Adelaide United surged into third place on the ladder following a 3-2 comeback win to cellar-dwellers Central Coast Mariners in Gosford on Sunday.
The Reds’ unbeaten run extended to 11 matches after overturning a first-half deficit thanks to goals from Isaias, Bruce Djite and Stefan Mauk ruled Fabio Ferreira’s strike irrelevant.
With the Valentine’s Day fixture delayed by four hours due to the heat, it was the visitors who looked to set the tempo early.
However, Ferreira opened the scoring against his former club just after the half hour mark, beating the offside trap, before imperturbably finishing past Eugene Galekovic.
Guillermo Amor’s men continued to press for an equaliser in the second stanza and found it through an unlikely source when Isaias struck a well-taken curling free-kick.
Adelaide then took the lead in contentious fashion with Djite quickest to react to Dylan McGowan’s header, only for replays to indicate the striker was patently offside.
Mauk’s stoppage time strike ultimately proved the winner, with Central Coast pulling one back due to a fortuitous Josh Bingham effort in the dying seconds of the game.
The results means Adelaide climb into third place ahead of both Melbourne teams and Sydney FC, while Central Coast are still stranded at the bottom of the table.
Reds still struggle to convert possession into goals
Adelaide unsurprisingly dominated the possession statistic, but failed to create clear-cut chances – resorting to long and optimistic balls into the box during the first interval. Isaias, in particular, was at times culpable for forcing the ball forward and giving possession away cheaply. However, credit must also go to the Mariners who defending with a greater urgency and discipline than in previous weeks. The Reds’ inability to capitalise on their territorial dominance was symptomatic of their struggles at the beginning of the season. United were winless in their opening eight rounds of the competition, despite controlling a number of those games. Amor will be hoping his side can improve on this evident flaw that has plagued the Reds for several years.
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Improved performance from Central Coast
Tony Walmsley’s troops were largely compact in defence following last week’s disastrous 4-0 loss to Brisbane. It was a disciplined display from the Mariners who have conceded the most goals this season. Throughout the first-half, the home side seemed more dangerous in attacking areas and posed a genuine threat on the break. Ferreira and Mitch Austin were electric on the break and it was no surprise their goal derived from a blistering counter-attack, exploiting Adelaide’s horrendous and inexplicable high defensive line. If the Marines can build on this outing than they can be quietly hopeful of avoiding the wooden spoon – after all the decisive goal to hand United the advantage was offside.
Isaias key to Adelaide’s success
The Spaniard again put in a man-of-the-match performance and continues to be key to the success of the Reds. Isaias’s proficiency to break up opposition play as well as ignite Adelaide’s attack is a reason why he is so valued. Although, he was a little sloppy with his distribution during the first-half, he capped off a sensational second 45 with a sumptuous free-kick that curled inside the far post and past a hapless Paul Izzo. The 29-year-old also had the confidence to dribble with the ball something which is not his strongest asset, but just illustrated the impressive form he is currently in. His free-kick was the catalyst in the comeback and is a massive testament to the belief now instilled in the squad.
Outside90 Player of the Year Votes
3 – Isaias
2 – Mitch Austin
1 – Craig Goodwin
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