Wolves ruthless from set pieces in Mariners rout
Wollongong Wolves made the most of their set pieces to down Central Coast Mariners 5-1 on Sunday afternoon at Ian McLennan Park.
The Wolves were not deterred by the pouring rain, putting on a show at Kembla Grange.
In an exciting first period, Harrison Buesnel gave the home side the lead, but Luka Smyth restored parity shortly after.
Experienced defender Banri Kanaizumi ensured the Wolves went into the sheds with the advantage, scoring five minutes before halftime.
Yagoub Mustafa scored after the break and Kanaizumi scored his second before Dylan Ryan also bagged a goal to complete the score.
There was plenty of action in the first ten minutes, and three minutes in, Central Coast created the first opening of the match.
Wollongong’s Mustafa lost the ball inside his own half which saw Lucas Scicluna line up a left-footed shot from range that cleared the crossbar.
Three minutes later, the Wolves opened the scoring.
Christopher McStay’s deep right-sided corner found Buesnel at the far post, who headed back across goal and watched the ball bounce inside the right post.
The side’s lead lasted for only four minutes, though.
Mariners’ forward Smyth received the ball in the box and sent a smart, low finish past Wollongong goalkeeper Vedran Janjetovic.
The Wolves could have re-established their lead in the 15th minute.
McStay intercepted a stray pass out of the back from Mariners’ goalkeeper Dylan Peraic-Cullen, but the midfielder dragged his shot well wide of the left post.
McStay was involved again seven minutes later, getting in a right-sided delivery for Lachlan Scott.
The striker made space for a shot and forced Peraic-Cullen into a save.
Central Coast took the ball down the other end through Taye Hedley, who wriggled his way past two defenders in the box but poked his effort just past the left post.
Wollongong returned fire straight away as Scott’s cutback dropped to Ofuka, however, the Japanese could not keep his shot down.
On the half-hour mark, Wolves winger Mustafa latched onto a misplaced pass on the right and raced in one-on-one.
From a narrow angle, Peraic-Cullen came up with an impressive save to keep the scores level.
Four minutes later, Riak was the next Wollongong player to have a shot and placed a left-footed strike from inside the box wide of the left post.
The Wolves’ persistence paid off in the 40th minute.
A left-sided corner bounced around and came out to Kanaizumi on the edge of the area, who executed an acrobatic volley that nestled in the top left corner.
The hosts took their slender lead into the break after a high-intensity first half.
Wollongong made a flying start to the second period by grabbing a third goal in the first few moments.
Sebastian Hernandez found space in behind down the right and drove the ball across for Mustafa; the winger steering home from close in.
The Wolves scored their fourth in the 50th minute.
McStay’s corner from the right met Kanaizumi, with the defender thundering a powerful header past Peraic-Cullen.
Wollongong continued to profit from set pieces and fired in their fifth goal in the 73rd minute.
McStay put in another right-sided corner, which eventually fell to Ryan, who buried a well-struck volley from the right of the box.
With six regular minutes to play, Scicluna nearly scored a consolation for Central Coast.
The midfielder dribbled through the middle of the field and got to the edge of the box where he turned inside, curling the ball just past the left post.
The Wolves nearly scored a sixth goal in stoppage time, with Damon Gray denied by Peraic-Cullen after running through on goal.
Wollongong played out the remaining moments to secure a big win.
Wolves forward Lachlan Scott was pleased with the team’s effort after last weekend’s defeat to Rockdale.
“I think the second half was a lot better than the first half,” Scott said.
“Everyone was around the ball, wanting to get forward. Wanting to move off the ball.
“I think everything came together in the second half.”
Mariners’ coach Lucas Vilela said he was keen to take the positives from the match despite the disappointing scoreline.
“Ten minutes in the second half, we switched off for,” he said.
“I think we had some good moments.
“There were some improvements and that’s what we aim for.
“Every week we try to get these boys better and better.
“Now for us, it’s time to look back and work harder.”
Match Stats
Wollongong Wolves FC 5 (Harrison Buesnel 6’, Banri Kanaizumi 40’ 50’, Yagoub Mustafa 46’, Dylan Ryan 73’)
Central Coast Mariners FC 1 (Luka Smyth 10’)
Sunday 5 May 2024
Ian McLennan Park, Kembla Grange
Referee: Brodie Merchant
Assistant Referees: Reece Edwards and Aaron Bloch
Fourth Official: Mayson Griffith
Wollongong Wolves FC: 20. Vedran Janjetovic, 2. Harrison Buesnel, 4. Dylan Ryan, 5. Banri Kanaizumi, 6. Samuel Riak 7. Takumi Ofuka (27. Damon Gray 75’), 8. Andre Takami, 10. Yagoub Mustafa (29. Thomas Dunn 82’), 11. Sebastian Hernandez (9. Jake Trew 71’), 24. Lachlan Scott, 88. Christopher McStay
Substitutes Not Used: 13. Oliver Yates, 15. Dax Kelly
Yellow Cards: Christopher McStay 38’
Red Cards: Nil
Central Coast Mariners FC: 40. Dylan Peraic-Cullen, 4. Andre Parkes (2. Michael Paragalli 61’), 5. Harry Menham, 8. Lucas Scicluna, 10. Luka Smyth (9. Nicholas Duarte 61’), 11. Donatien Niyonkuru, 12. Taye Hedley, 16. Prayaag Thapa (42. Alexander Goutounas 76’), 22. Rocco Smith, 34. Parker Williams, 39. Adam Hall (15. Amponsah Antwi 46’)
Substitutes Not Used: 6. Jordan Small, 20. Jai Ajanovic
Yellow Cards: Prayaag Thapa 26’, Luka Smyth 50’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3 – Banri Kanaizumi (WW)
2 – Christopher McStay (WW)
1 – Yagoub Mustafa (WW)
Report by Timothy Gibson
