It was a hugely frustrating outcome to what had been a pivotal week in the short history of Gold Coast United as over 21,000 people snapped up free tickets to the spectacle laid on by United’s owner, Clive Palmer.

Referee Beath had little option but to abandon the match with the ball becoming stuck on pools of water and conditions worsening by the minute. A date for the rescheduling of the fixture has yet to be determined.

“We couldn’t be more disappointed that we’ve had weather like this on today of all days,” said Gold Coast CEO Clive Mensink.

He added: “But our thanks goes to everyone who came out today and they should all retain their tickets to receive the $5.00 discount on tickets to our match against Perth on January 3rd.

“We don’t know yet when the Mariners game will be replayed, but we will be in discussions with FFA very soon and we will take it from there.”

The scoreline was 0-0 when the players left the field, but in the 19 minutes that where played Central Coast managed to miss a 12th minute penalty when Adam Kwasnik screwed his spot-kick wide.

Joel Porter had a half chance for Gold Coast but any kind of football became impossible as the weather took centre stage.

United Head Coach Miron Bleiberg was glowing in his praise for the Gold Coast public who flocked to the stadium despite the conditions.

“I want to pay tribute to everyone who came out to the stadium today. It was very encouraging and it showed that the support is out there. It was a brilliant turn out under the extreme circumstances,” Bleiberg said.

“I support the decision of the referee to call the game off – he had no choice and it was impossible to play on.”