A late goal from substitute Jaushua Sotirio against the run of play gave Wellington Phoenix all three points, in a game that saw the Central Coast Mariners dominate for long periods of time.
The hosts came into this game having performed well early on in the season, having registered victories over Newcastle Jets, Macarthur FC and Sydney FC.
Meanwhile, Ufuk Talay’s men were yet to register a victory prior to this game, as a draw with Macarthur FC had been sandwiched by losses to Sydney FC and Newcastle Jets.
Six minutes into the game, defender Jack Clisby released Matthew Simon with a superbly crafted long ball into the middle that the forward did well to latch onto. While the veteran hitman did well to make his way past two centre-halves, his balance on the ball was a bit off and his finish rolled away harmlessly.
Less than 10 minutes later, the visitors had capitalised on an opportunity to make it 1-0. The Nix skipper Ulises Davila sent a short pass to Tomer Hemed. The Israeli forward was in a very tight area and was being crowded out by the defence, but used his intelligence to cleverly back heel the ball into his captain’s path. The Mexican took an excellent left-footed shot from about 20 metres out to send the ball into the back of the net.
A little after 35 minutes, Davila took a beautifully curling free-kick around the wall that was dangerously close to the right-bottom corner. But goalkeeper Mark Birighitti was equal to the task and produced a good save to keep the ball out.
The Mariners showed good grit and determination to claw their way back to score the equaliser and make it 1-1 after 40 minutes.
In the last minute of the first period, Clisby took a shot from range for the Mariners from over 30 yards out. The strike was sweetly curling hit that dipped as it went towards goal. But shot-stopper Stefan Marinovic produced a solid diving save to deny the effort.
During added time, Central Coast skipper Oliver Bozanic came off worse for wear following an aerial challenge with opposition stiker Hemed, and appeared to be in a lot of pain having sustained a shoulder injury. But the captain surprisingly made his way back to the pitch following the break.
Wellington were looking very suceptible to threats during set-plays as Clisby sent a beautiful curling cross into the centre. Young forward Alou Kuol latched onto the end of it for a header, which went waywardly off target.
With just about 20 minutes left to go, Bozanic sent in an excellent left-footed flighted shot from the right, but Marinovic was up to the task as he made a superb aerial diving save to deny the effort.
Ten minutes later, Bozanic threatened again with a long range effort from about 25 yards out. But Marinovic did not seem overly troubled as he tipped the ball over the bar.
The Mariners’ skipper – despite appearing to carry an injury sustained at the end of the first-half – was putting in an excellent shift on the day, as he played young forward Jordan Smylie through. But defender Luke DeVere put in an exceptional sliding tackle to stop the attack in its tracks.
Only two minutes were left during normal time when the Nix scored against the run of play to take a 2-1 lead. The hosts’ defence had been caught napping as Sotirio – who had come on for David Ball a few minutes earlier – chested down an incoming ball in the area and put the ball past the ‘keeper.
The Mariners showed a lot of attacking intent following the goal with goalkeeper Birighitti coming all the way to the halfway line as they threw bodies forward. But the visitors’ defence held firm and the travellers ended up taking away all three points on the day.
Central Coast play host to Melbourne City on Wednesday, while Wellington Phoenix continue their travels to lock horns with Sydney FC on Monday, February 8.
