The Mariners’ Foxtel Y-League side triumphed by a goal over the Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday morning as heat forced an early finish to the round eight clash at Pluim Park.
Nick Montgomery’s side came out of the blocks fast and had an early chance as Abraham Majok was played in behind but his effort ricocheted off the post and to safety as they pressed for a goal.
It took only a further two minutes for the Mariners to go ahead though, with Ruon Tongyik firing home after the ball went to ground from a corner.
They continued to pressure in stifling conditions, and the game was punctuated by drinks breaks for players and officials in the first half, before the decision was made to end the game at the first drinks break of the second half.
FT | With the safety of participants and spectators in mind, this morning's #YLeague match against the @wswanderersfc has been ended in the 65th minute due to the extreme ambient temperatures recorded.
The result stands at 1-0. #CCMFC #CCMvWSW pic.twitter.com/6Q7eqMo5Wn— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners) January 3, 2020
Monty admitted that while the manner the game finished in was disappointing, it was the correct decision that had to be made.
“Yeah look everyone wanted to finish the 90 minutes but the temperatures soared as we thought they would,” he said post-game.
“It was unfortunate that we didn’t play the last thirty minutes, but the result stands and I think we deserved the win.”
“We missed a couple of chances in the first half, hit the post, had some that rolled across the line but it was a low quality game.”
“The heat ruined the spectacle a little bit but it was a good experience, certainly a good test for the boys but disappointed we had to finish the game.”
“You could see after 20 minutes that the temperature was rising and fatigue was setting in,” Monty added.
“Boys that are normally sharp and make the runs in behind weren’t doing that and we weren’t stretching them, but it’s easy to say that from the sideline.”
The Mariners will wrap up their regular season games this weekend when they take on the Jets in Newcastle, and will be hoping for Western Sydney to do them a favour when they face the Sky Blues who sit in first place.
