The Central Coast Mariners have beaten Melbourne City 1-0 at Casey Fields to reach the A-League Women grand final, advancing 3-2 on aggregate from their semi-final second leg on Sunday 11 May.
Isabel Gomez scored the winner in the 121st minute, chipping goalkeeper Malena Mieres after substitute Peta Trimis capitalised on a mix-up at the back. The goal was awarded despite replays suggesting Gomez was offside, according to the match reports.
The Match
The second leg finished 1-0 to the Mariners, who advance 3-2 on aggregate after the first leg in Gosford ended 2-2. Melbourne City, the premiers, had not lost all season and had been chasing a treble, ABC News reported. The match was played at Casey Fields.
It was City’s first defeat of the season and their first in more than a calendar year, according to the A-Leagues. The loss ends the club’s chase of a treble, and it sends the Mariners to the grand final in their second season back in the competition.
How It Turned
City’s afternoon turned in the 10th minute, when striker Holly McNamara clashed heads with Mariners goalkeeper Sarah Langman while contesting a cross. Langman continued after treatment. McNamara, visibly upset, was replaced in the first half, and ABC News reported she was lost to concussion.
In the 24th minute City were reduced to 10 players when Lourdes Bosch was shown a straight red card for striking Brooke Nunn in the face, per the A-Leagues match report.
City still created the best chances of the first half. Bryleeh Henry lifted the ball over the bar one on one in the 29th minute. Neither side scored in 90 minutes, and the Mariners struggled to create clear chances despite the extra player.
The Winner
In the final minute of stoppage time in extra time, the substitute Peta Trimis hooked a pass over the City defence and Isabel Gomez lobbed the stranded Malena Mieres to score the winner. The goal was awarded despite replays suggesting Gomez may have been offside, and the match reports describe the award as it stood.
What It Means
City’s treble hopes are over, ABC News reported. The premiers had not lost all season before Sunday and had been unbeaten for more than a calendar year, according to the A-Leagues. They travel to China next for the AFC Women’s Champions League semi-finals against Incheon Red Angels.
The Mariners are coached by Emily Husband, and the result goes one better than last season, when the campaign ended at the semi-final stage. It sends them to the grand final in their second season back in the competition.
The tie finished 3-2 to the Mariners across the two legs, after the first leg in Gosford ended 2-2. Neither side scored in normal time in the second leg at Casey Fields, and Gomez’s 121st-minute finish settled the contest.
They will meet Melbourne Victory, who beat Adelaide United 3-1 in the second leg of their semi-final to complete a 6-2 aggregate win. ABC News reported Victory have won their past 10 matches going into the grand final.
The Grand Final
The Mariners face Victory at AAMI Park in Melbourne on Sunday 18 May.
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Sources: ABC News, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-11/a-league-women-central-coast-mariners-melbourne-city/105279668; A-Leagues, https://aleagues.com.au/news/aleague-women-semi-finals-melbourne-city-central-coast-mariners-goals-match-report-highlights/; ABC News, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-10/a-league-women-melbourne-victory-adelaide-united-semifinal/105278154
Photo: Aspirex, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Illustrative: the Casey Fields sports precinct in Cranbourne East, Victoria, photographed in March 2014. The photograph does not show the pitch or the match described in the article.
