Central Coast Mariners went down 3-1 to Wellington Phoenix at Wellington Regional Stadium in a lively Isuzu UTE A-League encounter.
The Mariners thought they had the perfect start when Sabit Ngor found the net inside the opening minute, but celebrations were cut short as the goal was disallowed for handball. The visitors continued to press early, with Lucas Mauragis forcing a save from Phoenix goalkeeper Josh Oluwayemi, who was injured in the process and unable to continue.
Wellington opened the scoring in the 36th minute through Corban Piper. The Mariners were forced into a change just before half time when Alfie McCalmont was substituted with a niggling injury, replaced by Miguel Di Pizio.
The substitution paid dividends in stoppage time, as Di Pizio broke clear and unleashed a powerful shot that was parried by the Phoenix keeper, allowing Ngor to pounce on the rebound and level the scores heading into the break.
The home side regained the lead early in the second half when Manjrekar James converted a penalty in the 49th minute following a handball in the box, marking his first goal for the club. Just two minutes later, Wellington struck again as Carlo Armiento capitalised on a defensive lapse to make it 3-1.
Both sides created chances in an open contest, but the scoreline remained unchanged at full time.
Post-match, Mariners captain Bradley Tapp said: ‘We’ve had a tough run and some bad results, but the only thing we can do is stick together. We can’t tear each other apart – we can head into the new year strong.’
The Mariners now turn their attention to a blockbuster New Year’s Eve clash against Brisbane Roar at ‘Our Paradise’, Polytec Stadium on Wednesday 31 December, with kick-off at 7pm.
