Mariners Might Be The Ones

The Mariners were level in the tie at half time before Roar import Thomas Broich provided a touch of class to give the home side a goal advantage.

Arguably, if Kosta Barbarouses had made the most of a first half chance the tie could have been over much earlier than it was.

But Patricio Perez fluffed a similarly glorious opportunity while Arnold pointed to the wastefulness of the Mariners in their home first leg as the deciding factor in the 4-2 aggregate loss.

Yet after two goals in as many minutes before the break, the Mariners made Roar look like an opponent that was second best.

Roar had all but stopped until the introduction of the lively Henrique in the 57^th minute with their movement on and off the ball nowhere near the level it has been at all season.

But Henrique provided much-needed life to the hosts before Broich scored what can be described as an opportunistic effort.

Although Ivan Franjic appeared to be offside and interfering with play in the build up, Broich cut inside from the right and exposed a massive gap left by Mathew Ryan at his near post to put Roar back in prime position.

Full back Joshua Rose also decided he would peel off to the centre to cover a potential cut back instead of stepping towards the quickly approaching Broich.

The Mariners, pushing for what would have been a late winner, were left open at the back and Henrique struck into the roof of the net to extend the unbeaten run to 27.

Central Coast will need to overcome Gold Coast after their win at Adelaide United gave them a preliminary final berth.

United have largely flown under the radar during the finals series and benefited from a Shane Smeltz brace to beat the Reds 3-2.

The underestimated United side face another tough task with a trip to Bluetongue Stadium in a do-or-die final against Central Coast.

Some are already looking forward to the Mariners returning to Suncorp Stadium to see if they can claim more than a psychological victory in about a fortnight. 

Brisbane Roar 2 (Thomas Broich 63’, Henrique 90+1’)
Central Coast Mariners 2 (Matthew Smith (og) 39’, Oliver Bozanic 40’)
Crowd: 25,168 @ Suncorp Stadium

BRISBANE Roar made hard work of cementing a home grand final, forced to come from two goals down to snatch a draw and 4-2 aggregate win over Central Coast Mariners.

After a two goals in as many minutes put the Mariners back on level terms heading into the break, Roar found a crucial goal through Thomas Broich before Henrique ensured their unbeaten run extended to 27.

Patricio Perez should have given the visitors an early lead after a Pedj Bojic cut back but the playmaker shot over the bar when he needed to at least hit the target.

Roar striker Kosta Barbarouses missed the first of three glorious chances he would have after Mathew Ryan denied him in a one-on-one.

The hosts went within inches of opening the scoring and all but ending the tie when Jean Carlos Solorzano headed towards goal from close range, but Daniel McBreen reacted quickly to clear off the line.

But the tie was brought to life by the opening goal in the 39^th minute after Oliver Bozanic found McBreen in the attacking third.

The striker fired a left foot shot at goal and it cannoned off Matthew Smith and into the back of the net to give the Mariners a lifeline.

The visitors were level a minute later as Bozanic was given too much space to send a curling shot past Michael Theoklitos and into the bottom corner.

Roar looked shocked early in the second half but normal proceedings resumed in the 63^rd minute when Broich put the home side back in front in the tie.

Full back Ivan Franjic appeared to be in an offside position while influencing the play in the build up as Broich cut inside from the right and squeezed his shot inside Ryan’s front post.

Joshua Rose chose to peel off inside to cover while Ryan left too much room for Broich to exploit in a crucial piece of play.

Theoklitos kept Roar in prime position when he moved superbly to turn a header from McBreen around the post.

Lively substitute Henrique ensured their unbeaten run remained in tact when he sweetly struck over Ryan after a pass from Franjic in the first minute of injury time.

The Mariners were forced to push for a goal and left themselves open at the back but a return to Suncorp Stadium in a fortnight is on the cards.

Brisbane Roar: 1. Michael THEOKLITOS (gk), 2. Matthew SMITH, 4. Shane STEFANUTTO, 5. Ivan FRANJIC, 6. Erik PAARTALU, 7. Kosta BARBAROUSES, 9. Jean Carlos SOLORZANO (8. Massimo MURDOCCA 74’), 15. Matt MCKAY (c), 17. Mitch NICHOLS (10. HENRIQUE 57’), 22. Thomas BROICH, 23. Milan SUSAK
Unused subs: 20. Andrew REDMAYNE (gk), 12. Matt MUNDY, 14. Rocky VISCONTE
Yellow cards: None
Red cards: None

