Central Coast Mariners fell to a 4-0 defeat at home to Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday evening.
Two goals in the first 12 minutes saw Wanderers take control of the game, before a deflected strike put the game beyond the Mariners before half time. A controversial penalty saw Marcus Antonsson net a fourth for the visitors in the second half.
Mark Jackson will seek a big response from his side, who are back at home to take on high-flying Western United on Friday evening, as part of an exciting Double Header at Our Paradise.
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🔢 Line-Up
Starting XI: Pavlesic (GK), Kaltak, Sainsbury (C), Kuol, Doka, Mauragis, Roux, Steele, Di Pizio, Paull, Eames.
Substitutions:
46′ ON: Theoharous, McCalmont, Faisal OFF: Di Pizio, Paull, Eames
52′ ON: Kuzevski OFF: Roux
74′ ON: De Lima OFF: Kuol
Unused subs: Peraic-Cullen (GK), Herrington.
Our team list is locked in to take on Western Sydney 🔒
— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners) February 22, 2025
🙌 Trent and Doka recover to start
🧤 Pavlesic keeps his place in goals
💪 A first A-League start of the season for Migzy#CCMFC #CCMvWSW #RideTheWave🌊 pic.twitter.com/k7CfbBpPnN
First Half
It was a flying start from the visitors who had a two-goal lead after 12 minutes, Zac Sapsford latched onto a long ball which caught the Mariners out and left him with a tap in to open the scoring.
Wanderers continued their high-intensity start, with Jack Clisby winning the ball in the Mariners half before continuing his run, receiving a back-heel from Sapsford and firing into the bottom corner to double their lead.
The Mariners responded well but were unable to take chances that would have given us a foothold in the game. Lucas Mauragis hit the post on 21 minutes, Alou Kuol had an effort cleared off the line and Nathan Paull headed just wide from a corner.
Kuol did have the ball in the back of the net on 38 minutes, jumping high above Lawrence Thomas but the referee gave a foul, the final touch of Kuol’s arm which probably would have seen the goal disallowed anyway.
A minute later, the game was put beyond the Mariners as a strike from distance took a wicked deflection of Nicolas Milanovic and looped into the Mariners goal.
Second half
A triple sub at the break injected some energy into the Mariners attack with the introduction of Christian Theoharous and Abdul Faisal in wide areas, but we were unable to make any mark on Wanderers’ first half lead.
Gabriel Cleur rattled the frame of the Mariners goal on 50 minutes, with a rocket from distance, before the scoring was rounded off on 72 minutes by Antonsson.
The Swedish striker looked to be already on his way down when there was contact with Adam Pavlesic, but the referee pointed to the spot. Pavlesic saved the first penalty but was off his line, VAR advised for the penalty to be retaken and Antonsson dispatched second time around.
▶️ Post-match reaction via Central Coast Mariners YouTube
Watch the full highlights below, with further match reaction including Mark Jackson’s full post-match press conference, available via Central Coast Mariners on YouTube.
Jacko gave an honest reflection on his side’s performance, as well as some strong words on the consistency of officiating in the A-League this season.
