience

Perth’s main attacking threats are Millie Farrow and Susan Phonsongkham who have six and four goals, respectively. However, arguably their standout performer so far this season has been at the other end of the pitch, in young goalkeeper Morgan Aquino.

Nobody in the Liberty A-League has made more saves (97, 84% save percentage) than the 22-year-old this season. She has also saved two out of the three penalties faced.

However, within those impressive personal stats lies an issue for Perth that the Mariners will look to exploit, as Glory have allowed the most shots on their goal out of any Liberty A-League team (117).

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