The masters of last years A-League were given four of the best by the up and coming Central Coast Mariners, going down 0-4 at Gosford tonight through three first half goals and one just after the retart, consolidating the Mariners into 3rd spot on the table.
Though the Sydney side may have had their eyes fixed on moving into the six tonight after stringing some positive results together recently they did go in to the game with strikers Bruno Cazerine and Alex Brosque missing; while the Central Coast were without stiker Daniel McBreen but welcomed back right back Pedj Bojic who started and midfielder Patricio Perez who came off the bench.
Even the Mariners fans were stunned when it took just 33 seconds to go ahead. Sydney FC was dispossessed on the halfway line from the kick-off, and the Mariners quickly launched a counter-attack through Mustafa Amini. The youngster carried the ball forward and sent a perfect pass out to the right to Matt Simon who broke away. Simon crossed the ball with power to a lurking Kwasnik who half-volleyed it home. 1-0
The second goal came very soon after, to the hoots and cheers of the Gosford faithful. The goal-scorer turned provider, releasing Rose with a perfectly timed through-ball that split the Sydney defence. Rose furthered his movement down the left then cut in and crossed to a sprinting Matt Simon. Simon beat the diving Sydney 'keeper Ivan Necevski to the ball and netted himself a poacher's goal. 2-0
It took 10 minutes before Sydney even made something into a threat at the Mariners end, but young keeper Matt Ryan wqs quickly down to his left to smother a header from Mark Bridge.
The home team then pushed further ahead when Kwasnik made his brace in the 23rd minute, after Hayden Foxe miss-hit the ball trying to clear a Mariners cross from the left, only to see it skew into the path of Kwasnik. 3-0
It took the Mariners just 17 seconds to put the game beyond Sydney's likely reach when play resumed for the second half - although they didn't net the goal themselves. Matt Simon made a run down the left flank and crossed the ball into his waiting support. Sydney defender Sebastian Ryall threw his legs at the dipping ball in a desperate attempt to stop the pass finding its target. All he managed to do was to deflect the ball past his 'keeper Necevski.
The Mariners continued to press during the remainder of the game but perhaps not with the urgency of the whilrwind first half when they dominated possession and play; as one observer noted "they must have been viewing Brisbane Roar tapes all week".
In the end the starting debuts of 17-year-old talents Terry Antonis and DImitri Petratos, plus the infusion of Kofi Danning, were all that Sydney could threaten with. The enthusiasm of the debutants particularly pushing the Mariners back time and again, with Antonis ready to shoot on sight.
Mariners coach Graham Arnold said "It was a great start; you dream of those starts. The focus for the week has been reaction. We were all embarrassed by our performance last week (against the Roar). We wanted to show what the Mariners were about. I thought the football we played tonight was top-shelf. Forgetting the two goals in the first five minutes, the way we played tonight was fantastic. Especially in that first half with the way we moved the ball around.
"He (Kwasnik) has been brilliant all year, and I can say that honestly. He was the leading goal scorer in pre-season before having a brief flat period, but his attitude and his mentality has been first class. He's been scoring goals and adding spark off the bench before getting his opportunity through McBreen's suspension. He bided his time and now is giving me plenty of headaches", he added.
"It was an ideal time to bring Perez back. We couldn't have dreamed of a better time. Being up 4-nil and for him to go out and get a run, and get some rhythm back was a positive. Tonight showed there's plenty of pressure for places," Arnold also said.
Sydney coach Vitezslav Lavicka said "Firstly I would like to congratulate the Mariners for their performance but let me say sorry to all Sydney FC supporters for tonight". "There is no excuse for what we did tonight. The game was decided very early. We spoke about tactics before the game and we expected them to start aggressively especially after their result last week.
"Everything will be harder after this. Its football but we will have to show everyone the character of Sydney FC. It is important for us to recover right both mentally and physically for next weekend's game."