FOOTBALL
A 2-0 victory for the Central Coast Mariners away against Brisbane Roar has secured the team a spot in the finals, with goalscoring thanks once again going to academy products, Tuesday, May 3.
Throughout sunset at Moreton Daily Stadium in Queensland, the Mariners withstood constant attacking pressure from their hosts to keep them scoreless; meanwhile, Lewis Miller scored his first professional goal, then a fourth for Garang Kuol in his supercharged debut season.
Mariners goalkeeper, Mark Birighitti was hard pressed to ensure his eighth clean sheet of the season, on multiple occasions relying on his fingertips to save his net from shaking.
A 33rd minute, a left-footed long shot from Alex Parsons threatened the left edge of Birighitti’s goal, yet a firm bock denied the hosts the opener and helped pave the way for a goal at the other end of the field.
After four seasons with the Mariners, right back Lewis Miller finally added a goal to his name in the 40th minute of play, scored with a bouncing header from Cy Goddard’s in-swerving cross.
The assist required a deft carriage from Goddard to outmaneuver Connor Chapman on the wing and send in the cross to the unmarked Miller advancing on the back post.
With a half-time lead established, the Mariners were put to the test by the eager attacking energy from Roar, holding out against a total of 21 shots, six on target, and three more notable stretch-saves from Birighitti.
The visitors’ lead was extended in the 63rd minute with a goal for Kuol, scored only four minutes after his entrance to the field to replace Goddard.
The youngster was also instrumental in setting up the score, freeing Storm Roux down the right flank before cutting into the penalty area, receiving Roux’s return pass and snapping the ball across goal after a quick first touch.
The two-goal deficit did not prevent Roar from testing their opponents’ defence, but despite coming close on multiple occasions they were unable to turn pressure into points.
One casualty for the Mariners was an injury sustained by Dan Hall in the 78th minute after a collision with Rahmat Akbari, reducing the team down to ten men due to no remaining substitutions.
Nonetheless, the visitors held on to their lead until the final whistle, playing ten versus ten for the final ten minutes after a red card was shown to Scott Neville in response to his open-studded slide tackle against Nicolai Muller.
Now the Mariners have a confirmed place in the finals, still with a chance to finish the league in fourth place depending on the last round of results.
“We had our backs to the wall, but if you can win like that it shows what kind of steel you’ve got in your side,” said centre-back Kye Rowles at the conclusion of the hard-fought win.
“Making the finals in consecutive years is something this club has been a bit starved of the last few years, so we want to try our hardest to make everyone proud.”
For Head Coach, Nick Montgomery, winning despite a deficit in possession and shots at goal is a sign of his young team’s professional growth.
“We came here with a job to do, we knew it was not going to be easy against a team with nothing to play for,” Monty said.
“I thought the boys were really professional tonight, it wasn’t our best performance by a long stretch: some tired legs after a big game on the weekend against Western United.
“But a test of a good team is digging in when you’re under pressure away from home and I thought we dug in really well.”
The final round of the regular season will see the Mariners return to Central Coast Stadium for an F3 derby match against the Newcastle Jets, Saturday May 7.
Haakon Barry