Rangers rip apart Mariners
In a match which was delayed 15 minutes due to warm temperatures, it was the Mt Druitt Town Rangers who brought the heat to the Central Coast Mariners in a 4-1 win at Pluim Park.
The first half began at a slow tempo with both teams battling the 33-degree heat in Lisarow.
Both teams had half-chances, before the Mariners struck first courtesy of Sasha Kuzevski in the 12th minute.
The right-back started the attack down the right, before continuing his run forward. He received the ball in the box and finished neatly into the bottom-left corner.
A drinks break was observed in the 15th minute due to the extreme heat, and the Mariners looked to double their lead in the return from the break, with George Daniel hitting the left upright in the 18th minute.
A second drinks break took place in the 33rd minute, giving Stewart Montgomery a chance to provide further instructions to his side, who were largely second best up until this point in the half.
Just a few minutes after the resumption from the drinks break, Mariners goalkeeper Patrick Beach was forced into a reaction save with his legs to deny the Rangers an equaliser.
That soon came a couple of minutes later, though, with Gianni Di Pizio fouling Solomon-Johnn Monahan-Vaiika in the penalty area.
Anthony Frangie converted his penalty with a perfectly placed finish into the bottom-left corner. Beach guessed the right way but couldn’t get close enough to the shot.
Mt Druitt had a chance to take the lead just before halftime when Zac Zorocich was deemed to have handled the ball inside the penalty area, despite claims from the defender that his arms were in a natural position.
Frangie stepped up to take the penalty again, but this time going to his right, and this time, Beach saved the penalty.
Mt Druitt came out of the sheds and dominated proceedings, winning countless corners and second balls to mount pressure on the young Mariners side.
The Rangers did get themselves into the lead in the 59th minute courtesy of former-Mariner Nikola Skataric. Mariners defender Joshua Hong failed the deal with the ball on the bi-line, allowing the Rangers to find Skataric who finished his shot with venom.
The Mariners almost found an immediate reply through Miguel Di Pizio who curled a fantastic effort goalward. His shot beat Dylan Niski, but unfortunately for the home side he couldn’t beat the crossbar.
It was a missed opportunity that the Mariners were forced to pay for, as Mt Druitt doubled their lead in the 67th minute.
Japanese import Kotaro Katsuta found himself on the ball on the edge of the box and raced past Kuzevski and placed his shot into the top-right corner, leaving Beach with no hope of making a save, despite the goalkeeper having the second highest save percentage in the league coming into this match.
Katsuta scored his second goal of the game just a few minutes later in the 73rd minute after the Mariners failed to deal with the cut-back, with the winger tapping the ball into the back of the net to compound the Rangers’ punishment of the home side.
The visitors almost scored a fifth goal of the afternoon through Rhett De Silva, but he was denied by a diving save by Beach.
It was a statement victory by the Rangers who recorded their second win of the 2023 campaign putting them in the groove for a huge encounter next Friday as they host a red-hot Rockdale Ilinden at Popondetta Park.
Match Stats
Central Coast Mariners Academy 1 (Kuzevski 12’)
Mt Druitt Town Rangers FC 4 (Frangie 39’, Skataric 59’, Katsuta 67’ 73’)
Saturday 19th March, 2023
Pluim Park, Lisarow
Referee: Jake Rose
Assistant Referees: Nick Gela, Thomas Bury
Fourth Official: Joel Crawford
Central Coast Mariners: 30. Patrick Beach (GK), 2. Sasha Kuzevski, 3. Joshua Hong, 4. Dean Larson (c), 7. Gianni Di Pizio (10. Aydan Hammond 53’), 8. Lachlan Bayliss, 9. Miguel Di Pizio (16. William Arnold 74’), 15. Jordan Segreto, 17. George Daniel (14. Zachariah Waddell 60’), 21. Maksim Kasalovic (11. Bailey Brandtman 53’), 22. Zac Zorocich (18. Max Middleby 74’)
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Alexander Parkes (GK)
Yellow Cards: G. Di Pizio 38’, Zorocich 45+2’, Kuzevski 71’, Segreto 84’
Red Cards: Nil
Mt Druitt Rangers: 20. Dylan Niski (GK), 2. Solomon-Johnn Monahan-Vaiika (6. Jared Marcerola 80’), 4. Cooper Coskerie, 5. Jacob Esposito (27. Stefan Nikolic 61’), 7. Nikola Skataric, 10. Kotaro Katsuta, 11. Jackson Bandiera, 21. Tarek Elrich, 22. Rhett De Silva, 23. Daniel Dias, 44. Anthony Frangie (9. James Demetriou 85’)
Substitutes Not Used: 1. Robert Fanella (GK), 15. Anthony Gallo, 41. Ivan Sunjic
Yellow Cards: Marcerola 88’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – Kotaro Katsuta (MTD)
2 – Nikola Skataric (MTD)
1 – Patrick Beach (CCM)
-By Cameron Smith
