Talent on display as Wanderers and Mariners share the points
The Western Sydney Wanderers shared points with the Central Coast Mariners in an entertaining 2-2 draw at Wanderers Football Park on Saturday afternoon.
The match was scheduled to be played on Friday evening at Pluim Park but was washed out.
Ben Mewett opened the scoring at the wrong end of the park with an own goal giving Wanderers the lead in the 16th minute.
Jai Rose managed an equaliser in the 34th minute but the hosts answered back through Lachlan Tilt in the 39th minute.
Harper Ryles tied up the score for the second time in the 85th minute in what would be the final goal of the match.
It was an action-packed first half with plenty of entertainment from the get-go.
The first chance came for the hosts in the 4th minute of play as Meliwethu Nkomo played a promising ball forward to Julian Cop, whose effort glanced the face of the goal.
A steal from the Wanderers in the 7th minute gave them another opportunity with Alaat Abdul-Rahman taking a shot from close range, however his effort was blocked by Joel Wade.
The visitors came close in the 14th minute as Mewett burst forward into the area before playing across to Ayouk Mow, who fired over the crossbar from point-blank range.
Wanderers countered moments later as Cop sent a great ball into Abdul-Rahman, whose close-range shot was well defended by Mariners ‘keeper Wade.
The resulting corner gave Western Sydney a perfect opportunity to break ahead in the 16th minute.
The initial effort didn’t result in anything but a ball into the area by Ryley Hollingdale met Mewett whose unfortunate touch saw him score an own-goal to open the scoring.
Edmun Haddad tried his luck at a second goal for the hosts in the 18th minute but his curling effort bounced off the post.
The Wanderers continued to create dangerous chances with fast-paced attacking pressure giving Abdul-Rahman a goal-scoring opportunity in the 20th minute but an impressive clearance from Central Coast’s Luca Pecora kept the hosts at bay.
Rose set Mow up with a great opportunity in the 22nd minute but his shot narrowly missed, striking the post and coming back into play.
The visitors managed to make their way onto the scoreboard in the 34th minute as Rose and Mow combined again.
Mow played a ball from the right flank to Rose in front of goal, who only needed to tap the ball into the netting to secure the Mariners first of the afternoon.
The Wanderers didn’t wait long to retaliate, taking back the lead in the 39th minute.
A ball over the top from Nkomo met Tilt in front of goal, who poked the ball over the line to finish.
Central Coast’s Lucas Scicluna tried his luck from range in the 54th minute but Ricky Fransen used his body to deny.
The Wanderers pounced on the counter opportunity with Abdul-Rahman sending a powerful shot towards the target from the edge of the area, drawing Wade into action.
The Mariners came close to another equaliser in the 68th minute as Mewett let off a shot on the edge of the 18-yard box, but his effort was deflected by Lachlan Tilt.
Rose pounced on the ball as it popped out to him on the edge of the box seconds later but his powerful strike was denied by Tristan Vidackovic.
Three consecutive corners gave the visitors one opportunity after another, with a header from Rocco Smith coming agonisingly close in the 70th minute but Vidackovic expertly denied.
A fast-break from the Wanderers had them looking very dangerous in the 74th minute.
Substitute Luka Knezevic blazed forward and sent a shot towards the target, which was pushed out of contention by Wade.
Awan Lual then sent another shot at Wade who dove to deny, with the ball falling to the feet of Abdul-Rahman, but the attacker couldn’t manage to get a shot off.
Substitute Akol Akon made a promising forward run in the 83rd minute, sending a ball into the area to meet Abdul-Rahman who managed to get a touch but he sent the ball wide.
Rose managed to work his way into the area in the 85th minute, sending a cross to Ryles in front of the goal.
Ryles took a touch and the ball popped up perfectly for him to head home, securing the Mariners second equaliser of the match.
Mewett came agonizingly close to securing a winner in the 3rd minute of injury time but his effort skewed just wide of the target, leaving the match to finish up in a 2-2 deadlock at the final whistle.
Match Stats
Western Sydney Wanderers FC 2 (Mewett 16’ OG, Tilt 39’)
Central Coast Mariners FC 2 (Rose 34’, Ryles 85’)
Saturday May 17th, 2025
Wanderers Football Park, Rooty Hill
Referee: Ethan Zvargulis
Assistant Referees: Lindsay Edmonds and Simon Ashari
Fourth Official: Oliver Udovicic
Western Sydney Wanderers FC:1. Tristan Vidackovic, 4. Ricky Fransen, 5. Lachlan Tilt, 6. Ryley Hollingdale, 8. Nicholas Badolato (10. Luka Knezevic 60’), 9. Alaat Abdul-Rahman, 22. Jesse Cameron (2. Lachlan Henderson 76’), 27. Julian Cop (26. Antony Barbic 76’), 29. Edmun Haddad (36. Akol Akon 81’), 34. Meliwethu Nkomo, 38. Noah Peacock (18. Awan Lual 60’)
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Lucas Sinnott
Yellow Cards: Cop 45’, Vidackovic 87’, Abdul-Rahman 90+7’
Red Cards: Nil
Central Coast Mariners FC: 2. Luca Pecora (24. Kye Schumacher 75’), 4. Rocco Smith, 5. Ben Mewett, 8. Lucas Scicluna, 10. Ayouk Mow (9. Ahmad Elhelou 75’), 11. Jai Rose, 13. Logan Sambrook, 22. Shumba Mutokoyi, 23. Laurence Taylor (6. Jordan Small 58’), 39. Harper Ryles, 40. Joel Wade
Substitutes Not Used: 14. Angus Reid, 17. Jesse Mantell, 20. Jai Ajanovic,
Yellow Cards: Scicluna 64’
Red Cards: Nil
3 – Jai Rose (CCM)
2 – Alaat Abdul-Rahman (WSW)
1 – Edmun Haddad (WSW)
