Melbourne City score five goals in consecutive matches, overrunning the Central Coast Mariners in a 5-1 win in Gosford.
The Mariners started brightly and should have taken the lead when Roy O’Donovan was put one-on-one against Sorensen. However, the Irishman failed to take his chance and his team was punished, conceding almost immediately as Harry Novillo completed a counter-attack.
Bruno Fornaroli struck in first-half stoppage time to dent the Mariner’s confidence, which was then truly crushed as Novillo, Stefan Mauk and Aaron Mooy found the net in the second stanza. Mitch Austin’s penalty provided some consolation for the Mariners, but it was another poor performance from the yellow and navy.
Central Coast Mariners
Paul Izzo – 6: Not at fault for any of the goals, but did draw himself into trouble on a couple of occasions with sloppy handling and decision-making.
Storm Roux – 6: Looked potent in attack but gave far too much space to Novillo. Unfortunately forced off after a collision with Uskok.
Jake McGing – 5.5: Struggled to cope with the intelligent movement of Fornaroli.
Jacob Poscoliero – 5: Lost the ball before the opening goal and struggled to play effectively out of defence all match. Shifted into central midfield after Ascroft went off but failed to shackle Mooy.
Josh Rose – 6: Not a bad performance by the stand-in captain, but Mauk did not provide the veteran with a proper test defensively. Brought off for Neill due to fatigue.
Harry Ascroft – 6.5: Covered Aaron Mooy admirably in the first half, but his lack of football this season let him down. Subbed off early in the second half after running out of energy.
Liam Rose – 6: Probably the youngster’s most convincing performance in the A-League with some good touches, but was often aimless in his defensive positioning.
Nick Fitzgerald – 7: Consistently created chances for himself and his teammates and tracked back well to try and help cover in defence. Has been great since returning from suspension.
Anthony Caceres – 6: As usual it was a patchy performance from the Mariners’ key creator, wowing the crowd with fine pieces of skill but also overplaying simple passes. Has not stepped up properly this season.
Mitch Austin – 6.5: Often made good openings with his electric pace and direct running, but lacked a good final touch from open play. Won and converted a penalty through an impressive effort.
Roy O’Donovan – 5: Squandered a host of chances throughout the match and often pressured the defence aimlessly on his own. Looks to have lost his killer instinct from the opening rounds.
Substitutes
Michael Neill – 4.5: Once again looked defensively suspect, lucky not to receive a yellow for a poor challenge.
Tomi Uskok – 5: Failed to stem the tide coming off the bench.
Josh Bingham – 5: Hardly saw the ball in his time on the park.
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