Mariners coast to 4-0 victory over Adelaide United

The Central Coast Mariners have produced a dominant display to sweep aside Adelaide United 4-0 at Hindmarsh Stadium in tonight's A-League fixture.

Adelaide were put to the sword in the first half with goals to Mustafa Amini, Bernie Ibini and Patrick Zwaanswijk, while Rostyn Griffiths chipped in with a headed goal in the 66th minute.

Adelaide had no answers to the well-oiled Mariners machine and the result leaves the Reds anchored to the bottom of the Hyundai A-League ladder heading into next week’s grudge match with Melbourne Victory at Etihad.

The first 20 minutes were an even affair before the game exploded into life with the Mariners putting three quick-fire goals past Adelaide in a 10 minute goal flurry.

Adelaide had Galekovic to thank for keeping the scores level in the 26th minute, coming to the rescue with a wonder-save to deny an Amini shot which took a sharp deflection off an Adelaide player.

However, nothing could prevent Amini from scoring in the 29th minute when he ghosted behind his marker and received the ball one-on-one in front of goal after a perfect pass from Bojic. With little more to do, Amini calmly slid the ball past a helpless Galekovic.

The Mariners doubled their lead just three minutes later with Bernie Ibini the beneficiary, on hand to dispatch the ball into the Reds’ top corner.

Bojic was again involved as he fed Michael McGlinchey down the right side, whose cut-back found Ibini, who expertly powered the ball into the back of the net.

Adelaide’s game went from bad to worse in the 37th minute when referee, Kris Griffiths, awarded the Mariners a penalty after McKain pulled Ibini back while attempting to put away his second goal of the night.

The Mariners' Dutch defender, Patrick Zwaanswijk, stepped up to take the penalty and dispatched it with ease, consigning the Reds to a 3-0 deficit at half-time.

The Mariners had no intention to settle for their 3-0 lead and were unlucky not to pull further ahead in the 50th minute.

A brilliant overlapping run by Rose allowed him time and space on the ball to find Simon, whose first shot cannoned directly into Galekovic, while his second was blasted into the post to save Adelaide more embarrassment.

Adelaide’s laboured build-up play created no problems for the Mariners' defence, with the Reds' best chances coming on the counter.

Adelaide’s best chance of the second half came from an errant pass by Mariners' captain, Alex Wilkinson. The pass was cut-off by Watson who played a deft one-two with Djite before taking a left-footed shot that deflected over the bar for a Red corner.

The Mariners found their fourth in the 66th minute with a simple set-play opening up Adelaide’s defence. After Ibini was fouled by McKain on the edge of the box, McGlinchey’s floated free-kick fell perfectly to Griffiths, whose free header looped over Galekovic into the back of the net.

Adelaide's long-suffering fans had seen enough by this point and began their exodus from Hindmarsh as early as the 68th minute.

It was a comprehensive display by the Mariners, who needed a solid performance after an, at times, unconvincing showing last week against Melbourne Heart.

Attendance: 8437
Referee: Kris Griffiths

The Football Sack Player of the Year votes
3 votes: Pedj Bojic
2 votes: Mustafa Amini
1 vote: Patrick Zwaanswijk