The experience and depth of Sydney FC told as they haulted the audacious drive of the young Central Coast Mariners for the Premiership, ending 1-0 victors at Bluetongue Stadium through a 35th minute forced goal by Leena Khamis.

The Mariners went into the game without their inspirational Captain Caitlin Cooper (suspended) and wily veteran and wide player Kelly Golebiowski (injured), while Sydney lined up with several changes from the shock Round 1 loss to their northern neighbours.

A good crowd was in on a sunny Gosford day, and the game held a lot at stake - Premiership - for the both sides. The Mariners only had to draw however whilst Sydney needed that win.

The Coast started well, with a 4th minute shot by Lydia Vandenbergh that didn't trouble Nikola Dieter in the Sydney goal, and in the Mariners best chance of the half, Kendall Fletcher sent a 35m free-kick almost over Dieter but the Sydney custodian touched to ball up and onto her crossbar.

Sydney's Kyah Simon then sent in a speculator from 25m that Loyden parried, and then the game settled into a midfield battle that Sydney gradually started winning and then loosing breaks which the weakened Mariners defence handled well.

Still in the 20th minute Mariner Lydia Vandebergh sent a shot to the top right corner that Nikola Dieter palmed away, the two minutes later Kendall Fletcher lifted a shot from 30m ut it cleared the crossbar.

Sydney turned on the pressure and in the 35th minute the Coast cracked. Alesha Clifford played a ball forward to Sarah Walsh, surrounded by yellow shirts, and in a stunning move the ball was played diagonally back to Kylie Ledbrook who picked out the run of Leena Khamis who beat the off-side trap. Khamis shot at the advancing Loyden and the ball deflected off the Mariner's custodian and bounced into the net. 0-1

Before the break Loyden twice denied Walsh, and after half-time Sydney dominated the first 20 minutes without being able to break down the Mariners who were looking leaden of foot and devoid of ideas.

Heyman tried to get back into the game ranging far and wide to throw her markers and bring her midfield into the game and with substitution of fresh legs late in the half the Mariners started to create some opportunities but that was all they were.

Sydney remained ever dangerous, with Walsh patrolling the line.

The finals minutes brought back some excitement when in the 89th Walsh got in a free shot that Loyden did well to parry, and then Mariners Kingsley got a shot on target after a well worked move on the right by her team-mates but it was too weak to really bother Dieter.

The single goal was enough to separate the teams and allow Sydney to leapfrog the Mariners and take top spot on the ladder for the first time this season and the Premiership plus 1 v 4 in the semis.

"They were up and in her (Heyman) face during the game but we didn’t really take advantage of the gaps that were created by her being marked by 3 and 4 players," said Mariners coach Stephen Roche after the game. "We will take some positives out of the game and have a settled lineup for next week, with Caitlin (Cooper) back, and maybe Kelly (Golebeowksi)".

Jenna Kingsley agreed with Roche’s assessment believing the side was nervous when they took the field. "Everyone was really nervous and pumped for the game and it did effect us at the start because we wanted it so badly. We rushed our play and panicked instead of playing our normal football. We’re a family and we play for each other,” Kingsley added.

Lyndsay Glohe was happy with the encouraging local crowd support at the game. "It was awesome to see so many people at the game today and they were really supportive and it was helpful for us in the match. She admitted that "Walshy was able to squeeze through our defence and get a good pass away for the goal.

Stephen Roche conceded that It would’ve been nice to win the premiership but he was happy to finish in the top two. "It would’ve been nice to finish first but we’re still there. We will go into next week and treat it like another game". "It’s (finals) a completely different ball game. It will hurt them now but come training they will be ready to go again. Beware the wounded bull!"

"We made hard work of the victory but overall we definitely deserved the win," said Sydney FC coach Alen Stajcic. "Our back two were fantastic in holding (W-League top-scorer) Michelle Heyman and that pair, along with Kylie Ledbrook in the middle of the park, were key to the win."

Brisbane Roar returned to winning form with a comprehensive 6-0 demolition of Newcastle Jets to confirm a finals berth, and Canberra United winners at home over Adelaide snuck into the finals again, edging Melbourne Victory for fourth place on goal difference after the Melburnians suffered a loss to Perth Glory. The semi-finals will be played on Saturday (3pm, and TV) with Sydney hosting Canberra at Cronulla, and Sunday (3pm) with Central Coast hosting Brisbane at Gosford.