A-League: Goalpost fiasco as Mariners go down again

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse for the Central Coast, it did.

Perth Glory goalkeeper Liam Reddy watches as a new goal is installed

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse for the Central Coast, it did.

The Mariners not only remain winless this season, but suffered embarrassment on a number of fronts last night.

If the 4-1 loss to Perth Glory at Central Coast Stadium wasn’t enough, the Mariners found themselves the butt of social media jokes and ridicule after the game had to be halted for 40 minutes when a goalpost was broken just 10 minutes into the match.

With the Mariners already a goal down, Glory defender Tomi Mrcela crashed into the net in the process of scoring a goal that was eventually disallowed for off-side.

Ground staff found a replacement post, but could not refit it as a small part had broken off. The players had been keeping warm by kicking the ball around before eventually retreating to the dressing rooms as the delay grew longer.

Eventually, after receiving permission from Football Federation Australia, it was decided that a replacement set of goals, used for training sessions, would be brought in.

These had to be located from underneath the main grandstand.

But it meant that, under the rules that say that both sets of goals must be the same, the ones at the opposite end had to be replaced as well.

The problem was both sets of goals had wheels — which make them easier to manoeuvre at training — that had to be removed.

Tent pegs had to be used to ­secure the bottom part of the goal structures and while this was of some concern to the match officials, they allowed the game to eventually restart.

Mariners chief executive Shaun Mielekamp praised the ground staff and a group of 12 volunteers for working tirelessly to ensure the game went ahead.

“Without them, we might not have been able to continue the game,” Mielekamp said.

He confirmed the club had been in constant contact with FFA and admitted they had been in discussions with Central Coast Council regarding a range of issues.

“This will now become part of those discussions,” he added.

All this came just hours after news broke that key off-season signing Ross McCormack won’t be back to fulfil his contract.

The Scotsman, on loan from English club Aston Villa, had played just five games before suffering a knee injury.

He returned home for treatment and was due back for this game.

However, he was spotted in the crowd at a Scottish Premier league game on Sunday and it is understood he is likely to be recalled by Villa and loaned out to another club.

The game was also played in front of just 6048, the club’s worst New Year’s Eve attendance with some of those fans walking out before half time with Glory leading 3-0.

Owner Mike Charlesworth did not go unscathed either, with some Mariners fans unfurling a banner on top of the car park opposite the stadium that read “Charlesworth out”.

Fans have lost patience with the Englishman, who was at the ground to see the disaster unfold.

To top it off, security at the ground has come under scrutiny after photos emerged of a young boy brandishing a large toy ­machinegun inside the stadium.

The guns were being sold at a fair across the road from the ­stadium.

As if there were not enough fireworks to contend with, the game, which would have finished about 8.55pm, was still going when the annual NYE fireworks on nearby Brisbane Waters went off.

Football wise, this was yet another disaster for the Mariners who were simply outclassed by a Glory side intent on making a statement after dropping their first game of the season against Sydney FC last week.

Mind you, the Glory were helped by some of the most inept defending imaginable as they ran to a 3-0 half-time lead that could have been far greater had they taken all their chances.

The loss means the Mariners remain winless after 10 rounds this season.

Worse still, they have now lost their past 16 games and have not won in 311 days stretching back to February 23 when they beat Wellington Phoenix in a round 21 game last season.

For Perth, the win sees them ­return to top of the table, three points ahead of Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC.