After conceding three goals in the first half, the Central Coast Mariners have fallen 4-1 at AAMI Park against Melbourne Victory in round 4 of the Hyundai A-League.
Melbourne Victory 4 (Honda 30’, Troisi 35′, Brown 45+2’ & Hope 94′) Central Coast Mariners 1 (Shabow 62’)
The run down
After an end-to-end opening half an hour, it was Victory’s marquee man who opened the scoring in the 30th minute, pouncing on a Mariners’ defensive blunder.
Five minutes later James Troisi capitalised on an impressive first half performance to double his side’s lead before the break.
Then, with almost the last kick of the first half, a shot from Terry Antonis deflected to Corey Brown who was on hand to fire his shot into an open net and give his side a 3-0 lead at half time.
A much-improved Mariners team came out for the second half who looked determined to make amends for their first 45 minutes.
It's the 11th of the 11th, and our number 11's birthday! Happy Birthday, Painy! ? #CCMFC #ALeague pic.twitter.com/z5NHVFZgPJ
— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners) November 10, 2018
Connor Pain was making the most of his return to the starting team and was one of the Mariners’ best, creating most of the away team’s chances. Just seconds into the first half his pass to Tommy Oar almost set up a goal, but the shot was saved by Thomas.
Most of the Mariners chances came from the left started by Pain, but Victory’s defence stood tall to keep them at bay.
Mulvey’s substitute paid immediate dividends in Mario Shabow who was in the right place at the right time to flick home a shot from Ross McCormack to put his side back in the hunt. The goal was Shabow’s first in the Hyundai A-League.
Despite a much improved second half, Victory’s substitutes combined in the 94th minute to cap off a 4-1 win at AAMI Park.
Due to an international break, the Hyundai A-League will take a one week hiatus before we travel away to face Perth Glory on the 25th of November.
This @ALeague round is being dedicated to the service men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice during times of conflict. #MVCvCCM #RemembranceRound pic.twitter.com/VRZYU1C6AI
— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners) November 5, 2018
GOALS:
30’ HONDA GOAL (1-0): A gift for Honda. A defensive mistake from the Mariners fell to the feet of the Japanese attacker. Honda made no mistake with his finish and opened the scoring.
35’ TROISI GOAL (2-0): With possession on the right-hand side, Antonis found Troisi in the box who took a touch and fired home to double Victory’s lead.
45+2’ BROWN GOAL (3-0): A shot from Antonis deflected to the feet of Brown. Brown was in the right place at the right time to tap home and make it three for Victory.
62’ SHABOW GOAL (3-1): In his first A-League appearance for the Mariners, and first touch, he scores his first goal. A shot from McCormack takes a fortunate touch off Shabow to put the Mariners back in the game.
94’ HOPE GOAL (4-1): After substituting on in the second half, Ola Toivonen played the ball into fellow substitute Josh Hope who slid his shot home with almost the last kick of the game.
Mulvey in the media
“You can’t give a team like Melbourne Victory chances to score goals, because they’re good enough to score themselves,” Mulvey said. “The first 20 minutes we were in the game with a couple of chances, then the soft underbelly reared it’s ugly head again. Same as last week when we played against Adelaide. In the second half, we were the better team.
“I said to the lads I can stand here and congratulate you for the second half performance, which I thought was really bold. They answered some of the question I asked them at half time. But you need to play two halves of football. You can’t concede three goals in the first half then come to life in the second half, it’s not good enough.
“When I came here it was a club that was accepting of failure. That’s not good enough for any organisation. We had a big change after the end of last season. We’re still giving away the same opportunities, we need to stand up and eradicate those mistakes. I could stand here and wax lyrical about how good we were in the second half but that means nothing when you lose three points.
“We didn’t follow runners from midfield. Our marking was slack. The lads know that, it’s collective, it’s not an individual thing,” Mulvey said.
Central Coast Mariners: 1. Ben KENNEDY (GK), 3. Jack CLISBY, 5. Antony GOLEC, 20. Kalifa CISSE, 15. Kye ROWLES, 8. Michael McGLINCHEY (23.Mario SHABOW 60’), 11. Connor PAIN (25.Jordan MURRAY 75’), 13. Aiden O’NEIL, 10. Tommy OAR (7. Andrew HOOLE 60’), 22. Jacob MELLING, 44. Ross McCORMACK
Substitutes not use: 12. Adam PEARCE (GK) & 18. Matt MILLAR
Yellow cards: Clisby 69’, Hoole 83’
Melbourne Victory: 2.Storm ROUX, 3. Corey BROWN, 4.Keisuke HONDA, 5.Georg NIEDERMEIER, 6.Leigh BROXHAM (16.Josh HOPE 75’), 8.Terry ANTONIS (11.Ola Toivonen 79’), 9.Kosta BARBAROUSES, 10.James TROISI (19.Rahmat AKBARI 89’),14.Thomas DENG, 20.Lawrence THOMAS (gk), 21.Carl VALERI (c),
Substitutes not used: 1.Matt ACTON (gk) & 22.Nick ANSELL
Yellow cards: Valeri 25’, Antonis 44’
Sunday, 11 November 2018
AAMI Park, Melbourne
Melbourne Victory vs. Central Coast Mariners
