Central Coast Mariners
0
Match Complete
Brisbane Roar FC
1
| 86' |  | L. Miller | ||
| 60' |  | C. Brown |
| 18 | Shots | 10 | ||
| 2 | On Target | 3 | ||
| 11 | Fouls | 9 | ||
| 5 | Corners | 4 | ||
| 1 | Offsides | 6 | ||
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 | ||
| 0 | Yellow Cards | 1 |
A mere three points separate Central Coast Mariners and Brisbane Roar on the A-League table as they battle for finals relevance tonight in Gosford. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog from 5pm (AEDT).
Robbie Fowler’s men head south on a four-game unbeaten run – their best of this campaign – and will be aiming to extend that tomorrow. They impressively saw off the in-form Wellington Phoenix last weekend, and Fowler is spoilt for choice when it comes to his attacking selections to face the Mariners. New recruit Scott McDonald made his debut from the bench against the Phoenix and looked solid, and it was Dylan Wenzel-Halls who arrived as a substitute to score the winner.
After their epic comeback win over Melbourne Victory two rounds ago it was of great disappointment to the Mariners when they succumbed to a thumping defeat by Western United in the following match – an unfortunate habit of the side, having lost the match proceeding each of their four wins this season.
If Central Coast are to rise away from the bottom of the table, clearly Alen Stajcic needs greater consistency from his players. They were wasteful in front of goal against United, so it will be interesting to see if Stajcic perseveres with Jordan Murray and Jair as his leading men against Roar.
A win would also bring the Mariners level on points with their opponents, albeit behind on goal difference. The Roar, however, will be confident about their chances of returning to Queensland with at least one point.
Catch all the action from Gosford with The Roar’s live coverage starting from 5pm (AEDT).
Game information
Kick-off: 5pm (AEDT)
Venue: Central Coast Stadium
TV: ABC TV, Fox Sports 505
Online: MyFootball Live App, Kayo Sports, ABC iView
Central Coast Mariners squad
1. Mark Birighitti (gk), 2. Ian Zygmunt Gordon, 3. jack Clisby, 4. Eunsun Kim, 6. Giancarlo Gallifuoco, 7. Milan Duric, 8; Michael McGlinchey, 9. Jordan Murray, 10. Tommy Oar, 11. Daniel DeSilva, 12. Adam Pearce (gk), 15. Kye Rowles, 17. Samuel Silvera, 18. Fianni Stensness, 19. Matthew Simon, 21. Ruon Tongyik, 26. Joshua Nisbet, 27. Lewis Miller, 29. Jair Britto, 30. Dylan Ruiz-Diaz
Brisbane Roar squad
1. Max Crocombe (gk), 2. Scott Neville, 3. Corey Brown, 4. Daniel Bowles, 5. Tom Aldred, 6. Macaulay Gillesphey, 8. Jacob Pepper, 10. Brad Inman, 15. Aaron Reardon, 19. Jack Hingert, 20. Aaron Amadi-Holloway, 21. Jamie Young (gk), 22. Jake McGing, 23. Dylan Wenzel-Halls, 25. Rahmat Akbari, 26. Jay O’Shea, 27. Kai Trewin, 28. Izaack powell, 30. Mirza Muratovic, 77. Scott McDonald
conorl
Roar Pro
Thanks for joining us for our live coverage of this game and apologies to Mariners fans for that tough watch!
conorl
Roar Pro
Match report: A lifeless contest in Gosford found late drama with Brisbane Roar escaping back to Queensland thanks to Corey Brown's shock goal. His winner made it five games unbeaten for Robbie Fowler's improving team and sees them rise to within five points away from the top four in the A-League table. Central Coast Mariners, however, will be left wondering how they didn't at least gain a point from this game. They peppered Jamie Young's goal throughout - 18 shots to Roar's 10 - but weren't clinical enough, a recurring problem in Alan Stajcic's team. The few who were present in Central Coast Stadium weren't greatly entertained in a dull opening 45, with precious moments of quality. Both goalkeepers were in prime form, both Young and Mark Birighitti pulling off outstanding saves to keep it goalless. It appeared to be heading to a stalemate until Brown's surprising winner: Slack defending allowed the midfielder through on the left hand side of the box and he improbably managed to squeeze a shot past Birighitti at the near post. The crowd were deflated and Mariners couldn't find a timely equaliser in the proceeding 10 minutes. They continue their awful trajectory of following a league win with two defeats, a terribly worrying trend. The Gosford side remain second from bottom, with another home tie against the equally struggling Western Sydney Wanderers up next. Roar, it's fair to say, should expect a tougher game next weekend when they travel to face leaders Sydney FC and their overall play will have to be massively better if they're to stand any chance against the high flyers.
Redondo
Roar Rookie
Hard to believe the Mariners lost that.
Coastyboi
Guest
Cheers for the blog. Better luck next time CCM. Improve that defence - get hungry!
conorl
Roar Pro
Match report to follow!
conorl
Roar Pro
FULL TIME: Roar will return to Queensland somehow with the three points! The home crowd are suitably deflated here at the end. Mariners 0-1 Roar
conorl
Roar Pro
93' - Rowles is covered in blood after a strong challenge and time will surely be up for Mariners now.
conorl
Roar Pro
The goalscorer Brown is down with some cramp. Wasting time.
conorl
Roar Pro
90' - Miller's curled cross is cut out by Gillesphey with the slide. Mariners 0-1 Roar
conorl
Roar Pro
Four minutes added at the end.
Coastyboi
Guest
Brisbane were simply more passionate in getting the ball. Silvera lost it - he went soft. Brisbane got it back & scored an easy goal.
conorl
Roar Pro
88' - Clisby tries to find an equaliser from distance but his shot is a wild one. Mariners 0-1 Roar
86'
conorl
Roar Pro
85' - GOAL! - Unbelievable. Roar have been behind all second half but Brown has squeezed in a late goal for the away side. Slack defending allows him in on the left hand side of the box and he slides a surprise shot past Birighitti. Mariners 0-1 Roar
conorl
Roar Pro
79' - Nisbet is urged to shoot and complies but his effort is easily blocked. Still goalless.
conorl
Roar Pro
76' - Fowler is next to spring a change with Amadi-Holloway on for Pepper. Still goalless.
conorl
Roar Pro
75' - De Silva comes off for Silvera for the home side. Lets see if he can make a difference with 15 minutes to go.
conorl
Roar Pro
CLOSE! - Young somehow stops Nisbet from grabbing the opener. His curling shot was heading for the top of the net before Young's tremendous save. Mariners 0-0 Roar
conorl
Roar Pro
Home hero Simon is making his way onto the pitch, replacing Oar. The crowd are reacting strongly to this.
conorl
Roar Pro
65' - Nisbet does well to win the corner for the home side.