Nicholas Pennington’s maiden goal for the club was not enough to secure any joy for Glory on the road as Central Coast Mariners ran out 3-1 winners in Sunday’s Round 24 clash at Industree Group Stadium.
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The Kiwi midfielder nodded Glory level after Alou Kuol’s deft header had given the hosts an early lead, but David Zdrilic’s side were then punished for failing to convert a string of fine chances as Mikael Doka’s penalty and a crisp second-half strike from Chrsitian Theoharous proved enough to get the Mariners home.
There was at least some personal joy for Josh Risdon as he came off the bench to set a new all-time club ALM appearances record and the popular defender came within centimetres of marking his magnificent milestone in style, striking the bar with a curling effort in stoppage-time.
On a breezy afternoon in Gosford, Glory could not have got off to a worse start, falling behind just five minutes in as Kuol met Alfie McCalmont’s inswinging cross from the left with a glancing header which flashed into the bottom corner.
Showing impressive character, the visitors responded in kind almost immediately, Pennington losing his marker in the box and diverting Jaylan Pearman’s pinpoint corner past Dylan Peraic-Cullen in the home goal.
There was no let up in the frantic nature of the opening quarter as the Mariners soon restored their lead, Pearman’s trip on Doka in the box leading to a penalty which the Brazilian midfielder took responsibility for himself and calmly sent Oli Sail the wrong way.
Glory reacted well for a second time, however and they were unfortunate not to be level by the break as both Trent Ostler and Patrick Wood were foiled by superb saves from Peraic-Cullen.
The away side continued where they had left off when the second half got underway, Adam Taggart going desperately close to making it 2-2 when he met a first-time, volleyed cross from Ostler with a header which just slipped past the far post.
But they were hit with a sucker-punch shortly before the hour-mark as Vitor Feijao’s pass found Theoharous in a pocket of space on the edge of the box and he arrowed a fierce shot past Sail.
In the latter stages, Peraic-Cullen thwarted both Taggart and Pearman as Glory looked to reduce the arrears and another frustrating away trip for the men from the West was encapsulated right at the death when Risdon’s left-foot strike thumped against the bar.
Match Details
Isuzu UTE A-League 2024-25 Season Round 24
Central Coast Mariners 3 Kuol 5′, Doka (pen) 21′, Theoharous 58′) Perth Glory 1 (Pennington 10′)
Half-time: 2-1
Industree Group Stadium
Sunday 30 March 2025
Attendance: 4639
Referee: Jonathan Barreiro
Central Coast Mariners: 40. Dylan PERAIC-CULLEN (gk), 3. Brian KALTAK, 4. Trent SAINSBURY (24. Diesel HERRINGTON 83′), 7. Christian THEOHAROUS (23. Miguel DI PIZIO 62′), 8. Alfie McCALMONT, 9. Alou KUOL (29. Nico DUARTE 62′), 10. Mikael DOKA, 11. Vitor FEIJAO (21. Abdul FAISAL 73′), 12. Lucas MAURAGIS (15. Storm ROUX 83′), 16. Harry STEELE, 33. Nathan PAULL
Substitutes not used: 30. Jack WARSHAWSKY (gk), 44. Lucas SCICLUNA
Yellow Cards: Sainsbury, Roux
Red Cards: None
Perth Glory: 1.Oli SAIL (gk), 4.Tass MOURDOUKOUTAS, 7.Nicholas PENNINGTON (26.Khoa NGO 86′), 10.Nikola MILEUSNIC (19.Josh RISDON 63′), 17.Yuto MISAO, 20.Trent OSTLER, 21.Luke AMOS (12.Taras GOMULKA 46′), 22.Adam TAGGART (27.Will FRENEY 85′), 23.Patrick WOOD (16.Adam BUGARIJA 77′), 25.Jaylan PEARMAN, 29.Tomi MRCELA
Substitutes not used: 5.Lachlan BARR, 13.Cameron COOK (gk)
Yellow Cards: Pennington
Red Cards: None
#ONEGlory
