The Central Coast Mariners have fallen to a Premiers Plate bound Perth Glory 3-0 at Central Coast Stadium, courtesy of goals to Joel Chianese, Dino Djulbic and Neil Kilkenny.
Central Coast Mariners 0 Perth Glory 3 (Chianese 12’, Djulbic 29’ & Kilkenny 58’)
The run down
It was a bright start for Perth as Kennedy denied Keogh from the edge of the box with an outstretched leg in the third minute of play. It was a tight affair as both sides battled it out in the midfield trying to create an opportunity. Perth however, had majority of the chances that troubled the Mariners’ defence.
It took Glory just 12 minutes to open the scoring when Joel Chianese drilled his effort past Kennedy to give Glory the lead. The Mariners were fired up and were able to make a few forays into the box with Jordan Murray having the pick of the chances, however unable to capitalise.
In the 29th minute, a Glory corner saw Dino Djulbic double Glory’s tally as he smashed his header home. The second goal deflated the Mariners as the Yellow and Navy struggled to get past a formidable Glory midfield. The frustrated Mariners could not grab an equaliser before the half time break.
This is our Game Day backdrop. ? #CCMFC #CCMvPER #ALeague pic.twitter.com/O3TXdJXOmc
— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners) April 7, 2019
The second half saw the introduction of Connor Pain as Alen Stajcic looked for a bit more firepower in the final third. Despite a good period by the Mariners where they were able to make the Glory sit deep, the Glory managed to win a penalty in the 57th minute. Midfielder Neil Kilkenny made no mistake from the spot and added a third for the Glory.
Perth almost added a fourth however Kennedy was able to keep the ball out and start a Mariners counter attack that saw Connor Pain unable to test Reddy on the end of a swift counter attack. In the 79th minute, a delivery by Andrew Hoole deflected off the first man and hit the crossbar with Aspropotamitis unable to head in the rebound. The Mariners tried their best for the remaining minutes of the match but could not test the Glory as the referee blew full time.
GOALS:
12’ CHIANESE GOAL (1-0): Chianese dribbled into the box and fired his shot it into the bottom corner. A smart finish.
29’ DJULBIC GOAL (2-0): An unlikely goal scorer, defender Dino Djulbic lurched forward for a set piece. He leaped above the pack and headed home from the corner.
58’ KILKENNY GOAL (3-0): Kilkenny expertly put his penalty into the bottom corner after Diego Castro was fouled in the box.
Go Mariners! @PerthGloryFC @CCMariners @CCStadium pic.twitter.com/wnrxUa0pVF
— 101.3 Sea FM Central Coast ? (@SeaCentralCoast) April 7, 2019
Stajcic in the media
Click here to view Alen’s full press conference
“I don’t think we were on the back foot, we were on the scoreline but not in terms of the game,” Stajcic said. “Since I’ve been here for the three games we have had more of the ball, more patches of play.
“They scored off two set pieces and they have that little bit of quality with Castro and Ikonimidis. In terms of the patterns of the game I thought it was 50/50, they had more scoring moments and the scoreline reflects that. I was happy we had a go and kept going right to the end and had them pinned back right towards the end. There was 20 minutes where we dominated and had a few half chances where we hit the crossbar. The fact we had those chances was really pleasing.
“There just needs to be better defending in those areas, during set pieces and when Castro had the ball in the box which we can’t defend like that. I’m pleased with the boys, in midfield we were good, created some good chances it was just those final moments that weren’t there. We need to build that quality and belief so the boys can back themselves a little bit more. There’s enough good starting points for the next three weeks.”
“Defensively we’ve showed in the first two weeks we improved a lot, last week was an example of that and this week we decided to be a bit more risky and try and go at Perth which leaves you a bit more open but we seemed to start controlling the game. They tried to control the game, it’s against the ladder leaders who’ve only lost a few games all season. I think they dominated Victory more last weekend than what they did today and sometimes the score line doesn’t reflect that. We just need to work on those key moments in defence and attack.”
“We weren’t prepared to sit back, we had a go at them with our fullbacks Matt and Jack were really good. To have that kind of spirit and willingness to keep going is the pleasing part but we just need the quality to go with it.
“For me it was all about setting a foundation for the team moving forward, not just for this year but for next. I want to see which players can be apart of this club to be competitive next year. We have set a good foundation in defence and this week was the first time we started working on our build up play and I got to see it today. We have three difficult games coming up, Victory one of the best sides in the comp next week, Wanderers and City at the end. Tough run in but I’ve got a lot of belief after today.”
Central Coast Mariners: 1. Ben KENNEDY (GK), 2. Jonathan ASPROPOTAMITIS, 3. Jack CLISBY, 6. Tom HIARIEJ, 13. Aiden O’NEILL, 15. Kye ROWLES, 18. Matthew MILLER, 19. Matthew SIMON (8. Michael MCGLINCHEY 81’), 22. Jacob MELLING, 25. Jordan MURRAY (7. Andrew HOOLE 67’), 29. Stephen MALLON (11. Connor PAIN 46’)
Substitutes not used: 12. Adam PEARCE (GK) & 28. Samuel GRAHAM
Yellow cards: O’NEILL 4’, ROWLES 20’
Perth Glory: 33. Liam REDDY (GK), 3. Jason DAVIDSON (23. Scott NEVILLE 82’), 4. Shane LOWRY, 5. Ivan FRANJIC, 6. Dino DJULBIC, 7. Joel CHIANESE (11. Brendan SANTALAB 72’), 9. Andrew KEOGH, 13. Matthew SPIRANOVIC, 19. Christopher IKONOMIDIS (17. Diego CASTRO 46’), 27. JUANDE, 88. Neil KILKENNY
Substitutes not used: 1. Tando VELAPHI & 20. Jake BRIMMER
Yellow cards: DAVIDSON 25’, JUANDE 40’
Sunday, 7 April 2019
Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
Crowd: 3744
Central Coast Mariners vs. Perth Glory
