Scoreless draw with Jets win of sorts for sinking Mariners
THE wooden spoon may be headed their way for the fourth time in fifth seasons but the Central Coast Mariners at least avoided an unwanted piece of A-League history in Gosford on Friday night.
The Mariners’ 0-0 draw with Newcastle snapped a run of 11 successive A-League defeats for Central Coast.
Twelve straight losses would have been a new ALeague record.
With two matches left to play, the Mariners’ season can’t end soon enough. But at least they will take some consolation from ending their depressing run of defeats, and delivering a blow to arch rivals Newcastle’s slim hopes of playing finals football.
From the high of beating first-placed Sydney FC 2-1 on Tuesday night, the eighthplaced Jets produced a disappointing performance in the 50th F3 derby.
Despite the Jets’ quick turnaround between games, Newcastle coach Carl Robinson rewarded the team that started against Sydney by naming the same 11. It meant star pair Dimitri Petratos and Joe Ledley again had to be content with spots among the substitutes. Early on it looked a wise decision, with Newcastle having the best of first half.
Bernie Ibini’s combination on the right with Matthew Millar caused the Mariners headaches. Millar got behind the Mariners’ defence in the 34th minute, and laid the ball into the path of Roy O’Donovan, but the Irish marksman was slow to react.
Impressive Ibini had two chances within 60 seconds in the 38th minute. The first was blocked by Mariners defender Ziggy Gordon, while the second was parried to safety by goalkeeper Mark Birighitti.
The Jets nearly paid for their wastefulness in the 43rd minute when Mariner Samuel Silvera forced Newcastle keeper Lewis Italiano into a smart save on his near post.