Fighting words by Central Coast almost came to fruition but in the end it was Queensland Roar who delivered the knockout blow in the A-League minor semi-final second leg clash on Friday night.
The Mariners vowed to come out swinging – or at least kicking – to stay alive in the finals hunt but could only lash out in frustration as Queensland booked a second straight preliminary final with a 2-1 win.
The Roar – who won the opening leg 2-0 at Gosford last Friday night – now play the loser of the Melbourne-Adelaide major semi-final.
The Roar scored either side of halftime thanks to young gun Mitch Nichols and foundation player Matt McKay before Nik Mrdja tried to breath life into the contest for Central Coast with a stunning 64th minute long range strike.
The Mariners had promised a more physical approach in the second leg, saying they would hunt in packs to “kick” the life out of the Roar at Suncorp Stadium.
However, the only impact the Mariners’ aggression made was on the referee’s report with the likes of Paul O’Grady earning yellow cards for awkward challenges.
Livewire Michael Zullo appeared to be on the receiving end of the majority of some ugly tackles.
At halftime, the Roar’s Scottish import Charlie Miller had clearly seen enough and appeared to exchange angry words with Mariners players as they walked off the field.
But it was Queensland who had the last laugh.
The Roar looked to have put the Mariners out of their misery when Matt McKay finished off a brilliant move he initiated in the 49th minute.
In a wonderful passage of play, his intercept was fed to Sergio van Dijk then Nichols before the ball eventually found McKay who duly hit the back of the net.
But the 23,705-strong largely fell silent when Mrdja’s effort proved too hot for Roar keeper Liam Reddy to give the Mariners at least a sniff of a boilover.
Nichols’ sublime deflection off a pinpoint Massimo Murdocca pass in the 21st minute locked up a 1-0 halftime lead for the Roar.
It continued a remarkable resurgence for Nichols since he snapped up a vacancy left by an injured Charlie Miller (hernia) in December.
The youngster who couldn’t get a game at the start of the season has scored five goals for the season to date – and three in as many games.
His goal lifted a Roar outfit that was reeling from the loss of former Socceroo Danny Tiatto (suspension), exciting winger Tahj Minniecon (hip) and veteran defender Josh McCloughan (groin).
To boot, Roar captain Craig Moore only returned to Brisbane on Friday morning due to Socceroos duty in Japan.
Mariners coach Lawrie McKinna admitted Nichols’ opening goal knocked the wind out of their sails – but he questioned its legality.
“Even at 0-0 at halftime we would have been comfortable with that,” he said.
“But that deflected goal … it’s hard to come back from that – a few heads dropped.
“I’d like to see the replay to see if he was offside or not.
“However, Queensland capitalised on our mistakes, like the good team that they are. No complaints, they were the better team over two legs and deserve to go through.”
But McKinna did complain about Frank Farina’s short-term signing of Silva.
“It seems strange that you can strengthen your team for the finals series,” he said.
“Maybe I’m old fashioned. I think it was a big surprise to a lot of people.
“But that’s the rules. And it didn’t cost us.
“But I think the players who went through the season should be the ones in the finals series.”
Farina defended his late signing.
“We have played by the rules,” he said. That is governed by the FFA. And the FFA said it is all OK.”
The Roar mentor also emphasised the importance of scoring first on Friday night.
“I think it was more important for them to score the first goal. Once we got that one it certainly took the wind out of their sails.
“We deserved it. It didn’t settle us because I thought we came into it very well settled – there was no sign of nerves from anyone.”
Farina said Minniecon was “no guarantee” of playing in the preliminary final.
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