A-League 2020: Mariners end drought while Victory lose five straight for the first time
A-League wooden spooners Central Coast secure a rare win, while Melbourne lose again to set an unwanted club record.
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A LATE brace from substitute Dylan Ruiz-Diaz secured A-League cellar dwellers Central Coast Mariners their first win since January and condemned Melbourne Victory to a fifth-straight defeat on Monday night
Just when it seemed a Marco Rojas double would snap the Victory’s dreadful losing streak, Ruiz-Diaz scored two classy goals to lift the Mariners to a 3-2 win at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium.
It was the Mariners’ first win in 204 days, with their previous success also coming against the Victory and also a 3-2 scoreline on January 12 in Gosford.
The win was nothing less than the Mariners deserved in their final match of the season as they twice were hurt by the absence of the Video Assistant Referee system.
For the Victory, it’s the first time in club history that they have lost five successive games as interim coach Grant Brebner still chases his first win since taking charge following the departure of Spaniard Carlos Salvachua during the competition’s COVID-19 enforced break.
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“It was a disappointing night at the office for us,” Brebner said.
“(The players) are extremely disappointed and so they should be.
“It’s not a position we want to be in ... but we’re in the position we’re in.
“We’ve got to get better.”
Mariners coach Alen Stajcic said his team deserved its win.
“It’s pleasing to see the resilience of the boys,” Stajcic said.
“I was really pleased with the way we attacked.
“I thought we were the better team tonight, we created more chances in the first half ... we’ve beaten one of the biggest clubs in the country two times now and that’s a massive feather in the cap for the players.”
The Victory had the first chance of the night, with Luis Lawrie-Lattanzio bursting into the penalty area in the ninth minute after being fed by fellow young gun Birkan Kirdar.
However, Mariners goalkeeper Mark Birighitti stood tall to deny Lawrie-Lattanzio.
But Birighitti’s joy was short-lived, with Central Coast’s gloveman gifting the Victory the lead in the 22nd minute when he charged out of his penalty area attempting to clear a long through ball from Kirdar.
Unfortunately for the Mariners, Rojas got there first, with Birighitti stranded as the New Zealand international guided the ball home to give his side the lead.
Further rubbing salt into the Mariners’ wounds was that had the VAR been in use, the goal would almost certainly have been disallowed as Victory skipper Leigh Broxham brought down Central Coast speedster Sam Silvera seconds before Kirdar unleashed his 45-metre pass.
But the Mariners didn’t drop their heads, and it took a classy reflex save from Victory keeper Matt Acton to deny Central Coast skipper Matt Simon an equaliser.
The absence of the VAR again hurt the Mariners in first-half stoppage time when a Tommy Oar cross struck the outstretched arm of Broxham.
In his first A-League match, referee Tin Danaskos allowed play to continue, with the ball falling for Silvera, whose shot hit the post.
But the Mariners didn’t have to wait much longer for their deserved equaliser.
The Victory defence failed to deal with a looping Milan Duric 48th-minute free-kick, with the ball falling at the far post for Dylan Fox, who scored from close range
Rojas’ second goal in the 65th minute gave the Victory lead for the second time in the match.
But goals in the 85th and 89th minutes to Ruiz-Diaz, who took advantage of great passes from Oar and Duric, sealed the Mariners just their fifth win of the season,
Originally published as A-League 2020: Mariners end drought while Victory lose five straight for the first time