The A-League's Halloween nightmare: Five goals in three games for a striker who nearly quit football

Central Coast Mariners sensation Talia Kapetanellis only needed 10 minutes to become a nightmare for Adelaide United on Halloween and extend her Golden Boot lead in the A-League Women. Kapetanellis followed up an early tap-in with a clinical header in the 53rd minute to steer the Mariners to a 2-0 win over Adelaide on Saturday.

Saturday's performance took Kapetanellis' goal-leading tally to five in three appearances wearing the yellow shirt as the high-flying and flawless Mariners continue to take the competition by storm through three rounds. "Football is my life and that is never going to change," Kapetanellis said post-game, before discussing the Mariners' potential to win the title this year.

"I'm not jumping ahead, but if we keep performing, keep doing what we're doing, then there could be a chance. We're just going to take it game by game".

Her explosive start was not mirrored by Sydney FC in Brisbane, who took 19 shots before finding the net for a 1-0 win. The Sky Blues dominated the first half, enjoying nearly 75% possession and going close to the opening goal four times.

But Roar and Matildas goalkeeper Chloe Lincoln stopped each one and it was scoreless at the break. "Goals change games and we spoke about it at half-time," Sydney coach James Slaveski said.

"It hadn't come yet, but we knew there was going to be a moment when it did, if we kept doing what we were doing in the first half." It came through Faith Webber in the 66th minute and secured Sydney's first win of the season. It's a great finish, Slaveski said of the American, who signed in August.

"Her quality is exceptional, to be honest. I think she's got a very high ceiling and we've got a really good one there." Brisbane remain winless and bottom of the ladder, while the Mariners sit at the opposite end with three straight wins, thanks to sharpshooter Kapetanellis.

The 21-year-old is in a far better place than where she was 15 months ago, when cut from Western Sydney at the end of the 2024-25 season after few appearances. "There was a period of time where I honestly was considering just quitting football," she told AAP earlier in the week.