It was a fighting display from the Mariners on home soil in Gosford. Auglah’s early penalty gave the hosts a 1-0 half-time lead, and when the Jets levelled after the break, Lavale restored the advantage on the hour mark. The visitors found a late leveller but the Mariners stood firm to bank a hard-earned point.
- Ali Auglah converts an 11th-minute penalty to send the Mariners into the break with a 1-0 lead.
- Oliver Lavale restores the Mariners’ advantage from the spot on the hour to make it 2-1.
- Andrew Redmayne makes four saves as the Mariners soak up pressure from a Jets side with nearly 60% of the possession.
- The Mariners bank a point at home after twice leading in a 2-2 draw.
First half
The Mariners started on the front foot at polytec Stadium. Ali Auglah headed wide from Lucas Mauragis’s cross after a fast break in the opening minute. The Jets answered through Julian Recchia in the 3rd minute, and Andrew Redmayne then saved from Patrick Wood in the 8th.
Central Coast took the lead in the 11th minute. After Thomas Aquilina was penalised for a foul, Auglah stepped up and converted the penalty, sending a left-footed shot into the bottom left corner to make it 1-0 to the hosts.
Newcastle pushed for a response, with Max Burgess heading wide from a corner in the 21st minute and then seeing a shot blocked. Bailey Brandtman’s pass set up Oliver Lavale, whose shot was blocked in the 29th minute, and Will Dobson was booked for a foul in the 34th minute as the visitors kept pressing.
Redmayne was called into action again in the 39th minute, saving Burgess’s header from a Recchia cross. Moments later, in the 42nd minute, the referee was busy: Burgess went into the book for a foul.
Alexander Bolton fired wide from a set piece in the 43rd minute, and Burgess shot off target just before the break. With three minutes of added time announced, the Mariners held on to head into half-time with a 1-0 lead.
Second half
The Jets levelled four minutes after the restart. Alexander Bolton was booked for a foul, and from the set piece that followed Joe Shaughnessy’s headed pass found Patrick Wood, who finished left-footed from the centre of the box. Andrew Redmayne then got down to save Xavier Bertoncello’s effort in the 51st minute.
John Hutchinson responded in the 54th minute with a double change, Arthur De Lima replacing Bolton and Jesse Mantell replacing Haine Eames. The fresh legs lifted the hosts straight away. Lucas Mauragis sent a shot too high from a De Lima cross before Oliver Lavale was denied by James Delianov in the 58th minute.
The Mariners got their reward on the hour. Lavale stepped up to convert the penalty into the bottom right corner to make it 2-1. He almost added another straight after from Mantell’s through ball, but Delianov saved again. The Jets made two changes in the 63rd minute, with Zach Clough and Zane Schreiber coming on.
Redmayne parried a long-range Bertoncello strike in the 71st minute, and Ty Mckibbin replaced Storm Roux in the 73rd as the visitors, with Nikos Vergos and Jesse Hill also introduced, pushed hard for a leveller. The Mariners stayed organised, but cruel luck struck in the 78th minute when an own goal made it 2-2.
The hosts kept going. Bailey Brandtman was booked in the 86th minute, and Luke Becvinovski and Presley Ortiz came on in the 87th for Ali Auglah and Lavale. Becvinovski forced a save from Delianov in the 88th minute, but with five minutes of added time announced, the match finished 2-2.
Full time
The Mariners share the points at Polytec Stadium after twice leading the Jets, and the story of this F3 Derby draw is resilience. The visitors held 59.4% of possession and had 19 shots to the hosts’ 14, along with nine corners to two, yet shots on target finished level at five apiece, and Andrew Redmayne’s four saves kept the Mariners in front for long stretches. An unlucky own goal denied the hosts the full three points, but a side that was pegged back after the break and answered with a lead of its own can be proud of that.
The point adds another draw to a head-to-head record the Mariners still lead, with 27 wins to Newcastle’s 21 and 19 draws. Head coach John Hutchinson’s group will take plenty from scoring twice against a side that dominated possession, and the fighting spirit on show gives the Mariners a solid base as they turn their focus to their next A-League Men fixture. Tickets for upcoming home matches are available via Ticketek, so get behind the Mariners on home soil.
Match details
Goals
- 11′ A. Auglah Central Coast Mariners FC
- 49′ P. Wood Newcastle Jets FC
- 60′ O. Lavale Central Coast Mariners FC
- 78′ O. Lavale OG · Central Coast Mariners FC
Cards
- 34′ Yellow card W. Dobson Newcastle Jets FC
- 42′ Yellow card M. Burgess Newcastle Jets FC
- 42′ Yellow card A. Auglah Central Coast Mariners FC
- 49′ Yellow card A. Bolton Central Coast Mariners FC
- 86′ Yellow card B. Brandtman Central Coast Mariners FC
Substitutions
- 54′ A. De Lima on for A. Bolton Central Coast Mariners FC
- 54′ J. Mantell on for H. Eames Central Coast Mariners FC
- 63′ Z. Clough on for J. Recchia Newcastle Jets FC
- 63′ Z. Schreiber on for W. Dobson Newcastle Jets FC
- 73′ Mckibbin on for S. Roux Central Coast Mariners FC
- 74′ N. Vergos on for P. Wood Newcastle Jets FC
- 74′ J. Hill on for J. Lolley Newcastle Jets FC
- 85′ E. Debono on for X. Bertoncello Newcastle Jets FC
- 87′ L. Becvinovski on for A. Auglah Central Coast Mariners FC
- 87′ P. Ortiz on for O. Lavale Central Coast Mariners FC
Starting XI — Central Coast Mariners FC (Home)
- A. Redmayne (Goalkeeper)
- L. Mauragis (Defender)
- N. McCann (Defender)
- D. Herrington (Defender)
- S. Roux (Defender)
- A. Bolton (Midfielder)
- C. Donnell (Midfielder)
- H. Eames (Midfielder)
- A. Auglah (Midfielder)
- O. Lavale (Striker)
- B. Brandtman (Striker)
Starting XI — Newcastle Jets FC (Away)
- J. Delianov (Goalkeeper)
- D. Wilmering (Defender)
- T. Aquilina (Defender)
- J. Shaughnessy (Defender)
- J. Bertolissio (Defender)
- M. Burgess (Defensive Midfielder)
- X. Bertoncello (Midfielder)
- J. Recchia (Midfielder)
- W. Dobson (Midfielder)
- J. Lolley (Midfielder)
- P. Wood (Striker)
Next match
Central Coast Mariners hit the road next, facing Wellington Phoenix FC at Hnry Stadium on Sunday, 25 October, with kick-off at 3:00pm local time, as the Mariners look to build on their opening-round point and keep an unbeaten start going.
