Western Sydney Wanderers have returned to the winner’s circle in the Ninja A-League, securing a deserved 2–1 victory over Central Coast Mariners at Polytec Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
In a closely contested opening half-hour, both sides battled to find rhythm as the match settled into a physical and competitive arm wrestle. It was the Wanderers who struck first, however, with Holly Caspers producing a moment of quality to break the deadlock in the 35th minute.
Perfectly timing her run off the shoulder of defender Taren King, Caspers latched onto a precise through ball from Yuan Cong before finishing calmly to give the Red & Black a deserved lead.
The Mariners responded shortly after, with Annalise Rasmussen finding the back of the net six minutes later following a slide-rule pass from Avaani Prakash to level the contest heading into the break.
Western Sydney emerged from halftime with renewed intent and were rewarded in the 57th minute as Caspers struck again to restore the Wanderers’ advantage. Talia Younis delivered a superb, bending cross from the right flank, and Caspers rose highest to power home a header and complete her brace.
The Wanderers remained composed in the closing stages as Central Coast pushed for a late equaliser. Goalkeeper Shamiran Khamis produced a strong point-blank save to deny Eliza Familton, before the Mariners were left frustrated once more as Mia Farrow rattled the crossbar.
The result marks the Wanderers’ first Ninja A-League win in over two months and provides strong momentum heading into next weekend’s Sydney Derby, where the side will be aiming to claim consecutive victories for the first time since February last year.
Central Coast Mariners will travel to Brisbane to face the Roar next weekend, while the Wanderers return home full of confidence and belief.
