Goals either side of half time from Matthew Osman and Nik Mrdja secured the Mariners their first piece of pre-season silverware in front of an appreciative audience of over 1,000 spectators.

Mariners Football Manager Lawrie McKinna fielded an impressive line up for the inaugural clash between the Central Coast’s nationwide and state wide representations, with as many as six Australian youth or senior internationals starting the match for the yellow and navy.

An overwhelming positive for McKinna’s charges was the performance of marksman Mrdja, who looked assured in his first full game for nearly two years.

The scorer of the last ever National Soccer League goal launched a raid of stinging strikes on Lightning goalkeepers Matthew Trott and Troy Ward throughout the match, and was rewarded with the match clinching goal early in the second half.

Another highlight of the evening was the debut performances of Mariners Academy members Ian McAndrew, Adam Woodbine and Graham Toope, who were introduced by McKinna late in the match.

"It was a comfortable performance from us, and, considering we’ve not played in over two months, I was happy with the professionalism that we showed against a very determined side," said McKinna.

"Seeing the likes of Gumprecht, Hutchinson, Pondeljak and Mrdja fit and playing again, after their disrupted campaigns last season, was a big plus for us and there were certainly enough encouraging signs for us to take into training when we commence our pre-season program in a few weeks."

Osman’s opener arrived on the back of a solid opening twenty minutes from the Lightning, whose early endeavour, albeit without too many genuine goal scoring opportunities to boast, had the Mariners on the back foot.

It was Osman himself that turned the early momentum by virtue of a clever half volley from an Andre Gumprecht cutback that was stopped only by a desperate goal line clearance from Lightning defender Marcus Steele.

Three minutes later, however, Osman found the back of the net after an inventive run and shot from Tom Pondeljak saw Trott spill his save into Osman’s path, with the former Young Socceroo making no mistake from close range.

Seven minutes after the break, the Mariners doubled their advantage through Mrdja, who hammered home his first goal in a competitive match on Australian soil in 620 days.

Substitutions were the order of the day as the match wore on, with McKinna handing Nigel Boogaard his first start in Mariners colours since the final round of the 2005/06 Hyundai A-League season, as well as giving local juniors and current AIS players James Holland and Andrew Redmayne a chance to impress.

"Everybody did their jobs very well out there tonight and there were flashes of brilliance from some players, but just not on a consistent basis, which is totally understandable given that we haven’t played in so long," said McKinna.

"Overall, we’ve put on a good show for a great crowd here tonight, we’ve seen a few key players complete ninety minutes for the first time in a long time and we’ve handed an opportunity to few good young local players, who will become better players for the experience."

McKinna’s charges will now complete a further two weeks of light training before parting for a fortnight long break.

New signings Mile Jedinak, Greg Owens and Sasho Petrovski will link with their team mates upon the commencement of full pre-season training in early May.

The Mariners’ next scheduled competitive fixture will see them return to Pluim Park to take on a Central Coast Select Team in the third annual Central Coast Football Charity Plate on Saturday, 9 June. Kick off is at 5pm.

MATCH DETAILS

Central Coast Mariners Danny Vukovic (gk) (Andrew Redmayne (gk) 63’), Bradley Porter (Graham Toope 77’), Andre Gumprecht, John Hutchinson, Nik Mrdja, Tom Pondeljak (Adam Woodbine 77’), Damien Brown, Tony Vidmar (Nigel Boogaard 63’), Andrew Clark (James Holland 46’), Matthew Osman (Ian McAndrew 77’), Alex Wilkinson

Yellow Cards Hutchinson 52’
Red Cards None
Goals Osman 22’, Mrdja 55’

Central Coast Lightning Matthew Trott (gk) (Troy Ward (gk) 46’), Jamie Lobb, Jason McMinimee, Alan Flack (Brad Lewis 46’), Nigel Boogaard (Paul McGinley 46’), Peter Preston, Andrew Myles, Neil Woodcock, Xavier Forsberg, Ryan Moore (John Peros 46’), Marcus Steele

Yellow Cards None
Red Cards None
Goals None

Referee Gordon Selkirk