Goals from Brendon Santalab and Alvaro Cejudo awarded the Wanderers their second win of the season and coach Josep Gombau’s first since taking over in what was a fine game of football but for the VAR which stole a march to grab the headlines after two delayed red cards given to the Mariners.

The red mist descended on the home support at Gosford Stadium as both expulsions were, in the eyes of many, awarded harshly and with a skewed sense of severity due to the tendency of slow motion replays to make tackles seem more aggressive than they appeared.

CENTRAL COAST MARINERS

Ben Kennedy (GK) – 4

He’ll be embarrassed to be beaten at his near post from a shot that came outside the box – goalkeeper must do better from that situation.

Jake McGing – 7

Ran relentlessly down the right flank and his crosses into the area were almost always dangerous. It’s remarkable how quickly he’s risen to be an effective full-back. Relocated to central midfield after Brama’s sending off and then was sent off himself after another VAR incident.

Alan Baro (C) – 6

Not his finest game; he was dragged across enough on the Wanderers second goal to open up space for Cejudo to move into and score.

Antony Golec – 7

Golec looks good when on the ball and making aerial interceptions, but will be disappointed that both Western Sydney goals originated through his side of central defence.

Josh Rose – 5

Didn’t commit any major mistakes but was given the run-around at times by Jumpei Kusukami zipping down his flank and occasionally overcooked a pass up the line.

 

Wout Brama – 6

Locked into a good battle with compatriot Roly Bonevacia and was collected several times by Western Sydney players, he took charge of the middle with Tom Hiariej still missing but also put in little effort to protect his defence on the goals. He was harshly sent off in another bout of VAR controversy.

Liam Rose – 5

He can be categorised similarly to Wout Brama in that he could’ve done much more to protect his defence for both goals, but additionally didn’t offer as much as his Dutch teammate when going forward.

Danny De Silva – 5

The Wanderers dominating possession meat De Silva’s influence was limited. He had his momentary flashes but ultimately struggled to play the sharp ball or make a darting run to penetrate the opposition.

Andrew Hoole – 7

Executed a lovely roulette in midfield which was surprisingly effective in gliding past an opponent. His bread and butter is playing in teammates in better positions.

Connor Pain – 6

Pain’s speed was on show again with an array of angled runs into the box, but his golden moment ended sourly when his flicked shot towards the open side of the net was saved spectacularly by a flying Janjetovic.

Asdrubal – 6

Was suffocated in his return game by the Wanderer’s defence. He had a few moments of control and passing which sparked the play but conjured very few meaningful chances.

SUBS

Blake Powell – N/A

Made a few nice runs into the final third when he came on but didn’t do much otherwise.

Storm Roux – N/A

Like Powell but in defence, he made one or two blocks and tackles but didn’t contribute much else.

Kwabena Appiah – N/A

Was barely seen in the final ten minutes following his substitution. VAR had killed the game by this point anyway and the Mariners were in full defence.

WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS

Vedran Janjetovic (GK) – 7

The Wanderers’ opening goal came from his quick release off a corner collect. Saved a shot low at his near post from Andrew Hoole in the first half then pawed away a shot with excellent acrobatics right before half-time.

Josh Risdon – 5

Was assigned to maintaining Connor Pain and fulfilled this duty for the most part. A few longer balls he tried to play up the line looked sloppy at times but was generally better back in at full-back as opposed to the wing last week.

Michael Thwaite – 7

Took control of the defence with Cornthwaite on the bench and led it well. The Wanderers kept things tight in defence and allowed little room for Asdrubal to manoeuvre in, but did let the occasional splitting ball to get between himself and Llorente down the left side.

Jonathan Aspropotamitis – 6

The youngster, as he has done previously, showed he’s an able defender at a time most sensitive for Western Sydney after last week’s humiliation against Sydney. He followed Thwaite’s lead and was mostly sensible at the back.

Raul Llorente – 6

Back into the starting side after missing last week and flavoured the game with his runs into open space down the left.

Keanu Baccus – 8

The teenager was ultra-impressive in midfield. He shifts the ball quickly and holds the midfield together with confidence. He’s quick to jump onto a pass or loose ball and get rid of it just as quickly to set a play into motion. The younger Baccus combined with Roly Bonevacia well and deserves to keep his spot for next week, if not for the rest of the season.

Roly Bonevacia – 7

Played yet another great game in midfield. He was the attacking outlet to offset Keanu Baccus’ holding midfielder role and almost always plays a forward pass.

Alvaro Cejudo – 7

Scorer of the Wanderer’s second goal and active in trying to breach the final third with some nice passes to front three.

Mark Bridge (C) – 8

Showed his experience to set up the opener, cutting inside on his right boot to open a clear path to feed in Santalab, all the while shoving off an opposition. This carried throughout the match as he continued to make smart decisions and valued possession.

Jumpei Kusukami – 6

Was a willing runner all night and combined in moves down the flank but lacked that final edge to create a shot or send in a killer final ball.

Brendon Santalab – 7

Justified his position as the right selection to lead the line as opposed to Lachlan Scott last week. Santalab scored a neat long-ranged goal to give the Wanderers the first half lead and then laid a tidy ball for Cejudo to bury and double the lead.

SUBS

Kearyn Baccus – 5

Threw himself into the game and into a few contests in the last 20-odd minutes. He was central to the second red card VAR controversy when Jake McGing clipped him in a duel.

Oriol Riera – 5

Returned after missing a few games and played just under half an hour.

Jack Clisby – N/A

You wouldn’t have known he came on amongst all the VAR furore at the time.