Mariners women make history with grand final win

The Central Coast Mariners women’s team has etched its way into the history books, claiming its first-ever A-League Women Championship after a dramatic grand final victory over Melbourne Victory on Sunday night, May 18, in Melbourne.

In their second season since rejoining the competition, the Mariners pulled off a stunning 5-4 win in the first penalty shootout in A-League Women’s grand final history, following a 1-all draw after 120 minutes of gripping football.

Coast’s rising stars deliver under pressure

The breakthrough came shortly after half-time when Isabel Gomez slotted home in the 46th minute to put the Mariners ahead.

But Melbourne Victory equalised later in the second half with Claudia Bunge tapping in a goal from close range in the 80th minute to level the scores and eventually send the match into extra time.

Victory had a goal ruled out for offside early in the contest and dominated the shot count 30 to 15, but Mariners goalkeeper Sarah Langman stood tall with a player-of-the-match performance, making 10 crucial saves to keep her side in the game.

There was a scare for the Mariners late in the match when Jess Nash was forced off injured, leaving them with 10 players for a while, but the team dug deep.

Shootout seals glory

In the nerve-wracking penalty shootout, Melbourne’s Alana Jancevski rattled the crossbar with the opening shot. Central Coast kept their cool, with local hero Bianca Galic stepping up to bury the final penalty, just as she had done earlier in the season to eliminate Victory.

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Head Coach Emily Husband has guided the side through a remarkable comeback season.

The Mariners finished fourth in the regular season before knocking out an unbeaten Melbourne City in the semis and ending Victory’s 15-match unbeaten streak in the final.

Veteran football commentator Trent Dickeson from CoastFM reflected after the match on the hard work the Mariners had put in, saying no other team had played as many matches this year in the competition (27 games).

Sunday’s win cements the Mariners’ return as one of the great underdog stories in Australian sport and gives Central Coast fans a sweet moment to savour.