The Mariners broke a 22-game winless streak on the road, beating the Phoenix 3-1.
Playing on a pitch that didn’t look like a historical recreation of the Somme circa 1944, and wearing a strip that wasn’t identical to their opponent’s, the Phoenix and Mariners tussled, until a Central Coast surge, in an open second half, powered the visitors to a 3-1 win. As the first half ended, in a sort of numb haze of unrealised potential, there was a sort of heavy moistness in the air, the kind that precedes a storm after a long, hot spell; here it was baying for the introduction of new Mariners signing Luis Garcia. Stationed to kick off the second half, the want was satisfied, as Garcia was brought on for the second 45 minutes.
Immediately, the match opened up, yawing into a refreshing end-to-end affair. And Garcia, sensing his role in the occasion, provided an audacious moment of incisive clarity. Backheeling his team into the lead, he then laid on the second and third Central Coast goals, and suddenly a match that had shuffled around, pedestrian and suffocated, was illuminated. The Spaniard’s impact, as well as the rest of the action, had Twitter buzzing. Here are some of the best Tweets.
Well its not a sellout. Love the stadium tho #WELvCCM
— Ryan’s Rovers (@Ryans_Rovers) January 30, 2016
.@CCMariners have lost but scored in 11 of their last 12 away games, #WELvCCM
— Football Form Labs (@FootballFormLab) January 30, 2016
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Ready to do pots at half time #WELvCCM pic.twitter.com/Dh191oZzGJ
— Dave (@mcfcnorthstand3) January 30, 2016
Bloke seated in a Liverpool away kit keeps yelling out stuff to Luis García. Whatever it is he’s laughing. #WELvCCM pic.twitter.com/N9DHmAhqdf
— Les Street (@official_lesdog) January 30, 2016
Nice to see that the Middle Earth vibe is still strong in NZ. #AndMyAxe! #WELvCCM pic.twitter.com/1pi9YT6DcV
— Evan Morgan Grahame (@WWofSport) January 30, 2016
Hey @CCMariners, you may have sauce bottles, but Christchurch has oversized buttplugs. Your move. #WELvCCM pic.twitter.com/obpZ2KIVtG
— Yellow Fever (@YellowFever_NZ) January 30, 2016
Garcia, sensing the dearth of quality, delivers. #WELvCCM pic.twitter.com/m6wlKPYjqV
— Evan Morgan Grahame (@WWofSport) January 30, 2016
Two pieces of quality to turn this game the Mariners way from Luis Garcia. Age is no barrier for class. #WELvCCM
— Tommy Doleman (@TommyDoleman) January 30, 2016
Everyweek that goes past, watching this, i feel our license application gets further and further away! #WELvCCM
— keith block (@sarfend) January 30, 2016
74′ | Garcia is dominating this game, Nix defence struggling. Bonevacia skews one well wide. #Aleague #WELvCCM
— Outside90 (@Outside90) January 30, 2016
The Nix players should work in cosmetics because they can make anyone look good ? #WELvCCM
— shunz (@siannaaa_) January 30, 2016
As James McGarry, all 17 years of him, came on with 15 minutes to go.
So now we’re relying on a 17 year old to score and another player who’s played over 1,000 mins of pro footy with no goals? #WELvCCM
— Jeremy Shepherd (@J_Shepz) January 30, 2016
Meanwhile, the Mariners fans were like…
10 mins from our first clean sheet of the season. #WELvCCM #COYY
— Paul Hart (@pauLFChart) January 30, 2016
A clean sheet would escape them, as a 90th minute consolation goal dribbled in for Wellington. A third 3-1 loss for Wellington in four matches, and a big smile on the faces of football fans in Gosford.
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