A double to English forward Jade Pennock helped the Central Coast Mariners overcome an historic goal from Canberra’s Michelle Heyman for a 2-1 home win in the second elimination final.
Monday night’s match at Gosford’s Industree Group Stadium was pushed back from Sunday after a waterlogged pitch made the surface unplayable.
Central Coast booked a two-leg semi-final against Melbourne City, with the first match to be played in Gosford on Saturday 2.15pm AEST.
It’s going to be a tough match against the ‘invincible’ City who went unbeaten throughout the regular season.
Mariners and City drew 0-0 and 2-2 in their meetings this year meaning Central Coast are yet to beat them since returning to the league last season (three draws and a loss), but they do have what it takes.
This time last season, the premiers knocked off Newcastle 6-0 on aggregate to reach the grand final while Mariners fell 2-1 to Sydney.
Adelaide United secured their spot in the semi-finals with a hard-fought 1-0 elimination final win over Western United.
Western United unleashed 22 shots to six in last Sunday’s match at Coopers Stadium, but it was Adelaide defender Matilda McNamara’s header from a corner in the 24th minute that proved the difference.
It marked Adelaide’s first win in a final in their 17-year ALW history, and they will now take on second-placed Melbourne Victory in a two-legged semi-final on Sunday at 4pm AEST.
The Original Rivalry reignites in the finals as the Reds look for their first win against Victory since February 2022.
Despite finishing two points behind City at the end of the regular season, Victory finished their campaign winning a club-record eight games in a row and they’ll believe they can make it nine when they face the Reds on Sunday amid a 13-match unbeaten streak.
Further adding to their confidence levels is the fact they defeated Adelaide twice during the regular season, 2-1 and 3-2.
With AAP
