Central Coast Mariners recovered from a second-minute deficit to earn a 1-1 draw with Western Sydney Wanderers at Spotless Stadium on Saturday night.
Brendon Santalab gave the Wanderers an ideal start when he fired Tony Popovic’s side ahead within two minutes of kick-off. His 1.23s strike the quickest goal in the Wanderers' history.
The two sides traded opportunities for a winner but both Connor Pain and Mitch Nichols failed to hit the target with clear chances.
Mariners also had a shout for a penalty late on when Jack Clisby handled the ball in the area.
GOALS
1-0 Wanderers: Brendon Santalab, 2’
Brendon Santalab fired low and hard across Paul Izzo after being found with a cute Nicolas Martinez reverse pass at the end of a swift counter-attack.
This bloke. #SantaDelivers #WSWvCCM pic.twitter.com/ZsUIk7goQm
— Eric Berry (@efcso) October 29, 2016
1-1 Mariners: Adam Berry, 61’
Robert Cornthwaite’s underhit back-pass gave O’Donovan the chance to slide in on Redmayne, with teenager Berry on hand to tuck the loose ball into an empty net.
KEY MOMENT
Leading 1-0 and looking comfortable, Western Sydney should have doubled their advantage in the 47th minute when Mitch Nichols sidefooted Nicolas Martinez’s cutback wide of the upright.
The attacking midfielder wasted a similar chance in the first-half and was made to pay through Central Coast’s equaliser.
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