Defender Nathan Paull’s first Isuzu UTE A-League goal helped Central Coast Mariners earn a 1-1 draw with Melbourne City after a poor first half from the reigning champions at Industree Group Stadium on Tuesday night.
The visitors dominated the first half of the New Year’s Eve clash and went ahead through centre-back Samuel Souprayen, who buried a header off Yonatan Cohen’s free-kick delivery into the bottom-left corner just beyond the half-hour mark in Gosford.
City took four shots to the Mariners’ zero by half-time but the hosts came out for the second half with newfound belief and drew level in the 68th minute through centre-back Paull’s first league goal for the Mariners.
The Mariners’ substitutions made a big difference after half-time; Christian Theoharous and Will Wilson were positive off the bench and helped ignite the majority of the 11,542 fans in the house. The shift in atmosphere made a genuine difference to the contest as the Mariners fed off the crowd and found their way back into the contest through Paull’s second-half header.
When City led 1-0, they had moved up to third on the live Isuzu UTE A-League table but Central Coast’s equaliser meant Aurelio Vidmar’s side dropped back into fifth place heading into 2025. The Mariners, meanwhile, remained in 10th spot despite adding a point to their tally and moving to within two points of Western United in sixth.
BUY TICKETS TO THE ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE!
A quiet first half nearly burst into life when Callum Talbot picked out Harry Politidis with an early cross into the box. The City youngster stuck his left boot out at the ball but couldn’t make contact as the chance to open the scoring eluded the visitors.
City dominated possession through the opening 25 minutes of play but created little in terms of attacking threat before a perfectly-placed Cohen free-kick picked out Souprayen in the box and the centre-back’s header was buried into the bottom-left corner to put his side ahead.
STAR SIDELINED: Western Sydney Wanderers dealt major blow after young gun suffers season-ending ACL injury
BY THE NUMBERS: Renaissance man closing in on A-Leagues history and his numbers are elite
City almost doubled their lead when Steven Ugarkovic whipped a low shot from outside the box just wide of the bottom-right corner; the Ugarkovic chance came in between an injury to Cohen and his substitution in the first half following a knock to his left leg suffered in a challenge with Mariners defender Paull.
NEW YEAR’S DAY TEAM NEWS: Wanderers dealt double blow, Victory star out for 1v3 showdown
The Mariners failed to register a single shot on goal by the break, and at half-time head coach Mark Jackson turned to Christian Theoharous off his bench to replace Bailey Brandtman in search of an attacking spark.
In the 54th minute, the hosts had their first shot on goal and it was Mikael Doka from a dead ball who put City keeper Patrick Beach to the test. Doka’s whipping effort was going wide but Beach put a fingertip on the ball and from the resulting corner, another opportunity presented to Will Wilson whose driven effort from the edge of the box called Beach into another save.
R10 TALKING POINTS: In-form side ‘set benchmark to be a force’ after ‘unbelievable’ comeback
‘HE’S JUST AN EXCITEMENT MACHINE’: ‘Incredible’ A-Leagues star’s big praise
Wilson, a 54th-minute substitute, and Theoharous were positive introductions into the contest from Jackson and the home crowd felt a swing in momentum as the atmosphere shifted at Industree Group Stadium.
The Mariners looked a different team after half-time and that notable momentum swing eventually led to Paull’s equalising goal, headed past Beach inside the six-yard box after a superb swinging free-kick delivered into the danger zone by Doka.
The equalising goal put City under the pump as the Mariners looked to turn one point into three but the visitors stabilised as the two sides ended the contest at 1-1.
