Central Coast has taken a lead for a place in the preliminary final after defeating the Newcastle Jets 1-0 in the first leg of the minor semi-final at EnergyAustralia Stadium. Its only half time both Jets Coach Richard Money and newly called up Socceroo defender Jade North stressed at the post match press conference.
The win came courtesy of a second-half header from midfielder Matthew Osman, after an entertaining battle between the NSW rivals. The Mariners' unbeaten stretch is now up to 10 games, while the Jets' form slump continued with their third straight home defeat in which they have scored just one goal.
The Jets had a 4-4-2 formation with Richard Johnson returning to the starting line-up at the expense of Stuart Musialik but dropped to the bench
The Mariners also lined up with 4-4-2 with Andre Gumprecht returning from suspension, Alan Clark & Matthew Osman also started the game. Paul O'Grady, Jamie McMaster, Damen Brown all starters last week were on the bench.
The game commenced with a Mateo Corbo long range shot from 35 metres which sailed high and wide.
Both sides showed plenty of flair in their short passing games in the opening stages. The Mariners first opprtunity came in the 5th min with a Noel Spencer shot easily saved by Liam Reddy.
In the 10th min Stewart Petrie found space at the edge of the penalty area but his shot was wide of the upright.
The game's first clear chance came in the 17th minute when a Mariners cross from Osman slipped through the grasp of Liam Reddy, before striker Stewart Petrie headed over the bar.
The Jets then in the 19 min had a golden opportunity when Vaughan Coveny lofted a superb pass over the Mariners' defence and into the path of a charging Matthew Thompson, but the right midfielder blasted his shot over the cross bar directly in front of goal .
With the Jets starting to dominate, midfielder Paul Kohler in the 24 min was the next to misfire from close range after weaving his way into the box thanks to a slick back-heel from Ante Milicic who in turn received a back heel from Nick Carle.
In the 27 min a Petrie shot rebounded to Dean Heffernan his cross just failed to find Petrie.
Thompson disposed Herrernan in the 37 min and suddenly the Jets had a 3 on 2 but Thomson over hits his pass to Richard Johnson as Danny Vukovic comes out to cover. Two mins later Carle finds Thomson who threads a great pass to Ante Milicic but his shot is blocked by Alex Wilkinson.
Milicic unlocked the Central Coast defence with a sharp pass in the 42 min as the Jets are on top, to Thompson, but his first touch lets him down and Dean Heffernan makes a much needed covering tackle to clear the danger.
Just before half time a O'Sullivan shot on the volley from a cleared corner by Jade North finishes wide of the upright.
The second half started with a bang, Zelic finds Coveny who passes to Thompson finding space down the right before whipping in a cross to Milicic, whose near-post header forced a stunning diving save from Danny Vukovic.
In the 54 min the Mariners are on the attack when a cross from Osman found O'Sullivan wide on the left, the midfielder laying it back for Petrie who failed to get his attempt on target.
In the 57 min saw a controversal moment when Corbo fouled O'Sullivan who was charging though on goal, Referee Ben Williams showed a yellow card to the wrong player - Allan Picken. This was fortunate for the Jets as Corbo had already received a yellow card in the 18 min. In a comical scene Picken joined the Mariners players in arguing it was the wrong player, Picken was clearly pointing at Corbo to both the Referee and his Assistant. Both Carle and Johnson run across to Picken pushing him and telling him to 'shut up'.
Mins later it was more action at the other end when a great cross from Ned Zelic was met by a sensational defensive header from Osman, who outjumped Milicic to deflect the ball wide.
The Mariners were getting on top after the hour mark, they looked too fast for the Jets particularly on the break. Indeed one of Laurie McKinna's post match comments was ' we always back ourselves in the second half because of our superior fitness'.
Pondeljak went close with a header, he then broke away and passed to Gumprecht whose cross found Petrie only for him to head over. Poneljak in the 69 min crossed for Heffernan whose goal bound header was saved by Reddy.
A 72 min Thomson throw in saw Vukovic spill the ball, it evently fell to Carle whose shot beat the Goal Keeper but Clark was on hand to clear off the line.
The goal finally came in the 74th minute, Spencer getting his head to an O'Sullivan cross from the right to force a brillant one-handed save from Reddy, before Osman hammered home the winner with a diving header of his own, 1-0 Mariners. Osman raced across to celebrate in front of the 'sea of yellow' the many hundreds [Ed. thousands] of Mariners fans who travelled up the F3. McKinna commented at the post match press conference "the celebrations were a brilliant sight".
The Mariners then dominated the final 16 mins, their pace simply to much for the Jets. In the 78 min O'Sullivan found himself in the clear, he back passes back to Petrie who tees up Pondeljak in front of goal but Reddy saves brilliantly the fierce shot. Spencer then teed up an O'Sullivan shot from outside the penalty area which flashes past the far upright. A Pondeljak cross is missed by Gumprecht but Petrie is on hand to flick a shot just wide.
In the final minute O'Sullivan could have made it 2-0 with a header from point-blank range in injury time after a cross from Petrie, but Reddy moved low to his left to make an great save. Both coaches commenting at the post match press conference this could be a turning point. 2-0 would have been enough.
The Jets now head to Gosford next Friday needing a win to keep their season alive
A bunch of missed chances, notably from Matthew Thompson and Paul Kohler in the first half, meant all the home side's good work came undone in the final 20 minutes.
At the post match press conference everyone (coaches/players/press) agreed its great to see the real local derby atmosphere taking place with hundreds of visiting fans - it was estimated 1,800 Mariners fans made the trip to the EAS. Everyone also agreed the stadium (capacity 26,000) was more than half full and questioned the offical attendence of 10,236.
What the coaches/players had to say:
Richard Money:
"I thought it was a positive performance, I thought we played well, and I think we gave a performance many people didn't think we could give," "I thought the crowd had gone away happy. I thought it was an excellent cup tie, an excellent derby. I could not have asked any more of the players. We just need a break."As long as we keep creating chances I'm quite happy ... we'll go down to Gosford full of confidence." "This tie is not over. Anyone who thinks it is, is kidding themselves."
Jade North:
Its only half-time, we were solid all over the park. Its great to make the Socceroos team but I have some business to finish.
Lawrie McKinna:
"The strength of our squad is everyone has playeded" "Hard game ’Äì good local derby" "It was great to see 2,000 fans coming up from Gosford" - "Liam Reddy's saves were outstanding" - "They played well first half, we always back ourselves in the second half because of our superior fitness, we came home strong."
Matthew Osman:
"It was fantastic to score the winning goal"
Michael Beuchamp:
"A good week, the call up to the Socceroos is great, I hope to get a cap"