Central Coast replacement Andre Gumprecht said he was relieved when he netted his first Hyundai A-League goal in nearly three years at Gosford on Saturday night.
Gumprecht’s powerful strike from the edge of the box gave the Mariners a come-from-behind 1-1 draw with Queensland at Bluetongue Stadium.
With only seven minutes to play Gumprecht latched onto a poor Queensland clearance and struck a low shot beyond the reach of goalkeeper Liam Reddy.
“When you come on you’ve got to do something special,” Gumprecht said.
“I was there to do a job. I’m happy we got a draw, it keeps it open for the next few games.”
Mariners coach Lawrie McKinna was delighted his side came from behind to snare a crucial point.
The team needed a late goal to seal a 2-2 draw with Perth last week.
“In the end it’s a good result but it’s two points we lost,” McKinna said.
“We dominated the second half and we should have won the game, we controlled most of the play and we scrambled well in defence.”
Queensland coach Frank Farina paid tribute to the Mariners’ ability to play to the final whistle.
“They’re proven this year you can never believe you’ve finished them off,” Farina said.
“We’re disappointed because I felt we played quite well.”
Roar defender Josh McCloughan said the team was ‘gutted’, but his side still remains one point ahead of the Mariners in third spot.
