The Central Coast Mariners have suffered a loss to Adelaide United, after conceding in the last minute, to lose the match 2-1.
An injury-riddled Mariners went into the match missing captain, Alan Baro (suspended), right-back, Storm Roux (international duty), striker, Asdrubal (injured) and, Josh Rose, who injured his calf in the warm up.
As a result, coach, Paul Okon, was forced to make several changes to the side that triumphed over Sydney FC, less than one week earlier.
Liam Rose replaced Baro, Kwabena Appiah stepped up for Asdrubal, and, Kye Rowles, made his season debut in the place of Josh Rose.
The Mariners were the first team to show their attacking prowess, after a quick string of passes lead to a cross from, Jake McGing, who narrowly missed attacking players, Connor Pain and Appiah.
Wout Brama and Tom Hiariej proved again to be a midfield force, reading the game well to create quick turnarounds while feeding balls to the attack.
A tackle from Adelaide player, Diawara, sent, Connor Pain, to ground in the penalty area late in the first half, and referee, Mathew Conger, awarded a spot kick.
Brama stepped up to take the penalty and made no mistake, putting the ball into Paul Izzo’s net, with the Mariners going into the sheds 1-0 at halftime.
With the second half underway, Adelaide started to put the pressure on the Central Coast from the outset.
The Mariners showed early promise, and a foul outside the penalty area gave Hoole a set piece opportunity that the number 7 couldn’t keep below the crossbar.
Adelaide were able to grab a goal back, thanks to, Daniel Adlung, who scored a potential goal of the season contender, after his venomous volley from outside the box hit the top of the net, leaving Mariners’ keeper, Ben Kennedy, with no chance of touching the ball.
Paul Okon put on fresh attacking legs late in the second half, with, Trent Buhagiar and Josh Bingham, coming on to replace, Andrew Hoole and Kwabena Appiah.
The game seemed destined to end in a 1-1 draw, before Adelaide lodged a stoppage time attack.
In the dying embers of the game, the Mariners conceded a corner to Adelaide, with Adelaide player, Mark Ochieng, putting the ball up and over to Kitto, who volleyed home.
After a strong start and a half-time lead, a disappointed Central Coast finished the game 2-1 down to Adelaide United.
“We had a couple of boys that were really fatigued, who haven’t played much football of late,” Mariners’ coach Okon said.
“Adelaide, in the second half, were very direct, a lot of longer balls, and then crosses into the box, and that caused us difficulties, but I think we still could have done better on both goals.
“There’s going to be times in games where you won’t be able to dominate possession, for whatever reason, and we needed to deal with those two situations better, and if you don’t, in the end, it doesn’t matter what time the goals come, they’re going to cost you.
“Next week, we get our captain, Alan Baro, back from suspension, but the other three, I don’t know,” Okon said.
The Mariners will face Wellington Phoenix in Wellington on Saturday, November 25.
Source:
Media Release, Nov 16
Ellie Taylor, Central Coast Mariners