Mariners Blown Away
As Mile Sterjovski stood waiting to take the penalty in the 51st minute no one could have imagined that a quarter of an hour later the Phoenix would be leading 3-1. The Mariners had been going all right up to that point, had played some good football, and although Cunningham had grabbed an equaliser for Wellington the Mariners seemed set to go on and win it. But Sterjovski’s penalty was saved as Glen Moss guessed the right way and two goals just after the hour had Phoenix in the driver’s seat.
With a club record four players missing because of suspension the Mariners brought back captain John Hutchinson, introduced Kim Seung-yong for his home debut, gave Matt Sim a massive promotion from the NSW PL to the A League and had Glen Trifiro and Tom Slater on the bench for the first time. Anthony Caceres also dropped to the bench.
Early exchanges were even: Chesty Bond cleared off the line from Huysegems; Cunningham missed a great chance from a header, and Duke should have scored after latching on to Liam Reddy’s long ball. Bernie brought order to the proceeding when he took a smooth pass from Kim, stepped inside, and calmly placed the ball beyond Moss’s despairing dive.
Moments later Duke was almost in after good work by Roux on the right. The Mariners were playing good football, moving the ball quickly, closing down the Phoenix in midfield and were first to every second ball. Kim was impressing with easy skills and confident passing - with a Musti Amini smile to boot! Sim was settling in well, providing width on the left, and Hutcho was pushing forward in a manner not seen since Lawrie McKinna was a boy. Apart from an Eddie Bosnar free kick that had all the pace of a Johnny Howard off-break what wasn’t there to like? It seemed just a matter of time before the Mariners would claim all three points.
Unfortunately Wellington had not read the script: they equalised immediately after the resumption of play. Central Coast born and bred Reece Caira attacked down the left and a deflection took his cross to the quick feet of Cunningham who drilled the chance past Reddy.
The Mariners, shaken but unbowed, took the game straight back down the other end; Anderson headed over from a corner; and then came Sterjovski’s penalty. It was a most fortuitous award but you expected Sterjovski, one of the best penalty takers in the game, to regain the lead. His shot was well placed but had no venom and Moss scrambled the ball way.
Perversely, the miss seemed to lift the Mariners; Wellington was penned back under the weight of cleverly crafted attacks. This was quality football; none more so than Hutchinson’s outstanding first time pass down the line to the willing Sim. It wasn’t to last; the Mariners began to tire; Wellington responded with positive football of their own.
Hernandez stunned the crowd with a devastating shot to the top corner from 25 metres; it is his trademark and there was nothing the Mariners could do to stop it. Minutes later the visibly rattled defence conceded one of the worst goals in years. A team that prides itself on defence was found to be built of straw as Wellington blew and blew, and blew the house down. Or, rather, Cunningham aggressively chased a bouncing ball and the defenders lined up like a line of dominoes and obligingly fell over in front of him. Huysegems tidied up the mess and put the Phoenix almost out of sight.
Caceres came on for Kim, who got a generous round of applause, and Sterjovski should have done better from a great ball from Sim. Sim was getting better and better; another great cross but no one could finish it off. Sterjovski knew it wasn’t his day when he hit the post after good work from Roux and Duke on the right.
Jeremy Brockie tapped in the fourth to rub salt in the wound; Tom Slater who joined the club this season, and Glen Trifiro who was a foundation Mariners youth player in 2008, came on to make their A League debuts as the Mariners slumped to their fourth defeat in a row.
It is said that as the Titanic went down, the band stoically played on as the magnificent liner slipped beneath the icy waves. The band at Central Coast Stadium gamely played on too, as the Mariners, sinking faster than the proverbial stone, looked more likely to be heading for the Wooden Spoon than any chance of the Finals. These are tough times for Phil Moss, given the worst of all hospital passes by circumstance, but he has to turn this around. He can’t still talk about transition; he is now in charge of a team that can’t defend, can’t score goals and looks alarming short of fitness.
My choice of MoM is between John Hutchinson, who put more into this game than he has all season, and Mat Sim, a part-time professional who seemed to have more get up and go than most around him. I will give it to Sim for a very promising A League debut.
