Mariners triumph with set pieces, not luck

Here at The Football Sack we're not too fond of a ref bashing so I will steer clear of firing too much criticism towards the efforts of Gerard Parsons’ last night although if I was a member of the Melbourne Heart I would have plenty to say.

So in the words of Heart’s Manager John Van’t Schip;

“If you asked me we have spoken about it too much already . . . but Bolton was clearly held back by Simon; a corner was awarded that wasn’t a corner; and a hand ball was awarded that wasn’t a hand ball . . . they all resulted in goals”.

I'll leave it at that and move onto the rest of the match which was ultimately won by three successful set pieces by the Central Coast Mariners.

After 90 minutes of competitive play the 3-1 score line was not a direct result of the match with both sides putting in the hard yards in tough conditions.


On a heavy Bluetongue Stadium the humidity levels were beyond 80 and the temperature was touching 30 so the reliance on set pieces was always going to be crucial.

“We talked about it at the start of the week and we always knew that the Mariners were Dangerous off set pieces.

“We worked on defending them however it didn’t come off during the match and regardless of decisions not going our way we still have to be sharp with our marking,” said Van’t Schip.

“When we aren’t playing well we have to rely on our set pieces and tonight was a good example of that,” said Arnold.

Coach Graham Arnold was overly happy to walk away with three points after a scrappy win and knows how important it will be towards their campaign.

“At the end of the year we will look back at the amount of games we have played under our standards and won, the biggest positive is knowing we haven’t played our best and escaping with a win so we’re very pleased with that,” said Arnold.


Week in week out we talk about the drive, guts and determination of the boys from the Central Coast and this week was no different. They are known for overcoming the odds and getting the big results and Arnold is certainly one man that will put his hand up and vouch for them.

“I will never walk into a dressing shed and not be happy with the effort that my boys put in, it is always 100 percent and every week they die for me on the field so that will never be an issue for us,” said Arnold.

Ultimately the result of the match was decided through crucial set pieces on the back of a slow performance by the Mariners and a hint of luck provided through referee decisions.

“With the weather this week we haven’t trained much and I feel that most of the boys including myself were very flat,” said skipper Alex Wilkinson.

When questioned about the Brisbane Roar’s record breaking opportunity in their match against Perth Graham Arnold wished Ange Postecoglu good luck and showed his own comic talents.

“We are only 30 odd games away from breaking that record ourselves so good luck to them and I truly hope that they break the record tonight,” said Arnold.


The Mariners have now gone five games on the trot without a loss and their strength and character is partnering perfectly with their footballing attributes to become one of the top flight sides fulfilling second spot on the table.