The ninth-placed Mariners looked to land themselves back in the top six as they took on Melbourne City, with the home side also looking to move into a playoff spot with a win.
A wet surface saw both sides struggle to control the game in the opening 15 minutes at AAMI Park.
The Mariners had the better of the early chances with Arthur De Lima latching on to a deflected pass from Bailey Brandtman, but his effort was smothered by Melbourne City shot-stopper James Nieuwenhuizen.
The home side broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute with Andreas Kuen’s strong run through midfield, resulting in a shot from the edge of the box, which took a heavy deflection off Bradley Tapp, wrong-footing Andrew Redmayne. Despite the veteran goalkeeper’s best efforts, the shot rolled just inside the left post to give Melbourne City the early lead.
City’s opener seemed to give them the confidence they needed to take control of the game as they hemmed the visitors in their own half, with wave after wave of attacking play.
Despite the heavy pressure, Warren Moon’s side was able to stand strong, heading into the break down by just one goal.
The Mariners started the second half on the front foot, putting the hosts under pressure high up the pitch, with Ali Auglah finding himself in the box in the 48th minute through some nifty footwork.
His final touch was slightly too heavy, but fell to Jacob Nasso on the edge of the box, whose effort was blocked by the Melbourne defence.
A triple substitution for the Mariners just eight minutes into the second half continued the away side’s momentum until Melbourne City’s own substitute Andrew Nabout capped off a smooth team move, doubling the home side’s lead.
18-year-old Central Coast Mariners academy product Jesse Mantell joined the contest in the 68th minute for his senior men’s Isuzu UTE A-League debut, looking to inject some energy back into the Mariners.
Despite a night of few chances for the visiting side, Ali Auglah was able to snatch a consolation goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time. A long ball from defence found Oli Lavale on the right wing, who was able to pick out the run of Sabit Ngor in the box. With just a single defender in his way, Ngor squared the ball to Auglah, who rolled it into an open net for his fourth goal of the campaign.
The Mariners left it too little, too late, however, with the final whistle leaving them in ninth place, four points out of the top six with three games remaining.
They will head back home to prepare to take on Brisbane Roar on Friday, with hopes of edging themselves closer to the 2026 A-League playoffs.
