|
|
|
Jeremy Ruane reports from over the Tasman off Sky TV
[ More .... ]
Last Gasp Winner For Coast A-League Season 2005-06 - Round 17 
 defeated New Zealand Knights FC 0  (The Marinators - Central Coast's vocal fans - had to wait to the end)
Central Coast Mariners, gunning for second place in the A League’s first season, almost slipped back a bit in their objective of eventually overhauling Sydney FC, on Sunday night, when a very determined New Zealand Knights held them out until the final minutes of a gritty game at Central Coast Stadium.
It took yet another goal from surprise scoring packet, Dean Heffernan, to silence the doubters who saw the men from across the Tasman Sea making off with a point that could only aid their cause in academic or morale-boosting terms, but would have left the Mariners feeling very frustrated.
As it was it was the Knights whose frustration was felt the keenest at the finish. They rarely got much going up front and struggled to get any great grip on possession, but they did defend well and seemed to be doing enough to last the distance.
Their intensity flagged only briefly; at the start and at the end of the second half and they were punished for that on the latter occasion when they had almost been made to suffer for it from the kick-off.
The Mariners began in positive vein, forcing a third minute corner from which energetic midfielder, Andre Gumprecht, had a chance that he almost put away. The ball was cleared to the talented German on the edge of the box and the low, well-struck shot was brilliantly turned away by a diving Glen Moss who was defending his right hand upright.
In the 31st minute, eventual match-winner, Heffernan, had a fine close-range shot blocked by a defender and the rebound came to Wayne O’Sullivan whose effort was wayward.
Naoki Imaya, toiling tirelessly for the Knights, crossed smartly from the left in the 34th but Kris Bright was narrowly wide from a spot at the near post, a let-off for the Mariners who were threatened by their opponents only occasionally.
Just before the break Central Coast skipper, Noel Spencer, smashed a good shot from 35 yards out that Moss was equal to and the follow-up effort from O’Sullivan again skidded wide.
John Hutchinson, who had a quiet game, managed to evade the offside tactic in the 49th to accept a fine pass from Heffernan, but Moss again did extra well to block the shot and Damien Brown could only find the side-netting when attempting to pick up the crumbs.
The Knights had one good opportunity in the 54th with Danny Vukovic stretching to tip over a rising shot from Bright, but the Mariners were gradually gaining most of the ball and did look like scoring at any time. Imaya dropped back to defend again in the 67th and did well to block Brown’s strong shot from 25 yards out but the force of the shot left him with a swollen knee and he had to come off.
Losing Imaya, according to Knights’ coach John Adshead, was a turning point. He had filled a 'hole' well for the visitors and they had to re-group.
“We had to bring on Ben Collett and he is a different type of player,” Adshead explained. “After that it was a lot harder for us.”
Central Coast went close to scoring again in the 79th when Heffernan nodded just over from a well flighted Spencer free kick. By contrast, whenever the Knights won any free kicks around the edge of the box, the balls were delivered harmlessly into the arms of the keeper.
With time ticking away the Knights appeared set to claim a point but sloppy clearances threatened to undo all their good work and in the last few minutes one such mistake allowed Heffernan to rifle the ball low past Moss, poor concentration in the dying stages bringing the Kiwis’ best efforts undone.
A collective sigh of relief was heard around the stadium as the ball landed in the back of the Knights’ net.
“We knew they would try and play this way, just as Newcastle did against Sydney on Friday night,” said Mariners’ coach Lawrie McKinna after the game.
“They did it well for long periods but that was an important win for us. We have now gone undefeated since the break and we’ve now won our last two, which has been pointed out to me is the first time we’ve done that. I hadn’t realised that until mentioned it,” admitted McKinna
Adshead was calm after the match knowing his side had done well until the last stages of the game.
“The main concern for us was the card count as we will have to do without several players for our next match in Newcastle.”
Imaya must also be in doubt. It looks like his knee injured at the start of the season has been damaged again.
A-League Season 2005-06 - Round 17 Crowd: 7,257
MATCH STATS:
Central Coast Mariners FC
Coach: Lawrie McKinna
Yellow Cards:
Paul O'Grady 90', Danny Vukovic '93 New Zealand Knights FC
: Coach: John Adshead
Yellow Cards:
Frank van Eijs 37', Sean Devine 59', Kris Bright 93', Jeremy Christie 93' Referee: Srebre Delovski 7/10 Pitch rating: 9/10 Game rating: 6/10 Best Players
:
3. Zenon Caravella (NZ) Match
Report by Corinthian
Disclaimer: The content of this report is the responsibility of the writer. Stats are either as recorded by the writer at the game, or as supplied by FFA, or a mixture - no responsibility can be taken for their compete accuracy although we do strive for that. FFA has not this season accredited any Photographers for BOTN, so any photos used here, if unattributed, are as supplied by FFA and used by permission.
Crafted
lovingly by hand |
