Mariners quietly go about making history in professional 2-0 win over Western
It wasn't spectacular but Central Coast Mariners 2-0 win over Western United was a big one. Big for the premiership race, big for Asian qualification, big for the Club Championship, and much more.
Tarneit, Melbourne — Sometimes games of football just kind of happen; nothing much of anything happens in them as it slowly slinks into a nondescript place in future season’s guide and Wikipedia sections. Central Coast Mariners’ trip to Tarneit and subsequent 2-0 win over Western United on Saturday was one of those games, even if the impact that will come from it is anything but nondescript.
Not only is the side from Gosford back on top of the table and in the box seat to lift the Premiers’ Plate but Mark Jackson’s side is now locked into a top-two finish with two games to go on the campaign. With Wellington barred from competing in Asian competition, that means they are guaranteed a place in the newly established AFC Champions League Elite next season.
Moving eight clear of Melbourne Victory with their win, the three points earned also ensure that the Mariners have secured the 2023-24 A-League Club Championship for the combined efforts of their men’s and women’s sides – a feather in the hat of a club who only re-entered the A-League Women this season after a long hiatus.
Of course, there’s no time to celebrate this just yet. Not only do they have two weeks of the regular season to come before the playoffs but they’re also up and heading to Melbourne Airport in the wee hours of Sunday morning to catch a flight to Kyrgyzstan, by way of a lengthy layover in Dubai, to face off against FK Abdish-Ata Kant at the Spartak Stadium Kyrgyzstan in the AFC Cup Inter-zonal Finals.
“Gruelling,” was how Jackson described it post-game, knowing that they’ll have to get back from Central Asia and play Adelaide United on Sunday — probably a good thing they’ve locked in a top-two finish as it gives them a bit of margin for error.
So a bit happening. Perhaps unlike Saturday afternoon in Melbourne’s west.
Clear-cut chances were few and far between across the 90 minutes at Ironbark Fields and, even when they were created, they were denied more often than not by errors on the part of the attacking side rather than decisive defensive action. After a first half in which, being charitable, can be described as cagey, business picked up somewhat in the second 45 but not enough to generally elevate it in the season’s annals.
Perhaps it was fittingly enough, then, that the opening goal of the game was created by a rather uncharacteristic skill error from Seb Pasquali: the United midfielder fluffing his attempted backpass off his opposite leg and into the feet of Josh Nisbet, who squared the ball for Max Balard to fire into the bottom corner of the net.
Of course, not to get too downtrodden, Christian Theoharous did produce a moment of magic in the 80th minute to put the game to bed, cutting back at the top of the box to give himself some space before rifling a left-footed effort into the top corner of the net, up where the spiders live and where keeper Tom Heward-Belle had no chance.
United had appeals for a handball penalty against Balard rather contentious turned down just after his goal – contentious in the sense that they’re the type of penalties that it feels like reviews have been awarding all season – but ultimately created very little outside of that moment.
Maybe, if you squint, the likes of Matt Grimaldi, Ben Garrucio, and Riku Danzaki could all claim to have threatened Danny Vukovic’s goal but it’s doubtful the veteran custodian would have broken into too much of a sweat.
And the Mariners would have their own claim on having chances of a similar ilk. Twice in the second half Angel Torres probably should have made it 2-0 but on both occasions – in almost the same area of the pitch, on the corner of the six-yard box – his effort would get away from him. Just how the Brazilian smashed a 74th-minute effort off the crossbar after his marker Khoder Kaddour took a fresh-air swing when attempting to clear a rather tepid cross from Mikael Doka, leaving him with an open look on goal, remains a mystery.
In the end, neither side would be able to break the one-goal mark when it came to those of the expected variety (xG), with United creating 1.07 xG off 11 shots – an average of 0.09 xG per shot – against the Mariners 0.98 xG off 13 shots – an average of 0.07.
But you don’t get points for winning on the stat sheet. You get them for winning on the pitch. And nobody has won more than the Central Coast Mariners in the A-Leagues in 2023-24.