The Central Coast and Queensland served up a wonderfully entertaining match of football in Gosford but ultimately Queensland will see this as yet more points thrown away.

The game was only seven minutes old when Queensland took a somewhat fortuitous lead. Jordan Simpson, making his first start of the season, chased down a long ball and as the defender tried to clear, the ball ricocheted into the path of Alex Brosque who struck a sweet low drive to the left of Vukovic in the Mariners goal. It was a just reward for Brosque who has continued to work hard despite his 13 game goal drought.

The goal came somewhat against the run of play but Queensland continued to push on as they looked to build on their lead. Brosque almost grabbed his second when he headed over from a Spase Dilevski corner. Dilveski himself almost grabbed a goal with a drive just past the post although there did appear to be better options.

There were few other notable chances in a poor first half, mainly due to the wet conditions. The Mariners one chance of note came when Brown was denied by a superb tackle by Dodd. Dodd, in his last game for the Roar due to his move to Romania was having a  good game.

The second half couldn’t have started worse for the Roar, conceding an equaliser on 56 minutes. The ball was worked to John Hutchinson on the left hand side and he fired a low cross to the top of the box which caught the Queensland defence flat footed. Matthew Osman timed his run well to slam the ball into the top right corner leaving Willis no chance.

The Queensland goal came under siege for the next ten minutes with some poor Mariners striking the only reason the score remained level.

The crucial moment of the game came on 75 minutes. Baird, who had already been booked for a tussle with a Mariners defender – a decision in itself that seemed a little harsh given it was his first offence – went past a defender and went down in the box. The referee didn’t hesitate to send him off. Subsequent video footage showed that Baird’s foot was clipped on the way through.

It was reminiscent of McKay’s second dismissal and yet again exposes why the A League should have a tribunal system to allow teams to appeal poor decisions.

Despite this, only three minutes later, Queensland went ahead again. Todd Gava, who was also having a good game, played a wonderful ball through to Brosque who held off  Beauchamp before firing home his second of the game.

Unfortunately, Queensland couldn’t hold on. In injury time Kwasnik’s right foot cross was forced home by Dean Heffernan despite the attentions of several Queensland defenders.

A draw was probably a fair result given the game, but Queensland, yet again, will rue two points lost.

Match Ratings

Atmosphere:   5            The Central Coast have really failed to get behind their team

Crowd:             2          The Central Coast have had poor crowds all season and this was no different

Result:              4          A good draw given the Roar were down to 10 men, but it was frustrating to think how close they were to all three points

Referee:            5          The decision to send off Baird was poor but had a reasonable game other than that

Team Ratings

Willis                7          Couldn’t do anything about either goal and commanded his area well.

McLaren          6          Played well although showed his age at a few points

Dodd               7          Distribution was still poor but a better performance defensively

Gava                7          Must be staking his claim for a permanent start after another good performance

Dilevski            6          Crossing wasn’t quite on range

McKay            7          Became the second player to captain the Roar and worked hard, leading by example

Hyuk-Su Seo   6          Unusually anonymous in this game, overshadowed by McKay and Murdocca

Murdocca        7          Another good performance from Massimo showing signs he is regaining early season form

Richter             7          Provides another dimension to the Roar’s game when he plays and was a constant menace to the Mariners

Simpson J         7          Another excellent performance. Held the ball up well and provided a good foil to Brosque.

Brosque          8          Took both his goals well and combined it with a  superb all round performance. Man of the Match

Substitutes

Baird                5          Whilst his sending off was unlucky, his work rate was poor again and his head drops far too easily

Carro               6          Not really given long enough to impress.

Moon               n/a        Only on the pitch for a minute

Queensland’s season has been a real rollercoaster ride with promising wins followed by disappointing losses – particularly at home. With the A-League now stretching out and 10 points between leaders Adelaide and the Roar sat in 7^th place. The remaining eight games are therefore vital for Queensland to stay in touch with the top 4.

The Central Coast are only slightly better off in 5^th – three points out of the play-offs. Their morale boosting win over Melbourne came after two losses on the bounce.

In Queensland’s favour is the Mariners shocking home record which has seen 1 win and 1 draw from 6 games. Queensland’s away record is reasonable with 3 wins from 6 games and a draw.

In goal for the Mariners is likely to be John Crawley ahead of Danny Vukovic, who made his first appearance of the season against Melbourne. Crawley has been playing in the NSW Premier League with distinction and had a spell with Colo Colo in Chile early in his career. Vukovic was with the Parramatta Power in the NSL although had limited first team experience there.

Andrew Clark is likely to anchor the defence, alongside Michael Beauchamp. Clark also had a spell with Parramatta Power and also with Canberra Cosmos. Beauchamp was one of the key defenders in the Power’s grand final winning team of 03/04.

Dean Heffernan can play at left back or left mid. Heffernan also has plenty of NSL experience with Sydney Utd and Woollongong Wolves. He started his career as a striker so will be looking to get forward. He scored in the 2-1 loss against Melbourne but missed a sitter in the second half.

At right back is Alex Wilkinson. Wilkinson has been a fixture in Australia’s youth teams and is widely tipped for full honours as his career progresses. He played for Australia in the U17 World Cup in 2000. Impressed greatly while at the Northern Spirit from 2001-04 and had a brief spell in Japan with Kyoto Purple Sanga.

Heffernan and Wilkinson are the Mariners only ever-presents this season.

In central midfield is captain Noel Spencer. Spencer has had a long career in the NSL with spells at Woollongong Wolves and Northern Spirit. Spencer is versatile enough to play in defence and midfield. He has been among the goals this season with 4

Andre Gumprecht is one of the most experienced players in the A League with spells at German giants Bayer Leverkusen, Lecce in Italy as well as several smaller German clubs. He came to Australia in 2002 to join Perth Glory and was also part of the Power’s championship side.

At right mid is Wayne O’Sullivan, one of the Mariners less heralded players. The Irishman arrived in Australia in 2001 linking up with Parramatta after a career taking in Swindon Town, Cardiff City and Plymouth Argyle.

The Mariners have two strong attacking midfielders at their disposal in Tom Pondeljak and Leo Carle. Carle, brother of Jet Nick Carle is certainly one to watch for the future and Pondeljak brings a wealth of experience to the team. The Mariners are likely to start with Pondeljak after he was impressive in the loss to Melbourne and was unlucky not to score.

In attack, Stewart Petrie will lead the line. Petrie has had a long career making over 300 appearances in the Scottish leagues with Dunfermiline and Forfar, including several seasons in the top flight. He has played in the NSL with the Northern Spirit. Petrie has been in fine form this season – leading the Mariners scoring with 6 goals.

Season To Date

Leading Scorer: Petrie 6

Average Attendance: 7,159 (7^th)

TUQRS prediction: 1-0 win to Queensland