Marco Tulio has signed off his time at Central Coast Mariners in style, scoring a brilliant long-range strike to help the reigning Isuzu UTE A-League champions to a hard fought 1-0 win over Western Sydney Wanderers at CommBank Stadium.
The Brazilian lined up in Mariners colours for the final time on Saturday evening before he joins J1 League side Kyoto Sanga in Japan and marked his farewell with a brilliant goal in the 25th minute.
Tulio’s strike was his 14th goal in 18 games in all competitions this season, and his 24th and final goal for the club since arriving in Gosford at the start of the 2022-23 season. The 25-year-old attacker was withdrawn in the 71st minute to a strong reception from the travelling Mariners fans.
Central Coast’s defence were able to hold firm in the second-half to come away with the win and send their supporters home happy with three points in tow, as Mark Jackson’s outfit are now unbeaten in their last seven league games and now, sit fourth in the standings, a point behind the third-placed Wanderers.
They will, however, be sweating on the fitness of Alou Kuol, after the striker suffered a leg injury in the second half and was forced to come from the field.
Meanwhile, the Wanderers’ loss has been compounded by two added injuries, with goalkeeper Jack Gibson suffering a leg injury in the warm-up and midfielder Jorrit Hendrix forced off the field with an injury of his own.
GIBSON: Wanderers forced into 11th-hour change after youngster suffers injury in warm-up
They join an absentee list that currently includes Brandon Borrello (foot), Tom Beadling (groin) and Lawrence Thomas (international duty), meaning head coach Marko Rudan may have to shuffle the deck yet again in weeks to come.
Before kick-off, Rudan was forced into an early change when Gibson went down after landing awkwardly when he went to catch a cross, meaning Daniel Margush was drafted into the starting line-up for his first league appearance since May 2022,
Defender Anthony Pantazopoulos was called in to serve as their backup goalkeeper for the evening.
GET YOUR TICKETS TO UNITE ROUND HERE!
Both sides struggled to gain the ascendancy throughout the opening minutes, as the match fell into an arm wrestle of sorts.
The Mariners fired a warning shot when Storm Roux’s cross led to a collision between Margush and Kuol, but the Wanderers keeper won the foul, despite the nervous moment.
Western Sydney had a couple chances of their own, with Valentino Yuel putting a header straight at Danny Vukovic, after Marcelo led a half-hearted penalty shout earlier in the half when his headed effort struck Brian Kaltak, but referee Alex King was unmoved.
However, the visitors wouldn’t have to wait long after Yuel’s chance to find the opener, as Josh Nisbet played an unmarked Tulio at the edge of the area, who took a touch and fired an unstoppable effort past Margush to open the scoring.
Western Sydney responded well and it was Yuel once again causing issues, as he got in behind the Mariners defence and fired his effort across the face of Vukovic’s goal.
The Wanderers suffered another blow as the first half drew to a close, when Hendrix was unable to continue after suffering a leg injury.
Following the interval, Central Coast sustained an injury of their own after Kuol landed awkwardly when he went up to challenge for a bouncing ball with Margush. The Mariners attacker tried to play on, but minutes later, Jackson withdrew the striker as he was unable to shrug off the injury.
The Wanderers upped the ante during the early stages of the second-half, led by Nicolas Milanovic, who twice came close with long-range strikes.
Back the other way, Tulio wasn’t the only Mariner causing problems, as Angel Torres started to make his presence felt on the contest.
Nisbet’s pressure on Oscar Priestman forced the Wanderers substitute into a mistake on the edge of his own penalty area, with his tackle causing the ball to fall to Torres in a dangerous position. The Colombian then produced a brilliant save from Margush, who got down well to deny the Mariners a second.
Torres wasn’t done, this time turning provider as he burst down the left flank and crossed the ball towards Jing Reec, but the substitute was just unable to slide it past Margush.
As the Wanderers pushed for an equaliser, they left themselves open in transition and the Mariners almost made them pay again. Miguel Di Pizio played a superb ball into the path of Reec, but Margush came rushing out of his box and slid in perfectly to deny the latter.
With time expiring, both Lachlan Brook and Priestman tried their luck to pull one back for the Wanderers, but neither were able to find the all-important goal as the Mariners held firm.
