The Central Coast Mariners have rounded out their first fixture of the 2019/20 pre-season with a 4-1 victory over Manly United. Debutant Abraham Majok bagged a brace while Giancarlo Gallifuoco and Matty Simon featured on the scoresheet.
Central Coast Mariners 4 (Simon 42’, Gallifuoco 45’, Majok 49’, 59) Manly United 1 (Cholakian 10’)
What a hit out today! So happy to get my first @CCMariners minutes and goal under my belt! What a win from the boys and a great performance! ?⚽️?? pic.twitter.com/hzDKapw9Ov
— Giancarlo Gallifuoco (@giange94) July 13, 2019
The Run Down
Alen Stajcic used the game to not only test some fresh faces on trial with the Mariners, but also reward young guns from the Mariners Academy for their impressive showing in the NPL space.
The first few minutes provided some difficultly for the Yellow and Navy as they struggled to keep possession against a rigid Manly side. The Mariners were able to still create chances with both Sam Silvera and Matt Simon unable to capitalise. Manly were dangerous and were able to trouble the Mariners’ defence, signaled by the opening goal by Brendan Cholakian in the 10th minute.
The goal sparked the Mariners into life and new signing Abraham Majok proved to be a threat after a driving run into the box however, Manly held firm and denied any shot on goal. The Yellow and Navy continued to pressure the away defence and Academy prospect Dylan Ruiz-Diaz fired a shot from distance.
Manly were able to create the last clear-cut chance of the opening third, with a scramble in the box forcing a goal line clearance.
The second third saw the introduction of the two Korean trialists Eunsun Kim and Sangho Lee as well as Jai Ingham. The Mariners were a lot more composed and limited the amount of errors compared to the first.
The Yellow and Navy found their way through when Abraham Majokk was brought down in the box. Captain Matt Simon made no mistake, equalising for the Yellow and Navy, which would spark a four goal haul in less than 20 minutes.
The equaliser filled the Mariners with confidence and new signing Giancarlo Gallifuoco smashed his header home to give the home side the lead. It didn’t stop there for the Yellow and Navy as another debutant, Abraham Majok leaped above the pack and headed in the Mariners third. Just before the end of the second third, Majok managed to grab a brace, as he was open at the far post, scoring a fourth for the Mariners.
The final third saw a youthful looking Yellow and Navy with majority of the squad made up of Academy players. The Mariners young guns looked confident on the ball and were able to create a handful of half chances.
Manly kept the pressure up despite the sore line however the partnership of Miller and Vinci held firm and kept the away sides chances to a minimum. The young Mariners side kept the Manly side scoreless in the final third and grabbed the victory in their first pre-season outing at Pluim Park.
The Central Coast Mariners would like to thank Manly United for a quality pre-season trial, played in the right spirits.
Abraham Majok bags a brace in his first appearance as a Central Coast Mariner! ✌️
Goals to @giange94 & Matty Simon helped us to a 4-1 pre-season win over @ManlyUnited. #CCMFC #ALeague pic.twitter.com/j9z6Pz4vex
— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners) July 13, 2019
GOALS:
10’ CHOLAKIAN (0-1): A dangerous delivery from outside the box met the head of Brendan Cholakian, who glanced his header past Adam Pearce.
42’ SIMON (1-1): Matt Simon made no error from the spot, confidently slamming his spot kick into the top corner.
45’ GALLIFUOCO (2-1): A great delivery from a corner was emphatically headed home by debutant Giancarlo Gallifuoco.
49’ MAJOK (3-1): Majok rose above the rest and saw his header go past the line after Syron couldn’t hold the ball.
59’ MAJOK (4-1): Majok found himself free at the far post and made no mistake, securing his brace and the Mariners fourth.
Stajcic in the media
The Victory…
“It was very good to get that first one out of the way, obviously there were a lot of cobwebs we have only been training now for two and a half weeks so it’s just good to get that first one under the belt,” Stajcic said.
Abraham Majok…
“He’s done very well in the time we’ve been training; it is great to see someone put in so much effort. He has really been one of the standouts in training for the last two weeks so is good to see him get a reward on the pitch and get a little bit of confidence.
Pre-season preparations
“It’s great to get these matches in when we have a new squad, we have a lot of new faces and getting that team chemistry together is really important. We saw the longer the match went on the better we got which is really important leading into the next match.
Giancarlo Gallifuoco…
“He played a lot at six for the Wanderers last year and a little bit at eight. Its good that he can play at right back as well and centre back so to have that utility value is going to be extremely important come mid-season. I thought he did well today, and I thought he grew into the match as well, a little bit like Ruon Tongyik, the longer the match went on the better their chemistry got between them and the better they became as a defensive pair.”
Manly United…
“They have a great coaching staff there. They’re a very organised team, well structured, disciplined and were up for the game in the first thirty minutes when they were up 1-0. Just great to play against a quality team like that and it shows the level between A-League and the NPL is not so great and it is important for Australian football that the gap diminishes and that we have a good platform for players who aren’t in the A-League to play in.
Priorities…
“We have the FFA Cup in two and a half weeks so it’s important to get as fit as we can. We’ve only been training for two and a half weeks now so fitness and chemistry is obviously the up most importance leading into that period,” Stajcic said.
Central Coast Mariners 1st 30: Adam PEARCE (GK), Kye ROWLES, Ruon TONGYIK, Giancarlo GALLIFUOCO, Ziggy GORDON, Jacob MELLING, Abraham MAJOK, Sam SILVERA, Dylan RUIZ-DIAZ (NPL), Matt SIMON, Mark MORIC (NPL)
Central Coast Mariners 2nd 30: Adam PEARCE (GK), Kye ROWLES, Ruon TONGYIK, Giancarlo GALLIFUOCO, Jai INGHAM, Jacob MELLING, Abraham MAJOK, Sangho LEE (T), Eunsun KIM (T), Matt SIMON (Sam SILVERA), Michael McGLINCHEY
Central Coast Mariners 2rd 30: Adam PEARCE (GK), Matthew HATCH (NPL), Lewis MILLER (NPL), Alec VINCI (NPL), Sasha KUZEVSKI (NPL), Joshua NISBIT, Michael McGLINCHEY, Jai INGHAM, Mario SHABOW, Matthew CAHILL (NPL), Jake JOVANOVSKI (NPL)
Manly United: Mackenzie SYRON (GK), Keiren PAULL, 7. Sam WILSON, 8. Dom FERGUSON, 9. Harry McCARTHY, 10. Brendan CHOLAKIAN, 11. Adam PARKHOUSE, 14. Dejan PANDUREVIC, 17. Lewis MICCIO, 23. Brad McDONALD, 19. Lachlan McGRATH
Substitutes: James GEORGAKLIS, Joe FOX, Charles MENDY, Mitchell ROOKE, Luca KMET, Finn ASHTON, Lucas RAINBIRD, Max ROGERS, Ryan BAKER (GK)
Saturday, 13 June 2019
Pluim Park Lisarow
Central Coast Mariners vs. Manly United
