Wellington Phoenix FC 3 (Barbarouses 2’, Lia 66’ & Krishna 94’) Central Coast Mariners 0
The Run Down
The Central Coast Mariners have fallen 3-0 to Wellington Phoenix in Hamilton with Kosta Barbarouses, Vince Lia & Roy Krishna all featuring on the scoresheet.
It was a very quiet first half to kick us off at FMG Stadium, Waikato after Wellington took the lead in just the second minute of play through Barbarouses who’s shot deflected into the net for the opener.
The Mariners stayed true to their possession based style of play that saw them hold 75% of the ball for majority of the first half but just couldn’t penetrate the Wellington back four.
Connor Pain was the danger man in the opening 45 who’s running game on the left caused danger on many occasions but the end product was just lacking.
The second half kicked off in the same fashion and that’s with the Mariners holding majority of the ball but this time there was more time spent in the front third. Improved field position resulted in an early chance to the away side through Pain who pulled the trigger but his shot was just wide of the upright.
But Vince Lia would take the headlines in the 66th minute when he let rip with one of the goals of the season giving Necevski no chance as the ball flew into the top corner.
Towards the final stages the Mariners all pushed forward in an attempt to jag a goal only to be countered at the other end with almost the final kick off the game to end the match 3-0.
Full attention now turns to next Sunday that will see the Central Coast Mariners host Brisbane Roar at home for the second time this season.
Goals
2’ BARBAROUSES GOAL: It was a very unfortunate start for the Mariners in Hamilton after a Barbarouses strike took a heavy deflection from point blank range giving Ivan Necevski no chance in goal and the Phoenix an early lead.
66’ LIA GOAL: The ball rolled into no man’s land from a set piece and Lia was there to collect. Lia pulled the trigger from miles out and his shot flew into the top corner.
94’ KRISHNA GOAL: The Mariners were on set piece duties at the other end of the pitch and had everyone forward to try and jag a goal back, Wellington quickly found themselves with possession and a five on two overlap before Krishna finished his one-on-one opportunity.
Paolo in the press
“Lacking experience is no excuse,” Okon said. “I think for 60 minutes we were quite good, we dominated without really threatening.
“The second goal cuts our legs a little bit, the momentum really shifts and then you see their quality, they moved us around.
“We fought hard but we go home with no points and Wellington deserve their victory.
“We weren’t able to threaten, we kept possession but that final decision, that final pass to get yourself on goal we weren’t able to come up with.
“Storm was touch and go to start the game, he copped a knock against the Wanderers last week and he was feeling OK but we always knew it was a little bit of a risk to start him. He just felt that he was struggling to turn and when you’re up against Krishna or Barbarouses you probably need to be 200% and he was honest enough to put his hand up so hopefully he will be back next week.
“From my perspective I can only ask the players to give their maximum effort, we’re on the right track. We talk about key moments, we let ourselves down a bit certainly conceding after 90 seconds but hopefully we improve that’s the plan.
“It’s no secret we’re lacking experience at the moment, any team that loses Nick Montgomery and Mickael Tavares in the space of one game is going to struggle.
“We’ve got some kids, we need to use them, it is what it is.
“In between now and when our team strengthens we’re going to have these moments and results but again, with the performance there was 60 minutes where I thought we were on top but we lose the game, that’s football,” Okon said.
Central Coast Mariners: 1.Ivan NECEVSKI (gk), 2.Storm ROUX (c) (21.Michael NEILL 37’), 3.Scott GALLOWAY, Harry ASCROFT, 6.Blake POWELL, 7.Fabio FERREIRA (12.Trent BUHAGIAR 66’), 9.Roy O’DONOVAN, 11.Connor PAIN (13.Kwabena APPIAH 84’), 14.Adam BERRY, 16.Liam ROSE, 22.Jake McGING
Substitutes not used: 20.Paul IZZO (gk), 25.Ryan PETERSON
Yellow cards: 11’ Galloway
Wellington Phoenix FC: 1.Glen MOSS (gk), 2.Jacob TRATT, 4.Roly BONEVACIA, 7.Guilherme FINKLER, 9.Kosta BARBAROUSES, 11.Hamish WATSON (16.Louis FENTON 88’), 12.Adam PARKHOUSE, 13.Marco ROSSI, 17.Vince LIA (8.Alex RODRIGUEZ 80’), 21.Roy KRISHNA, 22. Andrew DURANTE (c)
Substitutes not used: 20.Lewis ITALIANO (gk), 5.Ryan LOWRY, 23. Matthew RIDENTON
Saturday 10 December, 2016
FMG Stadium, Waikato
Wellington Phoenix vs. Central Coast Mariners
Referee: Matthew Conger
