The Central Coast Mariners’ impressive National Youth League (NYL) form has continued at Bluetongue Stadium this afternoon, with Hyundai A-League star Greg Owens slotting the Mariners’ winner in 1-0 triumph over the Queensland Roar.
The Central Coast Mariners- impressive National Youth League (NYL) form has continued at Bluetongue Stadium this afternoon, with Hyundai A-League star Greg Owens slotting the Mariners- winner in 1-0 triumph over the Queensland Roar.
Owens- first half strike from close range secured the Mariners their third win of the campaign and their second in as many weeks – also extending the yellow and navy-s unbeaten streak to three matches.
The Mariners- triumph over one of the NYL-s form sides ranks as perhaps the club-s greatest triumph of the inaugural NYL season and further builds on the encouraging form showcased by Alex Tobin-s chargers in recent weeks.
Match winner Owens delivered one of his better performances in the NYL over ninety exhaustive minutes in exceptionally humid conditions and alongside fellow Hyundai A-League talent Dean Heffernan – who also completed ninety minutes – was key to the Mariners- success.
Many of the Mariners- young guns were also in solid touch, with exciting local product Brady Smith pulling the strings in attack in perfect complement to ever present captain and defensive cornerstone Nathan Sherlock.
The Mariners- third win of the season will potentially see them climb as high as fifth on the NYL ladder come the conclusion of Round 11 and within touching distance of the top two, albeit with many points still to play for.
“From start to finish, today was probably our best performance of the season, particularly considering the strength of our opponent, coupled with conditions that really tested the fitness levels of both sets of players,” said Mariners NYL Head Coach Alex Tobin after the match.
“The contribution from our senior players was commendable but it-s the performance of our NYL squad that we-ve really put under the microscope in recent weeks and they-ve responded magnificently.
“We-re now playing with confidence and delivering the quality that we-ve always been capable of, the challenge for us now is to continue this form for the remainder of the season and further improve as the campaign goes on.”
The Mariners- National Youth League campaign continues on Saturday, 13 December at Bluetongue Stadium against the Mariners- southern rivals Sydney FC. Kick off is at 4pm.
Tickets for this match are on sale from Ticketek outlets, from the Ticketek website – www.ticketek.com.au, or via phone on 132 849.
Match Details
Central Coast Mariners 20. Andrew Redmayne (gk), 2. Steven Tibbetts, 5. Nathan Sherlock, 8. Dean Heffernan, 9. Brady Smith, 11. Darko Vidovic, 12. Scott Wright, 13. Laurence Braude (6. Ty Owens 63-), 14. Greg Owens, 17. Sean Mitchell (10. Glen Trifiro 53-), 18. Paul O-Grady (7. Nick Kapsis 63-)
Yellow Cards Trifiro 83-
Red Cards None
Goals Owens 28-
Queensland Roar 1. Griffin McMaster (gk) (20. Matthew Acton (gk) 60-), 2. Michael Ryan. 3. Robbie Kruse (8. Michael Angus 46-), 4. Mitchell Bevan (5. Bradley McDonald 54-), 6. Matthew Mundy, 7. Adam Sarota, 10. Thomas Oar, 11. Joshua McVey, 12. William Tumusiime (9. Tyler Thurtell 60-), 13. Chris Grossman, 14. Luke Bratten
Yellow Cards Grossman 80-, Mundy 88-
Red Cards None
Goals None
Referee Tim McGilchrist
