Match Report: ACL Elite campaign opens with defeat in China

Central Coast Mariners fell to a 3-1 defeat to Shandong Taishan, on opening night in the AFC Champions League Elite.

Mikael Doka scored the Mariners’ goal from the spot after a dramatic end to the first half, cancelling out an early opening goal that came against the run of play for Shandong.

There were lots of positives for the Mariners to take after dominating large spells of the game, but a clinical second half performance from the Chinese Super League side saw them take all three points.

Line-Up

Trent Sainsbury captained the side on his first competitive appearance since rejoining the club whilst Sabit Ngor made his Mariners debut. There was also a huge moment for 17-year-old Arthur De Lima, who came off the bench for his professional debut in the second half.

Starting XI: Pavlesic (GK), Kaltak, Sainsbury (C), McCalmont, Kuol, Doka, Feijao, Mauragis, Ngor, Tapp, Edmondson.

Substitutions:
70′ ON: Roux, Brandtman OFF: Doka, Edmondson.
81′ ON: De Lima OFF: Feijao
92′ ON: Duarte OFF: Kuol

Unused subs: Warshawsky (GK), Herrington, Kuzevski, Paull, Eames.

First Half

It would be an eventful first half to say the least in Jinan and there was almost a dream start for the Mariners and debutant Sabit Ngor, as a cross found the winger at the back post but he saw his effort saved just two minutes in.

From the resulting corner, the Mariners found the back of the net, but after spotting Trent Sainsbury get dragged down in the box, the referee ordered for the corner to be retaken rather than awarding a penalty.

Despite a bright start from the Mariners, it was Shandong who opened the scoring against the run of play on eight minutes as a wicked delivery from the left was headed in by Bi Jinhao.

The Mariners regained control of the game and dominated the remainder of the first half, Lucas Mauragis and Bradley Tapp both saw long range efforts saved by Wang Dalei, before the most dramatic end to the first 45.

The referee had already blown for half time before being alerted to more wrestling in the box from a set piece, and after a VAR check he pointed to the spot for a clear foul on Tapp.

Despite prolonged protestations and delaying tactics from Shandong, Doka remained the calmest player in the stadium to slot home the penalty and bring us deservedly level going into the break.

DOKA SCORESSSSSSSS 🇧🇷🥶

We go into half time level after the most dramatic and fiery ending to the first half in Jinan!

🟠 1-1 🌴 #CCMFC #RideTheWave🌊 | @TheAFCCL pic.twitter.com/OLkloJYolh
— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners) September 17, 2024

Second half

The home side started the second half brightly and the introduction of star-striker Cryzan gave them a further boost, he got the home fans on their feet and threatened with a powerful shot on 65 minutes but the Mariners got bodies in the way.

The big Brazilian then almost scored an incredible goal on 68 minutes, turning in the box before attempting a robona, the Mariners saved by the post.

Shandong went back in front on 74 minutes through Valeri Qazaishvili, but again the Mariners responded positively and created a flurry of chances to get back on level terms.

Just three minutes after conceding, Ngor’s run down the left saw us win a corner which was whipped in by McCalmont and headed off the post by Sainsbury. On 81 minutes, our skipper went close again, just unable to connect with Storm Roux’s teasing cross.

The Mariners kept pushing and caused more problems for Shandong, especially from set pieces as Kuol’s header was saved by Wang before Kaltak headed across goal, but nobody in navy was there to provide the finishing touch.

On the counter, Shandong wrapped up the game as Qazaishvili raced through and netted a third on 88 minutes.

The 3-1 scoreline somewhat flattered the Chinese outfit but it could have been four as substitute Pedro Delgado’s powerful effort rattled the post on 90 minutes.