FOOTBALL
An intense battle for A-League domination between the Central Coast Mariners and Macarthur Bulls ended with three goals a-piece when the two teams clashed at Central Coast Stadium on Thursday, February 10.
Both teams had the lead secured at different points during the match.
Macarthur was sitting ahead by two goals at one stage.
Then three Mariners goals tipped the game on its axis before Macarthur scored a smashing late equalizer for the 3-3 result.
The Mariners took to the field with an attacking determination that put Macarthur on the back foot – perhaps eager to make amends for their defensive stance against Melbourne Victory in the FFA Cup Final.
Tommy Oar, ex-Mariner-turned-Bull, opened the goal count in the 25th minute with a spectacular volley scored against the run of play.
Mariners’ captain Oliver Bozanic’s headed clearance from a Macarthur corner dropped the ball ahead of Oar outside the penalty area.
Oar hit the ball with inscrutable finesse to send it spinning into the top corner of the goal.
Oar’s opener gave Macarthur more confidence to run directly at defenders down the middle channel of play.
This pressure culminated in a second goal at the a 33rd minute scored by Adrian Mariappa after a failed penalty box clearance, again from a set piece.
A two-goal deficit put the Mariners in dire straits despite two thirds of the game remaining.
The hosts slowly regathered their composure in possession and passing play and their reward came close to the end of the first half.
Although counted as an own goal due to two deflections, an initial cross from Jacob Farrell and the first-time shot from Marcos Urena buckled Macarthur’s defence and resulted in a 1-2 half-time lead for the visitors.
The pressure on the Bulls continued in the second half with the Mariners hungry for an equalizer.
Mariners’ striker Jason Cummings was illegally tripped in the penalty area by Moudi Najjar at the 71st minute.
The VAR awarded the Mariners a penalty and Bozanic stepped up to shoot his team back to level pegging.
Najjar tripped Storm Roux at the 84th minute during his advance on a Matheus Moresche through ball and another penalty was granted to the hosts.
This time Moresche stepped up to the penalty box and put it away comfortably for his first A-League goal.
Macarthur did well to bring themselves back into the game thanks to another wondrous strike by Craig Noone in the 90th minute.
Oar’s deep cross lobbed the ball to the far side of goal and Noone’s first-touch, outside-of-boot volley skimmed the ball across goal and into the corner of the net.
This late moment of brilliance meant both teams had to settle for one point earned, despite the majority of the game being controlled by the Mariners apart from some Macarthur star-power moments.
The game included confidence-boosting takeaways for the locals who return to Central Coast Stadium on Sunday, February 13, for their next A-League match against Perth Glory.
Haakon Barry