The Central Coast Mariners have secured a sensational victory against previously unbeaten table toppers Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday night, coming away 3-0 winners at CommBank Stadium.
After a dominant first half that saw us unable to find the back of the net, a second half blitz, resulting in three goals in the final 25 minutes, handed us the incredible victory on the road.
The match also acted as Storm Roux’s 200th A-League game, with the defender celebrating the occasion with a cameo after coming on in place of Jacob Farrell in the final ten minutes.
The Mariners first major chance of the match came through the head of Brian Kaltak, with the central defender getting on the end of a beautiful Beni Nkololo cross.
Wanderers goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas was left stuck to the ground as the centre half connected perfectly with the ball, only being denied by the post to keep the scores level in the 13th minute.
The side continued to dominate throughout the following thirty minutes, having multiple half chances without quite finding that perfect opportunity.
After four minutes of stoppage time was added to the first half, it was Jason Cummings who nearly grabbed a deserved late goal for the Central Coast.
The chance again came from Kaltak’s head, with the defender finding Cummings steaming into the back post. The striker got a solid connection and found the target, only for Thomas to smother his effort just wide.
That chance was the last of the first half, leaving the scores locked at nil-all at the break.
The second half began the same way the first ended, with Cummings going close as the Mariners continued to assert their dominance on the contest.
With just under 30 minutes remaining in the match, Mariners head coach Nick Montgomery would turn to his bench in hunt of a winner, with Michael Ruhs and Garang Kuol entering the contest.
These substitutions proved to be a masterstroke, with the duo linking up twice in the following 10 minutes to give the Mariners their just rewards.
The first came in the 66th minute, with Kuol and the Central Coast frontline pressing hard on former Mariner Ruon Tongyik. The centre half couldn’t get the ball out of his defensive end, with Kuol pinching it before finding Ruhs.
The striker made no mistake from twelve yards out, slotting it past Thomas to give the Mariners the 1-0 lead.
One soon became two with the pair again coming together to produce magic, Kuol finding the ball after a brilliant Mariners counterattack.
The play all started with a Jacob Farrell interception, the left back passing to a vacant Cummings in the centre of the field.
The striker unselfishly played the ball over to an unmarked Kuol, who drilled the ball across the six-yard line to again pick out Ruhs. The striker completing his brace in only six minutes, smacking it home to hand the Mariners a 2-0 lead in the 72nd minute.
Fellow substitute Sammy Silvera joined the party shortly after, with Cummings again playing an integral role in the goal. The striker collecting the ball near the halfway line, driving before finding Silvera 30 yards out.
After some scramble defence in the box from Western Sydney, Cummings again found the ball, controlling it well before laying it back to Silvera.
The youngster made it three in four so far this season with a stunning strike, his blistering effort jetting through the Wanderers defensive line and into the net.
Cummings almost got a well-deserved goal in the final 30 seconds of the match, beating Tongyik before hitting an effort from range.
His shot blasting past Thomas, with only the post saving the Wanderers from a fourth and final goal.
The win now pushes the Mariners up to third on the Isuzu UTE A-League Men’s ladder with a game still in hand, currently sitting on seven points after back-to-back wins.
The team will be looking to continue their momentum when we face off against Macarthur at home next Sunday, the last game before the World Cup break.
