Central Coast Mariners surprised Sydney FC with a 2-0 victory in a game that saw them beat the Sky Blues in their own backyard for the first time since 2014.
Both goals came in the second half in the form of an own goal from defender Ben Warland after 52 minutes, while a deflected effort from Alou Kuol hit the back of the net a little over 20 minutes later.
The match started with the Sky Blues showing early positivity by earning a corner in the first minute of the game. From the set-play that followed, striker Kosta Barbarouses made a mess of a volley that Anthony Caceres had sent his way.
Caceres and Barbarouses were in the thick of the action again after five minutes, as the former Mariner sent a good through ball down the middle. The pacey forward latched onto it after making a good run, but was unable to match it with a finish as it was straight at goalkeeper Mark Birighitti.
Eleven minutes into the game, defender Ruon Tongyik – who was exceptional for the rest of the evening – awkwardly failed to clear the ball as Barbarouses threatened with his run, but the shot-stopper was off his line to collect the loose ball.
Minutes later, a low free-kick from Luke Brattan from the right saw Rhyan Grant latch onto the ball to attempt a shot from inside the six-yard-box. But ‘keeper Birighitti showed good instincts to make a save and keep his side in the game.
With 25 minutes gone, the Mariners had an opportunity of their own when defender Jack Clisby sent in a great delivery that saw skipper Oliver Bozanic get to the end of it. But the 32-year-old’s well timed header was off target. Replays showed that it would not have mattered as the midfielder was offside on that occasion.
A few minutes later at the other end, Milos Ninkovic released Trent Buhagiar on the right side of the box, and the young forward played the ball across trying to find Barbarouses. But Mariners’ defender Tongyik got a foot onto it as the ball rolled away to the left. Left-back Joel King was approaching and promptly passed it to the Kiwi hitman who had his back towards goal. But he was unable to turn and find the target as his shot went wide.
With five minutes to go in the first period of play, Caceres received a ball from a short corner and showcased some good link-up play before letting one rip from range. The goalkeeper Birighitti was beaten, but so was the goal as the ball went wide of the target.
Meanwhile as time ticked away, Australia U-23 midfielder Daniel Bouman attempted an acrobatically hopeful bicycle kick at the other end. But the shot was straight towards Andrew Redmayne as the shot-stopper was untroubled on that occasion.
Matthew Simon – on his birthday – gifted Sky Blues’ Paulo Retre with a crisp elbow in the face in stoppage time, earning him a deserved yellow card. But that did not stop the experienced forward from protesting the decision with the referee.
Following the restart of the match after the half-time break, Barbarouses cut one through to Buhagiar for a simple tap in that hit the back of the net. But the former Melbourne Victory striker was adjudged to have been offside as the goal did not stand.
The visitors immediately surged forward and put Sydney under immense pressure through some good passing in the attacking third, but the finish was nowhere to be found. But just before The Cove could breathe a sigh of relief, Bouman went down the left and sent in an excellent ball into the middle. As Simon and defender Warland both went towards the ball, it was the Sky Blues player who scored an own goal to give Alen Stajcic’s men the lead.
Right after going behind, the home side showed good resolve to look for an equaliser as they began to probing the attacking third of the pitch. On one such occasion, Barbarouses’ ball towards the far post was overhit as it sailed away harmlessly to put an end to a good move.
After an hour had gone by, Sydney midfielder Caceres – who had been excellent all evening – did well to play Grant through. The fan favourite of the home side attempted to find a teammate across goal. But Birighitti did very well to smother the ball at the neat post.
After 73 minutes had passed, the Mariners struck again to make it 2-0. It all started with Tongyik, who defended well and quickly passed it to Joshua Nisbet. The diminutive midfielder did well to find substitute Jordan Smylie, who attempted to chip it back but failed as it was blocked by the Sky Blues’ defence. However, the clearance never came and the ball fell to substitute Alou Kuol, who gladly dispatched the ball into the back of the net along with a deflection that beat goalkeeper Redmayne.
Corica’s men were spurred on by The Cove to continue with their effort to pull one back, but they found it hard to break down the visitors’ defence. On each occasion, the travellers managed to intercept, block or clear the ball away. On occasions where they had trouble, Birighitti did what he does best and kept the ball outside.
As the referee called time on the game, Central Coast continued their feel good run of form early on in the season to climb atop the A-League with nine points from four games. They will play host to Wellington Phoenix at Gosford next Sunday. Meanwhile, Sydney FC will travel across town to take on new boys Macarthur on Saturday.
