Not even the good omens of previous New Year’s Eve visits could help the Glory secure a first away win of the season and of 2023 on the final day of the year.
The 4-2 defeat to the Mariners marked a fifth defeat in six, firmly rooting the side to the bottom of the form ladder for road trips.
An unchanged side took to the field in Gosford, a move which looked good value after 18 minutes when Adam Taggart struck goal number six for the season.
An inch perfect cross from Johnny Koutroumbis sat perfectly for the talisman, who made a well-timed run off the shoulder of Dan Hall towards the back post.
Taggart’s simple finish saw the Glory open the scoring for the first time in seven games, the last of those coming coincidentally against the Mariners back in Round 3.
Going behind got the Mariners into their groove and it wasn’t long before they found the equaliser, a tidy finish from Jacob Farrell.
Luke Ivanovic was caught ball watching, allowing Farrell to slip in behind on the blind side. Josh Nisbet played the perfect through ball to the left back, who held out Ivanovic and tucked away the shot into the far corner.
The first of a few dubious refereeing decisions throughout the contest allowed the Mariners second goal to stand with half time approaching.
A strong challenge from Storm Roux on Salim Khelifi opened the door for one of the many Mariners counter attacks.
Marco Tulio opted for the pass to Alou Kuol out wide, whose first attempt was saved but not stopped. Reacting quickest to the follow up, the 22-year-old bundled the ball home right on the line.
To make the situation worse, a misplaced pass from Gio Colli set off the chain of events for the third goal. A 4-on-2 mismatch was defended well initially by Mark Beevers, positioning himself well to block a shot from Tulio. Unfortunately, the ball struck his outstretched arm and Tulio was gifted a chance from the spot.
The Brazilian calmly slotted the penalty away in first half stoppage time, getting on the scoresheet in his final match in front of the Mariners faithful.
Two goals down at the break, a fast response was needed to close the gap and its exactly what Stef Colakovski provided.
A long throw in was flicked on by Taggart to his strike partner, who managed to flick it on once again past Hall and beat Brian Kaltak to it with a burst of speed.
The beautiful piece of play was capped off by a nice finish on the outside of the boot; his fourth for the campaign to match his total tally for Melbourne City.
From there the charge to rescue a point never gathered momentum. As the game drew closer to its conclusion, the Mariners looked the more likely of the two sides to find another goal.
It was all wrapped up in the 91st minute with Tulio’s second penalty. Another breakaway had the Glory defence scrambling back into shape.
Max Balard moved into space on the edge of the area, able to take a touch and strike under no pressure. Once again Beevers’ arm was outstretched and with that he received his marching orders.
Aleksandar Susnjar doubled the pain when he also received a second yellow, presumably for dissent. Down to nine men with less than two minutes to go, there was still time for one more bit of drama.
David Williams was dragged back by Hall after he had lost possession just outside the penalty area. The substitute was put off balance and missed his shot.
The yellow card for Hall was confirmation it was a definite foul, should have been a penalty and could have been a red for denial of a goal scoring opportunity had he gone down.
The rub of the green didn’t go the way of the Glory on the day but remove it from the equation and the Mariners clearly still deserved to win on the balance of play.
Possession is no good if nothing can be done with it. The shot count read 25 to 10, and 10 to 3 for shots on target in favour of Central Coast who had less of the ball.
They were efficient on the counter, which says a lot about their quality on the ball and just as much about the defensive struggles in transition which Alen Stajcic has to tackle.
The defence has been fighting a losing battle over the course of the opening 10 matches. In nine of those games, they’ve conceded at least twice.
They’ve not had the desired protection from the midfield duo of Colli and Oli Bozanic. Even with Amini’s introduction, the Mariners still had their way on the break.
With the January transfer window now open, a defensive midfielder should be one of the priorities if Luke Bodnar and Aaron McEneff aren’t getting game time.
New signings being made will entirely depend on the ownership of the club. There hasn’t been an update in some time, not ideal at all at a time when it would be really beneficial to have one in place.
Farrow double on the Coast
Earlier in the day there were happier times for the women’s side, who emerged victorious thanks to a brace from Millie Farrow.
A high line and intense pressing forced an error from Taren King, her pass across the box deflected into the net by the English international.
The Mariners controlled the majority of the contest and thought they had an equaliser after a goal mouth scramble was finished off by Rola Badawiya until the flag was raised for offside in the build-up.
The Glory’s much needed second started with Grace Jale keeping hold of the ball out wide and dishing out to Tash Rigby on her own to cross in; a beautiful ball over the top of the defence and keeper to the waiting Farrow to nod home.
Badawiya got her goal minutes later with a top drawer finish past Morgan Aquino, who had another fine outing with 10 saves and played a huge role in holding out the Central Coast for the final 20 minutes.
The win took the Glory four points clear in second on the ladder, still a game behind leaders Melbourne City.
The Wrap Up
2024 kicks off at home for both sides this weekend; the men will have their work cut out against the Victory tomorrow, especially with Beevers and Susnjar out with suspension. The women close out the round in the ALW at Macedonia Park against the Wanderers.
The opportunity arises for some of the Glory’s emerging defenders to showcase their talent against a top side. I expect Kaelan Majekodunmi to at least be on the bench, with Darryl Lachman and Jacob Muir the likely centre back partnership.
Trent Ostler started over Susnjar against Melbourne City, and I think the same will occur against Tony Popovic’s side.
Luckily they will be without Bruno Fornaroli, the man of the moment in the A-League but they can still call upon Zinedine Machach and Jake Brimmer amongst many others.
It’s a challenge Alen Stajcic will relish. The Victory have stayed true to their name, remaining unbeaten with five wins and five draws. It’s a new year and new beginnings; handing them their first loss would be some way to get 2024 rolling and gather much needed momentum as we draw closer to the halfway point of the season.
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