Mariners clinch Grand Final berth

The Central Coast Mariners have secured an improbable Grand Final showdown with Sydney FC next Sunday after they stunned minor premiers Adelaide United 1-0 in their Hyundai A-League preliminary final this afternoon at Hindmarsh Stadium.

The Mariners’ Tom Pondeljak took advantage of an astonishing defensive error from United’s Adam van Dommele to put the visitors ahead in just the seventh minute, and they managed to maintain that margin throughout a tense second-half, with keeper Danny Vukovic particularly outstanding.

Adelaide simply could not find a way past the Mariners’ custodian, who made a string of important saves to extend Central Coast’s unbeaten streak to 12 matches. Team morale will sure to be at an all-time high for next week’s inaugural A-League decider and with all the pressure on red-hot favourites Sydney, the Mariners will fancy their chances of causing another upset.

In stark contrast, United will be bitterly disappointed with their early finals exit following a sparkling season that exceeded all expectations. Sadly a poor stretch of form- they were winless in their last six games- at the wrong time of the year cost them dearly, however, they have no-one to blame but themselves.

The Reds were eager to put the Mariners on the back foot from kick-off and they controlled the early midfield possession as the visitors struggled to find time on the ball.

That all changed in the seventh minute when Andre Gumprecht quickly broke into space on the right flank and delivered a low, bouncing cross into the six-yard box. United’s van Dommele looked set to clear the ball with ease, but he misjudged the bounce, allowing it to fall to Pondeljak who pounced and put Central Coast in front from point-blank range.

The goal seemed to lift the Mariners and with Damien Brown and Noel Spencer busy creating in the midfield, they were now the team doing the majority of the attacking. Gumprecht was also being given a free reign on the right hand side and he was instrumental in Central Coast’s incisive forward play. He forced a neat save from Reds’ keeper Daniel Beltrame, while Alex Wilkinson put a free header over the crossbar.

United had their own counter-attacking opportunities but hesitation and poor skill from Carl Veart and Shengqing Qu proved damaging. They picked up their performance towards half-time, with Brazilian import Fernando Rech drawing a brilliant one-handed save from Vukovic, but the Mariners’ defence was so far up to the task.

The trend continued in the second half as the Reds began to completely dominate the middle of the pitch through captain Ross Aloisi and Angelo Costanzo. With the help of some friends, they created a number of good chances that nearly resulted in the crucial equalizer for United. However, in a common tale for Adelaide this finals series, too often the last pass or shot would go awry and cancel out any quality work upfield.

Qu in particular was having a dirty afternoon, with his first touch deserting him, while Rech was quiet in between spasmodic flashes of brilliance. Much credit has to go to new Socceroo Michael Beauchamp and Andrew Clark, who kept a close watch on the Reds’ dynamic duo and snuffed out repeated forward thrusts.

Nevertheless, the chances came, firstly in the 70th minute, when Rech let a Costanzo pass run through, putting Qu through on goal with only the keeper to beat. Vukovic was up to the challenge, however, saving low down to preserve their slender lead.

That one-goal buffer was almost eliminated two minutes later after a Beauchamp foul on Qu on the edge of the box.

Rech’s dipping free kick had Vukovic rooted to the spot, but much to his relief, the ball cannoned into the crossbar and Central Coast could breathe easy once more.

Though committing fewer players forward than before, the visitors, led by the industrious Pondeljak, were able to launch rare attacks on the break that kept the desperate Adelaide side guessing.

In the end, United seemingly ran out of ideas; Dodd sprayed another shot badly wide and when a last-minute header from Michael Valkanis was cleared off the line, everyone in the Stadium knew it was going to be the Mariners’ day.

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