The Central Coast Mariners extended their unbeaten streak in the A-League to three games, four including the AFC, with an impressive 4-0 victory against Western United at Industree Group Stadium on Friday night, December 8.
Coach Mark Jackson made two changes to the line-up following their draw against Melbourne Victory. Miguel Di Pizio and Jing Reec made their starting debuts in place of Alou Kuol and Will Wilson.
Despite initially starting on the bench, Kuol later entered the game and scored the fourth goal after Dan Hall, Brian Kaltak, and Marco Tulio had already given the Mariners a commanding 3-0 lead at half-time.
The Mariners started strongly and took the lead in the 11th minute when Marco Tulio’s corner was headed home by Dan Hall, marking his first goal of the season.
The Mariners continued to press and almost doubled their lead just minutes later.
Josh Nisbet initiated the attack, weaving through Western’s defenders and passing to Torres, who set up Miguel Di Pizio for a shot on goal, however, the young player’s attempt was thwarted by a smart save from Thomas Heward-Belle.
Western United attempted to counter, but Danny Vukovic denied Noah Botic’s shot before Botic sent his second effort over the bar.
The Mariners remained a constant threat on the attack, with Torres narrowly missing his second goal in as many games.
However, the Mariners did find their second goal when Torres delivered a corner to the back post, and Brian Kaltak’s header looped into the net in a somewhat fortuitous manner.
The Mariners continued their dominance, adding a third goal. Jing Reec set up Torres, who then fed an unmarked Marco Tulio, and Tulio expertly curled the ball into the net.
Despite making three half-time substitutions in an attempt to mount a comeback, Western United struggled to break down the Mariners.
Miguel Di Pizio continued to impress but was denied by Heward-Belle on two occasions, including a shot that hit the crossbar just before he was substituted.
In the second half, Central Coast faced few threats, with Angus Thurgate’s long-range effort being the closest Western United came to scoring, narrowly missing the target.
Central Coast sealed the victory with a fourth goal in the final 10 minutes. A Mariners corner was not cleared properly, leading to a goal by Alou Kuol.
The Mariners made attempts to score a fifth goal in stoppage time, but both Marco Tulio and Alou Kuol were denied by the woodwork.
This 4-0 win moved the Mariners up to 9th place in the league standings, overtaking both Sydney FC and Perth Glory.
Their next focus is on securing a spot in the knockout stages of the AFC Cup with a Wednesday match against Stallion Laguna in The Philippines, followed by a game against Melbourne City this Sunday, December 17 at 5pm.