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Central Coast have pulled off yet another A-League late escape to rescue a point in a 1-1 draw with Queensland at Bluetongue Stadium.
A stunning 30-metre free kick from Dutch import Serginho Van Dijk looked to have the Roar heading for a crucial away win before Mariners substitute Andre Gumprecht equalised in the 83rd minute with a cracker of his own.
Gumprecht fired home a volley from almost 25 metres out to again get the Mariners out of jail, just as Sasho Petrovski had done in last week’s 2-2 draw with Perth.
The draw means Queensland and Central Coast remain in third and fourth spots respectively.
The Roar are now four points behind leaders Adelaide while the Mariners have a one-point break on fifth-placed Wellington.
The Mariners, missing their top scorer Matt Simon due to a knee injury, were disappointing in the first half in front of almost 9,000 home fans, and turned over possession far too often.
Mariners winger Adrian Caceres had the first chance of the match when he caught the Roar on the counter and raced downfield before forcing a good save out of goalkeeper Liam Reddy.
Defender David D’Apuzzo earned a yellow card for a lunging tackle on Massimo Murdocca in the 10th minute, and Van Dijk made the ensuing free kick count.
Veteran midfielder Danny Tiatto laid the ball off to Van Dijk, who launched an unstoppable left-footed drive into the back of the net to score his first A-League goal from open play.
Central Coast did improve in the second half and midfielder Mile Jedinak came close to finding an equaliser in the 68th minute, only to be denied by another good Reddy stop.
Petrovski also went close, heading over the bar from close range, before Gumprecht struck with seven minutes remaining.
The Roar had cleared a Mariners free kick when Gumprecht came storming onto the ball, firing home from long range for his first goal since the inaugural season of the A-League in 2005-06.
The Mariners almost stole all three points when midfielder John Hutchinson’s shot from outside the box sailed centimetres wide in injury time.
Matchwinner Gumprecht, who came on for D’Apuzzo in the 54th minute, said he hoped his contribution would help him get back in contention for a starting berth.
“I was working hard and long for this day,” Gumprecht said.
“Coming on obviously and having an impact, that’s what I was looking for and it’s probably the only chance to get back into the team.
“When you come on you have to do something special.”
Roar coach Frank Farina was left to lament a positional error by his players in the free-kick that led to the equaliser and also a wasted 70th-minute chance when Murdocca opted to pass instead of shoot.
“It was a bit of confusion for the goal in terms of where players should have been,” Farina said.
“I’ve just told them there’s only one person that they listen to and that’s me.
“I thought we played quite well tonight … but I think we’re all a bit disappointed.”
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