The Central Coast Mariners men secured their first victory in the Isuzu UTE A-League this season, defeating rivals Newcastle Jets 3-1 in a thrilling derby at Industree Group Stadium on Saturday evening, November 25.
Storm Roux’s late first-half goal and Will Wilson’s clinical finish in the second period gave the Mariners a commanding lead.
Although Archie Goodwin pulled one back for the Jets on 76 minutes, Jing Reec sealed the victory in stoppage time.
The Mariners dominated from the start, with Angel Torres nearly scoring within the first minute.
The Jets struggled to register shots in the first half, and Josh Nisbet’s effort clipped the crossbar on 41 minutes.
The breakthrough came in added time of the first half when Jacob Farrell’s cross was volleyed home by Roux.
The Mariners continued their dominance in the second half, with Wilson scoring on 57 minutes.
Despite a late goal from Goodwin, the Mariners defended well and secured the victory with Reec’s late goal.
Meanwhile, the Mariners women narrowly lost their game against Melbourne Victory in Melbourne 2-1 on Sunday afternoon, November 26.
The Victory scored first and looked likely to dominate the match.
Even so, coach Emily Husband’s young team played their hearts out by fighting back and scoring the equaliser in the 71st minute with an incredible goal by Faye Bryson after some fabulous work down the left hand side from Wurigumula who found Bryson, who then slotted the ball into the bottom corner.
With the score one goal each it looked likely a draw would result against the top form Victory side.
However, it was not to be when the Victory scored in extra time to take the game to a 2-1 home side victory for Victory.