The Mariners defeated Wellington 2-0 on Saturday night through a second half header by John Aloisi and a shot in the 93rd minute by Adam Kwasnik. The win in rain soaked Gosford leap-frogged the Coast over Newcastle Jets to take top spot overnight, as they await their fate through the final two games on Sunday. In so doing they also handed the Phoenix the wooden spoon.
It wasn't pretty given the atrocious conditions, it wasn't a great spectacle, but for the nearly ten thousand bedraggled Coast fans who faithfully made their way from across the Coast and drove up from Sydney on a treacherous F3, the win meant a lot after 3 straight home defeats. No-one was talking that their team had regained form but there was evidence that the finals series may not be a short lived experience and that coveted Asian Champions League spot was not out of reach.
The rain was falling and mist hung around Mount Mouat and President's Hill, as the game started. It took time for the players to adjust to the slippery conditions and it was noticeeable that those who had played in Europe were more confident in controlling the ball early.
The Phoenix left its Brasilians and Vaughan Coveny out and gave a start to Kiwi U17 captain Costa Barbarouses. The Mariners put yellow card encumbured striker Saso Petrovski on the bench, starting young Matt Simon in tandem with John Aloisi, and in came defenders Tony Vidmar and Nigel Boogaard.
The Coast started well with a free kick by Alvin Ceccoli from the left 20 metres out headed just over by Mile Jedinak.
First chance to the 'Nix was probbaly their best, when Danny Vukovic miss-judged his stability when going down for a ball at Costa Babarouses feet and he slipped and sprawled awkwardly, allowing the youngster a shot - but it hit the side netting from an acute angle on the left.
The Mariners really had several early chances to put the Wellington side away as they had done in Round 2 but the jitters of the last few weeks were still there. A great run in the 13th minute by Tommy Pondeljak resulted in a pass to an unmarked Matt Simon but the East Gosford man whacked it way over, with his head back.
One minute later Pondeljak was just over with a volley from a corner on the left, and shortly after Adam Kwasnik sent a ball over the defence and John Hutchinson challenged the keeper for possession but the custiodian made it his own. Hutchinson headed wide off under pressure off a Kwasnik cross.
In the 20th minute Pondejak's shot rebounded to Matt Simon but again be blasted over.
Profligate striker Matt Simon, who started the game ahead of Saso Petrovski, came off in the 37th minute suffering from a badly bruised hip and was replaced by midfielder Andre Gumprecht who added even more bite to the middle of the park, and allowed Kwasnik to parter Aloisi.
Really the Mariners should have been 3 or 4 goals up by halftime, with the closest chance a header by Mile Jedinak off the crossbar in the 39th minute from a Hutchinson free kick.
After the break, with rain still falling, the Phoenix made the first chance, with the dangerous Shane Smetz turning in the area, and shot but luckily for the locals straight at Danny Vukovic.
In the 52nd minute however the Mariners grabbed the initative when Tom Pondeljak moved up the right flank and, although pushed wide, he sent a cross in that evaded the defenders but was connected with by a leaping John Aloisi. His fierce header beat Moss easily. 1-0
Wellington looked to respond when defender Tony Lochhead pushed up on the left and almost evaded the defence as he zeroed in on goal.
In the 61st minute that man Moss again interceded as substitute Saso Petrovski benefited from a series of one-two moves out of midfield.
Lochhead again got into a usefull location but his shot was wide, and anyway covered by Vukovic.
With the Coast defence more sure of foot and organisation, Phoenix striker Barbarouses was relegated to an 80th minute speculator, and even the injection of Ahmad Elrich, who got a ball into substitute striker Greg Draper that he sent wide across goal from the edge of the area, helped.
Referee Kevin Docherty, who usually runs the line at Docklands when the Victory are at home, had been given his second HAL game (the first in 2006/07). How he missed the three arguably illegal attempts by Kristian Rees to thwart Petrovski in the box eludes this correspondent. He didn't, so that was that.
Perhaps karma then when in the 93rd minute Pondeljak repeated a run up the right, and from out near the corner post he sent in a ball that moved away from goal. The line was picked up by Adam Kwasnik, ran into range and unmarked thrashed the ball fron 25m into the right top of the net. 2-0
That was how it ended, and while the Wellington players saluted a small know of their Yellow Fever supporters a long way from home, the Mariners fans breathed a huge collective sigh, and burst into cheers and applause. Well they might, from relief at least, for they had relegated their derby rivals Newcastle to a lower place on the table that the yellow, and been given a real chance of the Premiers Plate.
"Everybody talks about a slump and stuff like that and we have let a few bad goals in recently, but we’ve still been creating chances and tonight proved that," said Mariners coach Lawrie McKinna after the match. "We were solid at the back, solid in midfield and solid up front and we could have had two or three goals by half time easily and the pressure would have been off.
"The good thing tonight is that we kept our composure and we kept plugging away without panicking. "It’s a fantastic result, a great performance and in front of a great crowd considering the conditions." "Our goal tonight was not to lose goals and to build a bit of confidence and momentum going into the Finals Series," said McKinna.
John Aloisi said the team thrives on the underdog tag. "I think the boys were quite confident today because there wasn't the pressure of past weeks now that we are underdogs". "Everyone had been writing us off in the past two weeks due to our results. In one of the papers today it said that we were 'heroic failures' and so the boys were pumped up before the game," Aloisi said. "This is the situation we like to be in when everyone is writing us off."
He added, "We knew the goal would come and it was a great header by John, but the second one just puts that added pressure on Sydney. "Since the Sydney game we haven’t really had any luck, but you make your own luck and tonight we deserved it."
The Mariners now await the outcome of Sunday's remaining Hyundai A-League fixtures – Sydney FC at home to the Melbourne Victory and the Queensland Roar away to Adelaide United, before learning their immediate fate in the 2008 Finals Series.
According the the Mariners camp the equation is this – should Sydney FC fail to beat the Victory by two goals or more, or score five or more goals and win by just one, the Mariners will finish the Hyundai A-League 2007/08 in at least second position and secure a berth in the Major Semi Final playoff series.
Furthermore, should the Queensland Roar record anything other than a win away to Adelaide United, coupled with the aforementioned equation involving Sydney FC, the Mariners will claim the Hyundai A-League Premiership.
The Premiers Plate will be in Adelaide just in case, awaiting the last game, but there are many on the east coast who will be willing it back to Gosford for presentation.