Melbourne City was held to a draw for the first time in the 2024/25 Ninja A-League season by Central Coast Mariners on Saturday afternoon.
Alexia Apostolakis and Lourdes Bosch were both on the scoresheet in the first half but a late goal meant the visitors went home with a share of the points.
Team News
After back-to-back wins to start the season, Head Coach Michael Matricciani kept things simple and made just one change to his XI.
Captain Rebekah Stott slotted back into defence for her first appearance of the season, with Alexia Apostolakis shifting to the right-hand side of defence and Bryleeh Henry moving to the bench.
Starting XI: 24. Malena MIERES (GK), 8. Alexia APOSTOLAKIS, 13. Rebekah STOTT (C), 5. Taylor OTTO, 16. Karly ROESTBAKKEN, 18. Leah DAVIDSON, 14. Laura HUGHES, 10. Rhianna POLLICINA, 17. Mariana SPECKMAIER, 19. Lourdes BOSCH, 7. Kathryn HARVEY.
Substitutes: 23. Melissa BARBIERI (GK), 6. Leticia McKENNA, 20. Caitlin KARIC, 22. Bryleeh HENRY, 27. Tyla-Jay VLAJNIC.
What happened?
The large crowd who stuck around after City Fan Festival didn’t have to wait long to be rewarded for braving the sun.
It took less than three minutes for the deadlock to be broken and it came in some fine fashion.
Alexia Apostolakis drifted into a dangerous space and received from Lourdes Bosch, faced forward and unleashed a killer strike into the top corner from well outside the box.
Unfortunately though, a moment to forget in defence saw the Mariners strike back virtually straight away.
Not deterred by the quick response, City put the foot down and dominated the half from that point.
After 15 minutes of action, the corner count read 5-0 to City, a fitting reflection of the game to that point.
Leah Davidson and Laura Hughes were as pivotal as ever in midfield, allowing City to set the tempo of the game and keep it on our terms.
The go-ahead goal eventually came in the 33rd minute in surprising fashion.
Nobody at City Football Academy expected it, but Bosch hit a hard and low free-kick from a mile out, which someone made its way through everyone and into the bottom corner.
Tough conditions saw the second half become quite the battle as the wind wreaked havoc.
Both teams were patient in build-up with neither looking likely to burst the game open and run away with things.
Apostolakis continued her strong outing throughout the second stanza, while Karly Roestbakken displayed the form that this week saw her earn her first Matildas call-up since 2021.
Stott headed for the bench after getting through an hour in her first appearance of the season, the Mariners then able to wrestle some of the momentum not long after.
Despite a good initial save from Malena Mieres, Central Coast attacker Isabel Gomez was able to get the equaliser over the line despite the best attempts of Apostolakis to make a last-ditch block.
15 minutes remained in the contest for City to find a late winner but despite our best efforts, the contest would come to a close with the scoreboard reading 2-2.
What’s next?
We’re off to Unite Round next weekend, set to take on Sydney FC on Saturday afternoon in a Grand Final re-match.
