HARBOURSPORT |
A-LEAGUE |
Just 9,514 people, the smallest crowd ever to attend an A- League finals match, were on hand at Central Coast Stadium; and the majority would go home disappointed after Queensland Roar continued their run of success on the Central Coast to take a 2-0 away win to gain a virtually insurmountable advantage in their minor semi-final tie. The Mariners started the match full of running, and with a bit of luck could have taken an early lead. A low shot by Dylan Macallister was saved by Roar keeper Liam Reddy inside the first minute, and not long later Macallister had another golden opportunity but after he had the keeper beaten sprayed the ball wide of the net. The Roar steadied, and having survived the early onslaught, began to work their way back into the match. But it wasn't until shortly after the half hour until the Queensland side got a genuine scoring opportunity. It came with a cross from Tahj Minniecon, which Mitch Nichols pounced on to head the ball into the Mariners' net to take the Roar to a 1-0 lead against the run of play. The Mariners had the majority of possession over the remainder of the first half, but were unable to create any serious scoring opportunities and the Roar came in 1-0 ahead at the break. The Roar started the better in the second half, and it took just 9 minutes to double their lead. The ball moved forward into the box, and Paul O'Grady brought down Mitch Nichols. Referee Ben Williams had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, and Sergio van Dijk made no mistake to slot home the penalty. With 2 important away goals in their keeping, and the match looking safe, the Roar were content to play out time. But suddenly at 75 minutes such a tactic became dangerous when Danny Tiatto was shown his second yellow card for the game and was ordered from the field. But despite the Mariners having the advantage of an extra player over the final 15 minutes, they never looked like getting a goal back. With a 2-0 away win in the first leg, the Roar have a huge advantage in the semi-final tie, and only a miracle on the road will see the Mariners survive beyong the second leg in Brisbane next week. Central Coast Mariners 0 Queensland Roar 2 (M Nichols 32, S van Dijk 54pen). Yellow Cards : Mariners - Nil. Roar - D Tiatto 33,75, A Packer 55, A Zullo 58. Red Cards : Roar - D Tiatto 75. Referee - B Williams. Crowd - 9,514 at Bluetongue Stadium. |
FINALS FIXTURES - SEMI FINALS Minor Semi-Final - 1st Leg Central Coast Mariners 0 Queensland Roar 2 Major Semi-Final - 1st Leg Adelaide United 0 Melbourne Victory 2 Friday 13th February Minor Semi-Final - 2nd Leg Queensland Roar v Central Coast Mariners (Suncorp Stadium, 8:30pm) Saturday 14th February Major Semi-Final - 2nd Leg Melbourne Victory v Queensland Roar (Telstra Dome, 7:00pm) All times shown are Sydney time |