The Central Coast Mariners have cruised into the AFC Cup knockout rounds with a solid 3-0 win over Stallions Laguna in The Philippines last Friday night, December 8.
The Mariners, top dogs in Group G, faced-off against the group’s strugglers but had to tackle dodgy weather and a tricky fake turf playing field.
Manager/coach Mark Jackson’s crew needed to be switched on, and they delivered. They hogged the ball from the get-go and Marco Tulio broke the deadlock in the first half.
Super-sub Christian Theoharous added another in the second half, and Tulio sealed the deal with 10 to go.
Jackson shook things up with four changes from their 4-0 thrashing of Western United in the A-League. Nathan Paull was back from injury, teaming up with Dan Hall in defence.
Mikael Doka stepped in for Storm Roux and Harry Steele took Jacob Farrell’s spot at left-back.
In midfield, Will Wilson got the nod over Angel Torres, while Miguel Di Pizio and Jing Reec kept their spots after debuting last Friday.
The Mariners dominated early, forcing Stallions’ keeper Hayeson Hereda Pepito into action inside 10 minutes. Tulio’s magic moment came at 23 minutes, a classy finish over Pepito for a 1-0 lead.
The boys kept cool in the Philippines’ heat, with keeper Danny Vukovic pulling off a top save at 33 minutes.
The Mariners kept control in the second half, and Theoharous made it 2-0 with a deflected shot at 64 minutes.
Stallions nearly stirred things up with a free kick off the post at 77 minutes, but Tulio was having none of it, bagging his eighth of the competition with another smart finish at 79 minutes.
That’s the AFC Cup group stage sorted for Jackson and the lads; but no rest for the wicked.
They’re back to the grind with a brutal A-League run, jetting off for back-to-back away games in Melbourne and Brisbane over the next eight days.