The Central Coast Mariners have demolished the Western Sydney Wanderers 3-0 at CommBank Stadium in a dominant display of football against the A-league leaders.
The win for the Mariners comes after their stunning 4-2 comeback victory against Western United the weekend before.
The three points catapult the Mariners to fourth on the A-league ladder before this coming Sunday’s game against Macarther at Central Coast Stadium.
This will be the final game for a month before the World Cup freezes the local league competition.
The first half was a repeat of last week’s game with the Mariners dominating the field with their accurate passing and strong defence, but after 45 minutes of football, the scoreline was still nil all.
Football matches are won in the second half, and once again the Mariners goal kicking machine switched into overdrive for the second stanza.
Striker Jason Cummings went close to scoring several times as the Mariners launched a series of attacks early on in the second half.
Coach Montgomery again turned to his bench for solutions, with Michael Ruhs and Garang Kuol joining the field.
The move succeeded again, with the pair pouncing twice in the next 10 minutes to give the Mariners the lead with Kuol passing to Ruhs, who finished the job with style.
The two subs produced the goods a second time with Kuol finding the ball after a Mariner’s counterattack, slotting to Ruhs who sunk his second into the net.
Then it was time for the young Sammy Silvera after a selfless set of passes from Jacob Farrell and Cummings to assist the final and most stunning goal of the game.
Long-term club favourite Storm Roux notched up his 200th A-League game.
The man of the match was unquestionably awarded to Michael Ruys in recognition of his two goals and aggressive forward play.
Sunday’s match against Macarthur kicks off at 3pm.
David Abrahams