The Central Coast Mariners have again proved that they ‘won’t back down’ with an impressive display of heartfelt football against the A-league’s dominant club Melbourne City at Gosford’s Industree Group Stadium on Saturday night, April 15.
The final scoreline was only 1-1, with the Mariners’ goal coming late in the second half after a tumultuous battle by the home side to prove its motto’s worthiness.
Captain and keeper Danny Vukovic played an incredible game, saving a swath of powerful shots on target and in doing so keeping his side in the game.
Mariners coach Nick Montgomery was relieved if not happy, saying after the game: “I’ll probably be happy tomorrow, we had some clear-cut chances … we should have won the game with Moresche’s header; though they could say the same thing,
“It could have been 4-4 or 5-all tonight.
“There were two good teams going toe to toe; it was exciting to watch.
“It’s a fantastic game for us, for the crowds, for the stadium.”
The Saturday evening game time saw thousands of families stream into the stadium, reminiscent of the successful early years of the club.
An official attendance of 10,556 shows that the Mariners and A-league football are still popular among local families.
Mariners fan Mitchell Ryan and his son live in Newcastle and caught the train down to Gosford.
“I prefer the Saturday 5pm match as we can get there and back at a reasonable time; I usually go with my 7-year-old son,” he said.
“I think the club has good pre and post game entertainment.
“They provide good access to the players; we have posters and photos on the wall at home.
“We are very happy with what the club does – we are both ‘yellow’ members.
“We enjoyed the game [on Saturday] and thought it was one of the best A-league matches we have seen in some time.”
The one-all draw gives the Mariners a completion point and maintains their third spot on the Isuzu-Ute A-league ladder.
Melbourne City left Saturday’s game without the required competition points to claim the top of table title, though the surprise defeat of Adelaide United the day after handed City the title by default.
With two rounds left in the regular season competition, the Mariners now turn their sights to next Saturday, as they go head to head in the last F3 derby of the season against the Newcastle Jets at McDonald Jones Stadium on April 22.
The club is encouraging local fans to make the trip to Newcastle to help the team secure a win against the Jets, something that is never a done deal.
In a fortnight’s time, the Mariners fly to Adelaide to take on their competition second spot rivals Adelaide United at Coopers Stadium.
The outcome of both these matches will decide the final rankings on the ladder and hopefully give the local side a home finals game for local families and fans to savour.
David Abrahams