The star
It’s been an absolute joy to watch Marco Tulio in the A-Leagues for the last season-and-a-half.
Tulio bid farewell to the Central Coast Mariners in only the way that he can, scoring a stunning long range strike to take his tally to a whopping 14 goals in 18 games this season before he links up with Japanese side Kyoto Sanga.
He leaves a fan favourite and one of the most talented players to don a Mariners jersey.
“I was imagining and hoping I would score a goal in this final game,” he told Paramount +, via Mariners assistant Andres Clavijo who translated for Tulio.
“I’m very happy to have been able to finish my my career or my time with the Central Coast Mariners with with a goal in this stadium, which is so important for us.”
Tulio arrived at the club in September 2022 from Sporting Lisbon, having played primarily for their academy side and on loan at Belgain outfit K.S.V. Roeselare and Brazilian side Centro Sportivo Alagoano.
Tulio became key part of their charge towards a second Isuzu UTE A-League Championship under former coach Nick Montgomery, forging a brilliant partnership with Jason Cummings up-front and helping himself to 10 goals.
This included a memorable double in their Round 26 win over Adelaide United that sealed a top-two spot, and another against the Reds in the semi-final second leg to secure their place in the Grand Final.
But the Brazilian went from strength to strength this season, even after Montgomery and Cummings’ departure, with a profound impact particularly in their AFC Cup campaign, scoring a competition high eight goals in six games.
Tulio thanked the Mariners fans, teammates and coaching staff for their support, as he jets off on his next adventure in Japan.
“I want to thank them for for their support. They supported me from the start, supported me like I haven’t been supported elsewhere,” Tulio said.
“I’m really thankful to Monty (Nick Montgomery), Serge (Raimundo), the technical staff, and now Mark (Jackson) who has done an unbelievable job.
‘There’s a great team here. I’m going to continue to support them and just thank you very much for everything.”
Post-game, Mariners boss Mark Jackson praised Tulio’s impact at the Mariners.
“We said that from the start, he’s going to be missed massively,” Jackson told Paramount +.
“He’s quite rightly enjoying it with the fans back there. The fans were fantastic today, for us to come out in the numbers to come across and support us, and he’s enjoying that bit of time, but he’s been great for the club.
“He’s given everything he’s shown the the the kind of flair that that that is Marco Tulio, but what I’ve been really impressed with is how he works out of possession as well and that’s that’s a sign of a good, good player.
“He’s got the flair, but he’s also got the work rate as well and we wish him all the best. I’ll watch his career with my eyes and hopefully he does very, very well.”
The talking point
Western Sydney Wanderers were forced into a late change ahead of the match against the Mariners after goalkeeper Jack Gibson suffered an injury in the warm-up.
Gibson was named in the Wanderers starting line-up for a second straight game, deputising in place of AFC Asian Cup-bound Socceroos goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas, after making his senior debut against Macarthur on Monday.
However, the 20-year-old suffered a nasty looking leg injury in the pre-game warmup, after landing awkwardly when he went to catch a cross on Saturday.
It meant Daniel Margush came into the XI for his first appearance since May 2022 and defender Anthony Pantazopoulos stepped in as a makeshift back-up goalkeeper, after initially being left out of the final squad.
Margush performed strongly on Saturday evening, putting in a number of strong saves to keep the Wanderers in the game, but has helpless when Tulio let fly from range and scored the opener.
His performance is certainly one less headache for Rudan going forward, as they look to continue to defying a lengthy injury list in the weeks to come.
What this means
Central Coast are on an absolute roll right now, turning around a poor start to the season and putting themselves firmly in the mix to go back-to-back.
However, finding a replacement for Marco Tulio will be no easy task for Mark Jackson, who could look to the January transfer window or internally for someone to step in and fill the giant shoes left by the Brazilian.
Up next is a blockbuster clash against Melbourne Victory at Allianz Stadium next Saturday during Unite Round.
Meanwhile, Western Sydney missed a great chance to heap the pressure on top two sides Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne Victory on Saturday.
The injuries are piling up for Marko Rudan’s side, but they’ve found a way to keep getting results this season, despite the players missing.
They next face in-form Melbourne City on Friday night at CommBank Stadium.
