⚽ Offside goal ruins club's invincible season

Melbourne City entered the 2nd limb of their A-League Women semifinal connected Sunday unbeaten each season, eyeing disconnected a spot successful this week's Grand Final and the accidental to triumph the 2nd trophy of what they hoped would go a historical treble.

But past everything that could spell incorrect did spell wrong, capped disconnected by an offside 121st-minute victor from Isabel Gomez that secured the Central Coast Mariners a 3-2 aggregate win.

With conscionable seconds remaining, Mariners keeper Sarah Langman blasted an underhit backpass long, with defenders Taylor Otto and Tyla-Jay Vlajnic colliding arsenic they looked to wide earlier the shot bounced retired to Peta Trimis. She past played a shot to Gomez, who lobbed Malena Mieres and acceptable up a day with Melbourne Victory successful adjacent Sunday's decider.

The 22-year-old, arsenic replays showed, was astatine slightest a metre offside erstwhile the shot from Trimis was played. But with nary VAR successful cognition and nary emblem raised by the adjunct referee, the extremity was allowed to stand.

"I'm gonna beryllium honorable with you, I knew it was offside. But the emblem didn't spell up, and that's football," Mariners manager Emily Husband acknowledged, showing refreshing candour.

"Unfortunately, these things hap successful football, and it's not ever arsenic achromatic and achromatic arsenic america coaches ever similar to judge it volition be."

City had already been placed successful a spread aboriginal successful the contention erstwhile Matildas striker Holly McNamara was forced disconnected aft 10 minutes pursuing a collision with Langman near her with a breached chemoreceptor and concussion.

They past dug themselves adjacent deeper erstwhile a infinitesimal of madness from Lourdes Bosch saw her lash retired astatine Brooke Nunn's face, earning her a consecutive reddish card.

"Of people it's offside; I could spot from the dugout, 45 meters distant connected a 45-degree angle," said City brag Michael Matricciani. "But these things happen. Everyone makes mistakes. We're each humans."

Nonetheless, to absorption exclusively connected the offside extremity would bash the Mariners a disservice.

The lone broadside not to suffer to City each season, their unheralded but adaptable, determined, and disciplined portion volition present play for a rubric successful conscionable their 2nd twelvemonth backmost successful the A-League Women aft a 13-year, financially enforced hiatus.

"We privation to proceed to marque the Coast proud," said a buoyant Husband. "For us, it's not 'oh we've got ourselves into a Grand Final.' It's 'let's spell triumph this f--king Grand Final!'"