Brisbane Roar have become the first side since well, the Brisbane Roar to defeat the Central Coast Mariners at the imposing fortress of Bluetongue Stadium, winning their Week 18 Hyundai A-League fixture 2-nil this evening. What has become the league’s most compelling rivalry over the last 18 months again offered the fans a high-class display of football defying the energy-sapping temperatures.
Graham Arnold was forced to make several changes to the team that last took to the field against Adelaide United a fortnight ago. Mat Ryan, Mustafa Amini and Oliver Bozanic were all unavailable due to Australian U23 commitments, and John Hutchinson was suspended after accruing his fifth yellow of the campaign. Justin Pasfield, Adrian Pellegrino and Tomas Rogic came into the match day squad.
With the knowledge that his immediate playing future is sorted, Bernie Ibini looked threatening early as he turned the Brisbane defence inside out with a probing run. However it was only a brief stand by the home side as the Roar wrestled back both momentum and the lead.
Erik Paartalu was on hand to blast home the opening goal on five minutes after some good lead up play by a former Mariner in Nick Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald was proving a handful every time he touched the ball and it was an intriguing battle between Pedj Bojic and the youngster as they both battled for superiority.
It wasn’t until the 13th minute when the home side were able to manufacture their first chance of the afternoon. Good vision from Adriano Pellegrino in midfield released Ibini who in turn found Troy Hearfield. Unfortunately for the marksman his resulting header went wide of the goal.
Hearfield wouldn’t have to wait long for another chance as the home side displayed the sort of form that has taken them to the summit of the Hyundai A-League table. Daniel McBreen picked out Hearfield with a lovely weighted through-ball after a quarter of an hour, but under pressure from the Brisbane defence he squeezed his shot wide.
The visitors had the chance to double their lead in the 17th minute when the ball bobbled on the turf past Justin Pasfield’s outstretched hand. Some scrambling defence saw the ball cleared, but only as far as Thomas Broich. The German responded by immediately unleashing a powerful drive from over 30 yards, which cannoned off the cross-bar.
Far from worrying about the near-miss, the Mariners set about counter-attacking and sheer speed suddenly saw McBreen have a chance at the other end of the park, but he was unable to steer his header past Michael Theoklitos.
Brisbane thought they had doubled their lead through Besart Berisha in the 27th minute only to be called back after Fitzgerald was ruled to have strayed into an offside position.
The decision triggered a period of resurgence for the home side. Despite being behind on the scoreboard the hosts were far from outplayed as the match was one of highest quality – as battles between the two combatants have traditionally been over the last eighteen months.
Hearfield went within a glove width of pulling back an equaliser after half an hour after unleashing a curling shot that Theoklitos parried away.
A turn-over on halfway and some quick reflexes by McBreen saw the Mariners turn a promising attack into a 3-on-1 situation, but some outstanding defensive composure from Bahrani international Mohamed Adnan thwarted Hearfield.
Inspired by the defensive effort, Brisbane went the length of the field seconds later and netted their second goal of the evening. Massimo Murdocca and Broich combined with sublime touches of skill to set up Berisha who made no mistake with his opportunity.
Down 2-nil at halftime, Graham Arnold clearly reinforced the importance of maintaining possession to his charges as they played a much more controlled tempo to begin the second half.
Their first real chance to pull a goal back came from Alex Wilkinson. The skipper was determined to lead from the front and in the 64th minute he headed across the face of goal, and despite his best efforts Ibini couldn’t quite make it to the bouncing ball and it was cleared harmlessly away by the Brisbane defence.
Pellegrino was the next Mariner to try his luck, but unfortunately for the midfielder his shot cannoned into the side netting.
Despite holding a significant possession advantage over the Roar, it was turning into that sort of match where the home side just couldn’t buy a goal.
Some good lead-up play from Tomas Rogic released Bojic with ten minutes to play but his shot was well held by Theoklitos.
Bojic repaid the favour to the talented youngster as the match wound down, but Rogic’s shot was off-target.
Brisbane had one final opportunity to finish off the Mariners, and ensure that their outstanding record in Gosford would remain intact, but some excellent keeping from Pasfield denied Fitzgerald as he pushed the ball away from the goal line.
The Mariners winning streak may have come to an end, but they were not outplayed in any sense of the word. Graham Arnold’s charges can now enjoy a brief respite before switching their attention to Melbourne Victory, a match that looms as vitally important as the Hyundai A-League regular season winds down.
Mariners Head Coach Arnold was upbeat after the match, again praising his players for their effort and desire.
“As I said to the boys after the game, it’s their first loss in 16 games and they’ve been fantastic,” Arnold said. “You’ve got to lose at some time – we only fell 20 short of Brisbane but that’s okay. So it’s one game, the boys have been fantastic”.
“With a bit of luck we could of got on the score sheet at 2-1 and then it might have been a much more different game then. But overall again I was extremely proud.”
“We got on with it and we look forward to next week.”
Arnold also praised Roar’s German attacking ace Thomas Broich – a player he feels can make the difference to any football match.
“Today I thought he (Broich) controlled the show again for them. He was the difference.”
“I’ve said it all along from day one that Brisbane was the team to beat again.”
Match Details
Central Coast Mariners 0
Brisbane Roar 2 (Paartalu 5’, Berisha 38’)
Central Coast Mariners: 20. Justin PASFIELD (GK), 2. Daniel McBREEN, 3. Joshua ROSE, 4. Pedj BOJIC, 6. Patrick ZWAANSWIJK, 8. Rostyn GRIFFITHS (16. Trent SAINSBURY 82’), 9. Bernie IBINI, 10. Adriano PELLEGRINO (17. Tomas ROGIC 66’), 12. Troy HEARFIELD (23. Adam KWASNIK 46’), 14. Michael McGLINCHEY, 18. Alex WILKINSON (C)
Subs not Used: 31. Brody CRANE (GK)
Yellow Cards: Pellegrino 13’, McBreen 35’, Zwaanswijk 44’, Bojic 75’, Sainsbury 88’
Red Cards: None
Brisbane Roar: 1. Michael THEOKLITOS (GK), 2. Matthew SMITH (C), 3. Shane STEFANUTTO, 5. Ivan FRAJIC, 6. Erik PAARTALU, 7. Besart BERISHA, 8. Massimo MURDOCCA, 10. HENRIQUE (21. James MEYER 61’), 16. Mohamed ADNAN, 22. Thomas BROICH, 24. Nick FITZGERALD (25. George LAMBADARIDIS 82’)
Subs not Used: 20. Andrew REDMAYNE (GK), 12. Matthew MUNDY
Yellow Cards: None
Red Cards: None
Referee: Kris GRIFFITHS-JONES
Crowd: 10, 217 at Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford