Central Coast Mariners will square off against Guangzhou Evergrande in the second leg of the AFC Champions League Round of 16 tonight in Tianhe Stadium. We’ll have live scores from 10.00pm AEST.
The Mariners would be the second Australian club in history to progress past the Round of 16 if they’re able to overcome the deficit from their first leg fixture and defeat Evergrande.
Central Coast will have to play a game for the ages, as their Chinese opponents are sitting at the top of the Chinese Super League and are led by World-Cup winning coach Marcello Lippi.
In the first leg held in Gosford last week, the home side went down 2-1 as an early Mitchell Duke goal was overcome by the ‘Southern China Tigers’, as Guangzhou is known to fans.
Paraguayan Lucas Barrios, formerly of Borussia Dortmund, nabbed his third goal in the competition shortly after, and the teams entered the sheds at halftime equal on halftime.
Both teams had a number of chances in the game, but it was Brazilian Muriqui with 15 minutes to go who sealed the victory for Evergrande.
Muriqui is one of the most dangerous men in the competition, topping the tournament leaderboard with seven goals in as many games.
To progress to the quarterfinals, Guangzhou only needs a win, draw or a 1-0 loss, while the Mariners must score two goals without conceding.
The difference for the Mariners might be the return of centre back Trent Sainsbury, who missed the first game due to a hamstring injury.
A sentimental storyline for this match is that it could well be the last professional match for Patrick Zwaanswijk, who announced his retirement at the conclusion of the Mariners’ ACL campaign.
The Dutchman, 38, has had 14 seasons in top football, including three with the Mariners and 11 in the Dutch Eredivisie.
Join us on The Roar for live commentary from 10.00pm AEST.
Rob
Guest
the goalkeeper was probably the best player in this game
Rob
Guest
offside, but the goal was cool
Rob
Guest
very poor performance in this game
Rob
Guest
should've been a red + 5 match ban. that was violent
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
FULLTIME Central Coast Mariners 0 - 3 Guangzhou Evergrande The last Chinese side knocked the last Australian side out of the competition, and as for a player of the game, Muriqui definitely was the most dangerous for Evergrande. McGlinchey impressed for the Mariners, as he did last game (Lippi even noted him especially). The Mariners were outclassed, but not embarrassed, and they'll be back next year. It'll be the last game for Zwaanswijk, but perhaps the last for many other Mariners - Ryan, Ibini, Sainsbury all might depart. Zwaanswijk has been a great player for the Mariners and I wish him all the best in his future in coaching. Thanks for joining us on the Roar, next Australian football to look forward to will be the Socceroos!
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
FULLTIME Central Coast Mariners 0 - 3 Guangzhou Evergrande Mariners 37-game season comes to a close, and they've gone down 5-1 on aggregate. Unlucky not to get a consolation goal at the end. Lippi looks mildly interested in the entire affair.
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
94' Central Coast Mariners 0 - 3 Guangzhou Evergrande Whipped in.. GOAL! for McBreen. NO! Offside! Game over!
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
93' Central Coast Mariners 0 - 3 Guangzhou Evergrande Handball and a yellow for Zheng, and the Mariners will get a final free kick about 25 yards out.
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
92' Central Coast Mariners 0 - 3 Guangzhou Evergrande Montgomery has a strike, deflected for another corner. Cleared by Guangzhou, and they;re on the counter. Great tackle by Sainsbury on Conca.
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
91' Central Coast Mariners 0 - 3 Guangzhou Evergrande Ball for Sterjovski, onside but he didn't shoot and it was cleared for a corner.
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
90' Central Coast Mariners 0 - 3 Guangzhou Evergrande Long run by Conca, eventually brought down by Sainbury but no foul. Four minutes of stoppage time. One goal per minute for the Mariners?
BZ
Guest
should be a red, see the red scratches on that players tommy
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
88' Central Coast Mariners 0 - 3 Guangzhou Evergrande Junyan is stretchered off, and McBreen is pretty lucky to get away with yellow.
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
87' Central Coast Mariners 0 - 3 Guangzhou Evergrande Card for McBreen for bringing down Junyan. Kicked him in the chest, has stud marks on his stomach!
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
86' Central Coast Mariners 0 - 3 Guangzhou Evergrande Conca now offside. Lots of calls against Guangzhou in this half, not all of them correct.
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
84' Central Coast Mariners 0 - 3 Guangzhou Evergrande Rose puts a cross across the box but nobody is on it, and it drifts to the back post. Mariners with good possession but they can't work a shot easily.
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
83' Central Coast Mariners 0 - 3 Guangzhou Evergrande Rose so close! He worked his way through the defence and beat the keeper, all he needed to do was flick the ball in but Linpeng came from nowhere to clear! Ever so close for the Mariners.
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
82' Central Coast Mariners 0 - 3 Guangzhou Evergrande Muriqui called offside, lucky for the Mariners as he was alone with Ryan!
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
81' Central Coast Mariners 0 - 3 Guangzhou Evergrande Sterjovski puts the ball out of play despite good field position as Zhi is down injured. Good sportsmanship.
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
79' Central Coast Mariners 0 - 3 Guangzhou Evergrande Former Everton star Yakubu in the stands! Not much happening on the field.