Gold Coast showed true championship qualities to come from behind to beat Central Coast at Bluetongue Stadium in Gosford on Sunday and coach Miron Bleiberg could not have been more happy with the performance.
Despite going into the match without several star players, including striker Joel Porter, who was forced out just before kick-off, Gold Coast rallied in the second half to beat the in-form Mariners 3-2 to move to third place in the A-League.
Bleiberg was delighted with the performance after his team conceded the opening goal three minutes before half-time.
“We had to change everything in five minutes when Joel Porter was injured,” he said.
“I think the goal before half-time killed them mentally. We weren’t afraid, it was a big achievement.”
“In the end we won because they ran out of legs. Had we played on Thursday night they would probably have given us a lesson.”
While Bleiberg was ecstatic with the victory, Mariners coach Graham Arnold was disappointed after his team dominated much of the first half.
“It should have been over at half-time,” Arnold said.
“I’ve said it a few times this year but we need to be more ruthless, we should have had three or four goals in the first half.”
“We would have loved to win with such a great home crowd but I’m sure they’ll be back.”
It was the first time the Mariners have played at Gosford since October 2 due to the resurfacing of the ground.
Gold Coast skipper Jason Culina said the pitch “wasn’t the greatest.”
“But we dealt with it,” he said.
“I knew it was going to be average; we’re not complaining.”
