Central Coast Mariners finally put a run that many thought would never end to rest with a 2-1 win over Melbourne City, goals to Connor Pain and Matt Simon cancelling out Lachy Wales.

Here's how both side's rated:

Central Coast Mariners

Ben Kennedy - 7

Pulled off a couple of solid saves from set-pieces, getting down determinedly to keep his side in the match.        

Aiden O'Neill - 7

Outpaced and outfoxed a couple of times, lacking a bit of physicality in an unfamiliar defensive role. Not a bad showing though.        

Jonathan Aspropotamitis - 8

Steadied the ship, looked expectedly comfortable in possession with an excellent short pass or two.

Jake McGing - 6     

Failed to use his body and caught the wrong side of his opponents at times, looked to be the weakest link in the first half.

Matthew Millar - 8

Fantastic effort bombing forward as per usual, set up Connor Pain’s opener.   

Connor Pain - 8

He’s the Mariners own highlight reel and their only consistent threat, but boy does he take the responsibility with aplomb.    

Andrew Hoole - 6  

Faded in and out of the match, but looked dangerous off the counter before he was withdrawn.

Tom Hiariej - 8      

Fantastic showing, defensively brilliant while pulling off a few Tom Rogic-esque through passes simultaneously.

The Mariners look a different side with him in the middle, thankfully whatever happened between he and Mike Mulvey appears to have sorted it out, because you got the feeling one of them had to give ASAP.

Jacob Melling - 7  

Full of energy, work-ethic and determination. Looks to be a really useful utility, in addition to a capable midfielder. Starting to sort out the brain fades as well.

Matt Simon - 8

Scored the penalty's rebound in typical Simon never-say-die, nothing's pretty fashion.

His close control has let him down at times over the past few weeks, but he put in a class showing in the first half with a few Marcelo-esque pull downs. Outdone physically at times though, might be one or the other for the big man.

Tommy Oar - 7

He still hasn’t quite hit his stride in yellow and navy, but performs well nonetheless. Even at half-mast, he still outshines your average A-League winger.

Subs

Jordan Murray - 7

Direct as a bullet, his best showing in Mariners colours, pity it had to arrive off the bench, but fantastic that the club has an impact sub up their sleeve.

Mario Shabow - 7

Likewise with Murray, Shabow showed the same level of grit, determination and general forward impetus.

Michael McGlinchey - N/A

Melbourne City

Eugene Galekovic - 6

Had relatively little to do bar pick Pain’s goal out of the net, not much he could have done from point-blank.    

Curtis Good - 6      

He’s good in the air but just another Premier League returnee who hasn’t hit the heights yet. Hopefully he gets a string of matches uninjured, really needs it.

Bart Schenkeveld - 5      

Completely dropped the ball on Pain for the first goal, then had the gall to throw his arms up at his fellow defenders. He's a phenomenal centreback, but looked generally frustrated.

Osama Malik - 5    

Not particularly involved, made a few rash choices and sloppy passes, particularly his clearances in the opening 20 minutes.

Nathaniel Atkinson - 6   

He has pace and a knack of driving past defenders on the touchline but lost the ball easily, was outmuscled, and although he attempted to make amends in the second with some success, didn't have a great performance.

Scott Jamieson - 6

Had a couple of half-chances and pressed forward diligently.

Kearyn Baccus - 5  

Drifted a little, but picked up the ball in dangerous positions. Needed to drive forward a little more and be more aggressive, show that stature everyone knows he has.

Rostyn Griffiths - 6

Performed admirably for the majority of the match, playing a large role in City’s growing dominance as the game wore on, but conceded a late penalty.

Ritchie de Laet - 5 

Reasonably ineffective up front, going down too easily at times in attempting to take the easy route.

Luke Brattan - 6

Wasn’t his finest performance and deservedly subbed.

Riley McGree - 5

Lacked composure, often holding the ball up and recycling when a more aggressive tact was required. Partly it’s Joyce’s style, but partly it was a lack of creativity on McGree’s part.

Subs

Florin Berenguer - 7

Made an instant impact and wasn't far away with a late free kick.

Ramy Najjarine - 6

Struggled to match the pace of the game when City needed him to offer a creative spark.

Lachy Wales - 8

Fantastic introduction. He's arguably the most promising young Aussie striker in the country at the moment.