HARBOURSPORT |
A-LEAGUE |
Already ahead 2-0 after their easy away win in the first leg, Queensland Roar compounded the Mariners' misery as they took out a 2-1 win at Suncorp Stadium to progress through to their second straight preliminary final and to eliminate Central Coast from the 2008-09 A-League. The Mariners were on the back foot and needed an early goal to get their campaign back on track; and went close to getting one only to be denied by a spectacular save from Roar keeper Liam Reddy. And although the Mariners had the majority of possession in the first 15 minutes, they were unable to make any impression on the scoreboard. Against the run of play, it was the Roar who opened the scoring. The Roar ran the ball downfield on the counter, Sergio Van Dijk having a strike which was kept out by Mariners' keeper Danny Vukovic, only for the crumbs to spill to Matt Nichols who made no mistake to get the home side on the board. It was 1-0 at the break, but any hopes the Mariners may have had of making a comeback were dealt a fatal blow just 3 minutes into the second half. A cross from Nichols found the head of Matt McKay, who banged the ball into the Mariners' net like a dagger into the Central Coast heart. The Mariners continued to work hard, and did get one goal back shortly after the hour. It was a long-range strike from substitute Nick Mrdja from well outside the area that got Central Coast on the board. But, still being down 4-1 on aggregate, the Mariners needed another 3 goals to tie up the contrast and progress on away goals. But they were unable to manage another, the Roar happy to play out time and ensure they would be just one more game away from the grand final. Queensland Roar 2 (M Nichols 21, M McKay 48) Central Coast Mariners 1 (N Mrdja 64). Yellow Cards : Roar - Nil. Mariners - N Boogaard 38, P O'Grady 43, D Heffernan 80, J Hutchinson 85. Referee - P Green. Crowd - 24,705 at Suncorp 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 Minor Semi-Final - 2nd Leg Queensland Roar 2 Central Coast Mariners 1 Major Semi-Final - 2nd Leg Melbourne Victory 4 Adelaide United 0 Saturday 21st February Preliminary Final Adelaide United v Queenalnd Roar (Hindmarsh Stadium, 7:00pm) Saturday 28th February Grand Final Melbourne Victory v (Telstra Dome, 7:30pm) All times shown are Sydney time |