Mariners claim extra-time F3 Derby win

The Central Coast Mariners proved themselves to be fighters once again, battling through a game of missed chances right until the end to put away a goal for a 1-0 win against Newcastle Jets in the F3 Derby.

The day was certainly perfect for a derby as the crowd was decked out in yellow and the pre-game entertainment was provided by floating bottles of Masterfood's tomato sauce and mustard (mild American).

The goal came in the 94th minute and was crossed in from Glen Trifiro to Mitchell Duke who managed to pop it past goalkeeper Ben Kennedy and into the back of the net.

Despite starting off slowly, there were a number of chances for both teams and as the game went on, the Mariners started showing fans what they could do with the ball, putting together some great passes and play up front.

Phil Moss's desire to have “fans on the edge of their seats” was definitely achieved, in part due to some sloppy defending and also due to some brilliant moments of attack, especially from Malick Mane, who is fast proving himself as a fan favourite.

"I specifically went out looking for a player who would excite the fans," Moss said after the game, and it seems he has found just that.

Once the Mariners settled into a rhythm, they were looking dangerous in attack with chances created by Mane, Trifiro, John Hutchinson, Seung Yong Kim and Storm Roux.

In a pre-game interview, Moss said his team was going to be sticking to a process no matter what the scoreline, and it seems that perseverance has paid off.

"You're never going to have 94 minutes of perfect football," Moss said.

"Our defensive structure wasn't always pretty, but for the most part was resolute."

In fairness, the game only really started looking like a derby towards the last 10 minutes, with two yellows handed to Newcastle players Raffique Jaliens and Jonathan Steele.

The Jets fought hard, but evidently not hard enough.

"It was a cruel way to lose the game, that's for sure," Newcastle Jets coach Phil Stubbins said.

"Credit to Central Coast, they kept going and they put it away in the end."

It was a classic Mariners-style victory on paper, but the renewed attacking movement of Moss' side will have many Mariners fans excited or what's to come.



Central Coast XI: 2 Storm Roux, 3 Joshua Rose, 5 Zac Anderson, 7 John Hutchinson, 8 Nick Montgomery, 9 Mitchell Duke, 12 Liam Reddy (GK), 14 Malick Mane, 15 Matthew Sim, 25 Eddy Bosnar, 26 Seung Yong Kim

Central Coast subs: 1 Matthew Nash (GK), 10 Anthony Caceres, 11 Nick Fitzgerald, 18 Glen Trifiro, 23 Isaka Cernak–Okanya


Newcastle Jets: Mark Brighitti (GK), Scott Neville, Taylor Regan, Kew Raffique Jaliens, Joel Griffiths, Sam Gallagher, Edson Eli Montano Angulo, Jacob Pepper, James Virgili, Jonathan Steele, David Carney

Newcastle Jets subs: Ben Kennedy (GK), Jeronimo Morales Nuemann, Marcos Flores, Andrew Hoole, Zennon Caravella