Wellington Phoenix 0-3 Central Coast Mariners: Phoenix suffer second successive home defeat

Wellington Phoenix 0-3 Central Coast Mariners

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Central Coast Mariners regained third spot on the A-League ladder with this impressive 3-0 away win over Wellington Phoenix at WestPac Stadium last night.

It was Wellington’s first-ever second successive loss at home.

The home side came close to scoring when both Simon Elliott and Tim Brown hit the Mariners’ woodwork.

But, two goals by left-back Josh Rose sank the Phoenix. Rose also had a hand in the visitors’ third goal 4 minutes from the end.

Michael McGlinchey should have put the Mariners ahead in the 11th minute, but side-footed over the bar from 12 metres.

The Mariners had another great chance on the quarter-hour when Simon’s shot was punched clear by Mark Paston, but only to Daniel McBreen, whose header looped over the bar.

Two minutes later, Josh Rose hit the opener when he picked up a diagonal ball from Mustafa Amini and cut in from the left before beating Paston with a low right-footed shot.

Wellington managed a response in the 29th minute when Paul Ifill finished off a slow but accurate build-up, featuring a switch in play from left to right and back again, by lifting his shot just over the bar.

Fifteen minutes from the end, substitute Adam Kwasnik went close for the Mariners with a low drive from the left that Paston got his fingertips to and conceded a corner.

It was still mostly the Mariners at this stage and, in the 79th minute, McBreen’s shot on the turn just cleared the bar.

A minute later, it was 2-0 as Rose again attacked down the left and cut inside to beat Troy Hearfield before sending a right-footed shot past Paston.

In the 86th minute, Rose repeated his party-trick down the left and this time fed McBreen in the middle of the box. McBreen turned with the ball and drove it low and hard towards the far post, where the lurking Kwasnik took the pace off the ball and turned it into the net from an acute angle for goal number three, much to the despair of Paston.

It was a sad ending for Phoenix captain Andrew Durante in what was his 100th A-League game.

Wellington are 7th on the ladder.

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Wellington Phoenix: Paston - North (Hearfield 78), Sigmund, Durante, Muscat - Brown (Daniel 73), Elliott, Lia - Bertos, Greenacre (MacAllister 81), Ifill [Substitute not used: Vukovic]

Central Coast Mariners: Ryan - Bojic, Wilkinson, Zwaanswijk (Doig 89), Rose - McGlinchey, Griffiths, Bozanic (Lewis 83) - Amini (Kwasnik 60) - Simon, McBreen [Substitute not used: Henderson]

Booked: Zwaanswijk 18, Bozanic 47, Simon 70

Goals: Rose 17, 80, Kwasnik 86

Ref: P Green