Central Coast Mariners coach Emily Husband out to prove a point this A-League's finals series

No one could have anticipated that the Central Coast Mariners, in their first season back in the league, would take to the field on Sunday for the A-League's final series, not even their coach.

GOSFORD, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 17: Mariners coach Emily Husband during the A-League Women round 20 match between Central Coast Mariners and Canberra United at Industree Group Stadium, on March 17, 2024, in Gosford, Australia. (Photo by Scott Gardiner/Getty Images)

No one had Central Coast Mariners down as favourites to be playing finals football in their inaugural season - not even their coach Emily Husband.

Flashback 12 months ago and Husband was still adjusting her new office chair - the squad a blank piece of paper on her desk.

Playing finals was not something she had put on her to do list.

Mariners aren’t a brand new face to the A-League’s women’s competition – they competed in the first two seasons of the league before withdrawing.

They reinvented themselves for the 2023/24 season.

Husband, who had been coaching in the NPL before taking the top job at Mariners, wasn’t a newbie to the A-League's’ either – she had been involved with Canberra United in 2020/21.

But forming a team from scratch was a new challenge.

“It was a really big task and one that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed,” Husband said.

“It’s not often that you get given a blank slate and you get to create your own everything from top to bottom.

How will Emily Husband and her Mariners go this weekend? Picture: Getty Images

“I think if you can get the right people around you, the right staff and you can get the right players to set the foundation – that is the route we went down and we’ve had a good bit of success from our first year.”

Husband certainly did her homework when recruiting. The Central Coast Mariners squad includes experienced Matildas forward Kyah Simon and her partner Faye Bryson – who moved from the WSL.

Rising star Peta Trimis, 17, was a great find and captain Taren King was a big impact player until her unfortunate ACL injury halfway through the season.

Kyah Simon is an experienced Matildas forward. Picture: Getty Images

Despite how strong the team looked on paper, Husband hadn’t put too much pressure on herself.

“If I’m honest with myself I didn’t anticipate for us to do this in our first year,” Husband said.

“I thought we would compete in every game and it would just be a matter of whether we could get the result over the line or not.

“But once we got the girls got on the park and we were making our way through the season it made me realise that we put a really, really good group together and that we actually could really go somewhere this season.

“My mindset changed after I’d spent a good bit of time with the girls because it’s all good and well seeing things on a whiteboard and on paper but it’s not until you really get out on the park and work with these players that you see the true potential of what they can bring.”

It wasn’t all smooth sailing. Mariners certainly had some rough patches.

At just 17 Peta Trimis has been a sensational pick-up. Picture: Getty Images)

They struggled to find consistency early in the season – before righting the ship and finishing in fifth place – just one point behind this weekend’s rivals Melbourne Victory.

Despite the pressure Husband said they will tackle this match the same way they have every other game this season.

“We’ve got a point to prove, there was nobody at the beginning of the season who thought we would be here,” Husband said.

“It’s a really good achievement for us but we need to make sure we don’t take our foot off the gas pedal and we want to really continue deep into the finals.

Melbourne Victory host Central Coast Mariners at 4pm (AEST) Sunday.

Originally published as Central Coast Mariners coach Emily Husband out to prove a point this A-League's finals series