The Central Coast Mariners have secured an incredible victory at Industree Group Stadium on Saturday evening, coming out 4-1 winners against Brisbane Roar.
In captain Danny Vukovic’s 300th A-League games, the Mariners hit the ground running on Saturday, putting on a first half clinic to take a 3-0 lead into the break.
A penalty each way saw both sides add one to their half time score, with the match finishing 4-1 as the Mariners secured the three points.
The game got off to an lively start, with both sides having early chances to get the scoring underway.
It was the away side who had the first opportunity, with Carlo Armiento hitting a dangerous free kick from the right side of the penalty area. His shot parried wide by Vukovic, keeping the scores level in the sixth minute.
After beginning to win the possession battle, the Mariners soon found the go-ahead goal through Marco Tulio.
Sammy Silvera first finding Jason Cummings just outside the penalty area, with the Socceroo forcing a strong diving save from Jordan Holmes.
The Brazilian in close proximity of the rebound to poke it home, giving the Mariners a 1-0 lead in the 15thminute.
One soon became two off the back of some magic from Josh Nisbet, starting the play himself after dribbling it over the halfway line. The midfielder finding Silvera on the edge of the box, who rocketed a pass across to Tulio.
The striker playing a delicate ball to Nisbet, who through persistence collected the rebound of his own shot to fire it home. The second ever Mariners goal for Nisbet coming in the 17th minute, with the Mariners lead extending to two.
The Central Coast continued to press, with Tulio again playing a vital part in the Mariners third goal of the match. The Brazilian collecting the ball on the right wing, whipping in an inch perfect cross just outside the six yard area.
Max Balard getting on the end of it, firing a bullet header off the crossbar and into the back of Holmes, who got the final touch as it rolled into the goal. The Mariners going 3-0 up in the 30th minute, flying high at Our Paradise in front of our vocal fans.
Jason Cummings almost got his first of the game three minutes later, with the striker collecting the ball 18-yards from goal off the back of a Beni Nkololo pass. The Socceroo attempting to bend it into the left corner of the net, narrowly missing wide.
The Mariners continued to push for a fourth over the remaining 10 minutes of the first half, going close without quite scoring. Central Coast heading into the break with a 3-0 lead, a deserved one after a dominant first half display.
It was more of the same to begin the second half, with James McGarry almost setting up another Mariners goal in the 49th minute. The New Zealand international playing a beautiful pass across the face of the goal, missing the oncoming Silvera by mere inches.
It didn’t take long for the Mariners to capitalise again, with Balard playing a key role in the goal. The midfielder hitting a rocket from range on the rebound, with the ball cannoning into the arm of Rahmat Akbari.
The referee pointing to the spot, with Cummings collecting the ball to have a shot at his first of the evening in front of a loud and proud bay 16. The striker sending Holmes the wrong way, finding the bottom left corner for his 15th goal of the season. Central Coast going 4-0 to the good just 58 minutes into the match.
With substitutes beginning to flow for the Mariners, they continued to dominate the match. Theoharous and Farrell entering the game at the hour mark, before Moresche and Lachlan Bayliss were called into action in the 67th minute.
The Central Coast continued to pile on the pressure, with numerous chances narrowly missing as they searched for a deserved fifth goal.
After being untested for a majority of the match, Vukovic was called into action in the 74th minute. Louis Zabala with a first time shot at the near post, our captain standing strong, palming the ball out for a corner.
Only minutes later it was time for a special Mariners debut, with Dylan Wenzel-Halls taking foot onto Our Paradise for the first time as a Central Coast player. He replaced Jason Cummings to a great deal of applause from the appreciative home fans.
Brisbane was awarded a penalty in the 81st minute, despite being initially ruled off by the referee. VAR deciding that Nicola Mileusnic’s header had hit the arm of Brian Kaltak in an unnatural position, pointing to the penalty spot.
In his 100th A-League match, Jay O’Shea converted the penalty, bringing the scores back to 4-1 in the 82ndminute.
Despite conceding that goal the Mariners continued to have the better of the chances to end the match, with both wings looking extremely dangerous.
Theoharous causing the Brisbane defence nightmares with his skilful dribbling, whilst the new combination of Silvera and Bayliss on the right was working wonders.
It was that combination that created another Mariners chance, with Bayliss finding Silvera on the edge of the area. The winger rocketing a shot goalward, with Holmes required to make a smart save.
Despite having a final few chances to add another, the Roar held strong to deny the Mariners, as the home side secured a vital 4-1 win.
The victory pushes the Mariners back up into third on the A-Leagues ladder, leapfrogging Western Sydney Wanderers.
Our next match is an away trip this Friday afternoon to face Western United in Ballarat, before returning home to take on league leaders Melbourne City in Pink Round.
