Photo: Central Coast Mariners captain Alex Wilkinson (left) and Argentine star midfielder Patricio Perez [PlessPix]
Central Coast Mariners moved into second place on the A-League ladder with an exciting 3-2 win over North Queensland Fury at home at the Bluetongue Stadium in Gosford tonight.
“There is no justice in football,” said North Queensland Fury assistant coach, Stuart McLaren, who tried to make a point to the officials as they made their way to the dressing rooms at half-time but was waved away.
Referee Kurt Ams, who had a controversial debut in the A-League earlier this season, had another incident-packed match in his second game in charge.
He denied the Mariners a clear penalty in the 73rd minute when Fury captain Gareth Edds brought down Patricio Perez.
He had earlier awarded the home side a spot-kick for Brett Studman’s foul on Daniel McBreen. Perez scored from that one in the 57th minute to put the Mariners 2-1 ahead.
In the 79th minute, he sent off Fury’s Dyron Daal, who was shown a second yellow card after he protested the denial of a free-kick for his side when Chris Payne was brought down on the edge of the box.
Simon Storey has given Fury a 12th-minute lead with a left-footed drive from the right-hand corner of the box, the ball taking a slight deflection and deceiving 18-year-old keeper Matthew Ryan as it flew into the net.
Matt Simon equalised two minutes after the break in what proved to be a nail-biting, raid-sodden second half.
Both goalkeepers were in outstanding form in that second half and Ryan, in particular, made several key saves, including one in the 80th minute from Payne, and an even more brilliant one in the 89th minute from the same player.
Pasfield denied Simon in a one-on-one situation in the 66th minute after the striker had been put through by an inch-perfect pass from Perez.
In the 88th minute, Pasfield produced a marvellous save from Daniel McBreen, who headed his second effort wide after the ball came back to him from the initial save.
Fury had levelled at 2-2 in the 78th minute through an own-goal. A free-kick wide on the right by David Williams was knocked into his own net by McBreen, who was under pressure from Mark Hughes.
The Mariners’ winner came in the 2nd minute of stoppage time. Michael McGlinchey teased Fury’s Payne on the left, dragging him this way and that before sending over a left-footed cross towards the far post when Mariners central defender Patrick Zwaanswijk headed home despite the attentions of Isaka Cernak.
After the final whistle, hundreds of the 6,656 fans at the match, most of them supporting the Mariners, invaded the pitch. What the FFA will do about this is unclear, but it was with the approval of the home club as the pitch will be torn up on Sunday and replaced, meaning the Mariners will play the next half a dozen games away from home. Around Christmas time, they will play seven home matches in row. Some fans were seen collecting pieces of the Bluetongue turf as souvenirs.
The win was the Mariners; third in a row at home, while for the Fury, it was their third game in seven days.
Fury remain second-last on the ladder and in 10th spot.
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