Roar and Mariners still deadlocked

If past history was anything to go by then you didn’t have to be Nostradamus to predict the outcome of this match. Roar have now met the Central Coast Mariners on five occasions in the Hyundai A-League and every encounter has ended in a stalemate.

Miron Bleiberg made four changes to the side that lost at home to Newcastle last week and as usual his troops started in a positive mood and applied good early pressure on the Mariners’ rearguard. Yuning Zhang was showing some nice touches and Matt McKay was as busy as ever in the middle of the park.

Young defender Ben Griffin showed his quality and versatility in a defensive midfield role and had the crowd on their feet with a superb challenge on Wayne O’Sullivan that almost created an opening for the first goal.

The visitors always posed a threat, particularly with the enigmatic Damien Mori leading the frontline, and it was he that opened the scoring on the 20 minute mark with another example of master-class finishing.

Mori turned Josh McCloughan on the edge of the box and used his strength to create the space for a shot that trickled in off the post, despite a touch from goalkeeper Liam Reddy.

Roar fought back strongly to try and restore parity before the break, but met dogged resistance from the Mariners’ tight backline who were marshalled superbly by Noel Spencer.

The second half was only five minutes old though when Roar did find the equaliser. Stuart McLaren forced a corner that was delivered expertly to the far post by Spase Dilevski. In wait was unmarked Brazilian striker Reinaldo and he finished superbly with a textbook downward header that sparked an even more spectacular celebration.

Mori and Pondeljak both went close soon after for Lawrie McKinna’s side, but for the remainder of the game it was virtually one-way traffic as Roar poured forward in search of the winner. Milicic, Reinaldo, Packer and substitute Marcus Wedau all had near misses, but perhaps the best chance fell to Socceroo Matt McKay. Sent clear by a cheeky through ball from Zhang, McKay bore down on goal but could only watch in agony as his shot drifted just wide of the post.

Despite the disappointment of failing to take all three points, Roar Coach Miron Bleiberg said the supporters should be proud of the team’s efforts after a positive performance.

“Yes, the game was there for the taking, but overall it was a good performance and a big improvement on last week. The people of Queensland should be proud that they have a good football team. I could not criticise any of the 14 players that took part in this match,” he said.

“We were a bit short in personnel for this game but all the players that came in did well and put the Mariners under a lot of pressure. I’m disappointed for not winning, but happy with the way we played and the commitment of the players,” he added.

The result still elevates Roar to second spot on the Hyundai A-League ladder by virtue of a superior goal difference to that of third-placed Adelaide United.

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