THE Western NSW Mariners FC continued their unbeaten start to the women’s State League season by knocking over their toughest opponent yet, APIA Leichhardt Tigers, 2-1 at Wallerawang on Sunday.

All three of the goals came in the second half, with Sammie Wood and Kya Godbier finding the back of the net for the Mariners.

But in a massive blow for the Mariners, Wood is facing suspension following an incident with Leichhardt’s goal scorer Dana Buttigieg.

Both players were shown red cards shortly after Leichhardt’s equaliser and the incident – which saw Wood reacting to a bad tackle – was labelled as violent conduct. 

It will now go under review to determine the length of suspension.

Earlier, Wood opened the scoring from a free kick just outside the Tigers’ box with around 20 minutes to play.

But that goal spurred the Tigers into action and they stepped up their intensity to find a goal through Buttigieg. 

The match looked destined for a draw, but Godbier netted a winner for the Mariners, continuing her great run of form playing out of position in attack.

Coach Mick Godbier was pleased with the application his side showed.

“It probably wasn’t our best performance either, so when you can play like that and dig deep for 90 minutes it’s very encouraging,” he said.

“APIA are a very good side, but I wasn’t too concerned going in because we had one of the strongest squads we could put on the park. They played really well. I was impressed again with our midfield and really happy with how we’re defending as a unit.

“We squeezed them, didn’t give them any opportunities and forced them to play the long ball. There were some good pieces of play from us and although there’s things to improve on, it was a very gutsy win.”

Godbier was also impressed with the ability the club’s juniors have shown when asked to step up to the senior level.

“Isabel Harris plays in 17s and she stepped up again at left back and didn’t let us down. This is the future of the club and it’s looking very strong,” he said.

“Chloe Lanham played for us again, and she’s now done two weeks of playing 17s then playing another full 90 minutes.”

WESTERN NSW MARINERS FC 2 (Sammie Wood, Kya Godbier) defeated APIA LEICHHARDT TIGERS 1 (Dana Buttigieg)