Central Coast Mariners: 20. Mathew RYAN (gk), 2. Daniel MCBREEN, 3. Joshua ROSE, 4. Pedj BOJIC, 6. Patrick ZWAANSWIJK, 8. Rostyn GRIFFITHS (24. Bernie IBINI-ISEI 81’), 10. Patricio PEREZ, 11. Oliver BOZANIC, 14. Michael MCGLINCHEY, 18. Alex WILKINSON (c), 23. Adam KWASNIK
Unused subs: 30. Paul HENDERSON (gk), 7. John HUTCHINSON, 17. Chris DOIG, 22. Mustafa AMINI
Yellow cards: McGlinchey (28’), Bozanic (40’), Bojic (81’90+3’)
Red cards: Bojic (90+3’) 

Man of the match – Thomas Broich was the standout in a Brisbane outfit far from its best, and the standout player of the match. The Roar relied heavily on him to make things happen in the final third and the German was central to their revival.

Key moment – Brisbane’s contentious first goal was quite obviously the key moment in this match. It was tough on the Mariners to concede as a result of a dubious non-decision, but Matt Ryan should have known better than to offer Broich an opening at his near post. Ratings by Matt Dorman

Adelaide United 2 (Sergio van Dijk 56’(pen), Mathew Leckie 69’)
Gold Coast United 3 (Shane Smeltz 38’79’(pen), Bruce Djite 71’)
Crowd: 15,028 @ Hindmarsh Stadium

GOLD Coast United moved into the preliminary final with an entertaining 3-2 win over Adelaide United.

Shane Smeltz scored a brace including the winner from the penalty spot while strike partner Bruce Djite was also on the scoresheet.

Smeltz had the best of the first half chances before he opened the scoring, turning his marker before scuffing his left foot shot directly at Eugene Galekovic.

But he struck one of the goals of the season soon after, driving a ripping 25-yard strike into the top corner.

The visitors almost doubled their advantage early in the second half after last week’s hero Dino Djulbic headed at goal, but it struck the post and Galekovic reacted quickly enough to swat away the goal-bound rebound.

But the lead didn’t last much longer after Bas van den Brink was adjudged to have held back Sergio van Dijk in the box from a corner.

Van Dijk placed the resultant penalty into the bottom corner to send the sell out home crowd into raptures.

The Reds took the lead less than 15 minutes later after a superb move featuring Marcos Flores resulted in a Cassio shot being parried into the path of Mathew Leckie, who guided his shot in off the post.

Even before the noise had died around Hindmarsh Stadium the visitors were back on level terms after Djite nodded home after Galekovic had parried a header from Smeltz.

Still on a roll, United won a penalty in the 79^th minute as Reds defender Nigel Boogaard brought down substitute Joel Porter.

Smeltz was forced to convert the penalty twice and although Adelaide pushed for a late equalizer, the visitors hung on.

Adelaide United: 1. Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk), 3. Nigel BOOGAARD (2. Robert CORNTHWAITE 90+1’), 6. CASSIO, 8. Adam HUGHES, 9. Sergio VAN DIJK, 10. Marcos FLORES, 11. Andwele SLORY (19. Mathew LECKIE 40’), 12. Paul REID, 13. Travis DODD (c), 14. Cameron WATSON (17. Iain RAMSAY 84’), 16. Dario BODRUSIC
Unused subs: 20. Mark BIRIGHITTI (gk), 21. Francisco USUCAR
Yellow card: Boogaard (77’)
Red cards: None

Gold Coast United: 1. Glen MOSS (gk), 2. Steve PANTELIDIS, 3. Michael THWAITE (c), 6. Dino DJULBIC, 7. Zenon CARAVELLA, 8. ANDERSON, 9. Shane SMELTZ, 11. Bruce DJITE (19. Andrew BARISIC 88’), 13. Bas VAN DEN BRINK (14. Joel PORTER 70’), 15. Tahj MINNIECON (24. John CURTIS 81’), 33. Peter PERCHTOLD
Unused subs: 20. Scott HIGGINS (gk), 16. Kristian REES
Yellow cards: Smeltz (38’), Djite (47’), van den Brink (54’), Pantelidis (82’)
Red cards: None 

Man of the Match – A stunning strike for the first goal by Shane Smeltz was man of the match quality in its own right, not to mention his key role in Gold Coast’s equaliser and penalty to put the visitors into the lead.

Key moment – Had Gold Coast not responded immediately after Adelaide’s double salvo it would have probably been the end of their finals series. However, they did just was what required to silence the home crowd and turn the momentum in their favour. MD