A 1-1 draw at Central Coast Stadium was the result for two teams who couldn’t afford to lose, as Roy O’Donovan’s 75th-minute header cancelled out Michael McGlinchey’s early opener against his former club.
The Mariners were clad in an all-pink kit, which was to be auctioned off post match to raise money for the Cancer Council of New South Wales. 22-year-old Justin Gulley made his debut appearance for the Phoenix at right-back after an injury to Tom Doyle, while Alex Rodriguez also made his first start of the season, in midfield, after Vince Lia’s side-lining through an injury problem of his own.
The Mariners brass band had clearly got referee Chris Beath in the mood with their rendition of Yellow Submarine. The Phoenix picked up the first yellow card of the game after just six minutes, with Roly Bonevacia going in the book for his first foul of the game. The Mariners’ first player to fall foul of the referee was not far behind, as Roy O’Donovan was shown a yellow for a hanging leg on debutant Gulley.
For all their early attacking verve, the Mariners fell behind in the eighth minute, and for the first time in this 2015/16 A-League season, the Phoenix opened the scoring in a match. It was Michael McGlinchey, playing his 150th match in the league, who scored against his former club once again, after being released by Roy Krishna’s pinpoint cross-field ball. McGlinchey took one touch to control, before firing home past a stranded Paul Izzo in the Mariners goal.
As the first half continued in Gosford, the Mariners held control, with right midfielder Fabio Ferreira causing Phoenix left back Manny Muscat problems with his pace and trickery. The right side continued to be a key launching pad for the Mariners forward runs, as right back Storm Roux, interestingly overlooked for New Zealand selection by All Whites coach Anthony Hudson, pressed high up the flank. On the 30th minute, as the rain began to fall, O Donovan had a close-range goal ruled out for offside, following a Mariners set-piece in pouring rain.
As the second-half kicked off, Ernie Merrick made a tactical change by bringing Jeffrey Sarpong off for Alex Rufer, who made his first appearance of the season for the Nix. And the yellow cards continued to be dished out, as Albert Riera went into the book early for a treading on the toes of Roux. Mariners made a substitution of their own in the 55th minute, Daniel Heffernan replaced Liam Rose as Tony Montgomery looked to the bench for a player to put away their myriad of chances.
It was Phoenix who had the next chance, as they used the counter-attack again for Bonevacia to hit Izzo and the post with a stinging shot with thirty minutes of the game to go. After that moment, it was all Central Coast again, as numerous half-chances were sent wide, as the Phoenix defended deep and tried to soak up the constant pressure. The Phoenix were struggling to deal with the Mariners and the pressure finally told when Irish veteran striker Roy O’Donovan scored a well-taken header with a quarter of an hour to go.
The final 10 minutes of the match saw the Nix throw on Matthew Ridenton and Louis Fenton as the Mariners looked for a winner, with the Phoenix suffering mental and physical lethargy to not fully stretch the team in Pink. The Mariners continued their dominance to the final whistle, but they just couldn’t find the back of the net to take all three points.
Click NEXT for the key talking points of the match and player of the year votes.
