Bouncing back from a shock opener
Having qualified for the AFC Cup alongside Australian Cup 2022 winners Macarthur FC, A-League 2022/23 champions Central Coast were pitted in Group G alongside Indonesia’s Bali United, Filipino side Stallion Laguna and Malaysia’s Terengganu FC who would give them a strong fight in the group stage.

 

Still without a manager after the departure of Nick Montgomery who guided them to the championship last June, the Mariners began their campaign with a shock 1-0 defeat to Terengganu in September. The Australian side dominated against the Malaysia Super League outfit but it was an own goal from Nathan Paull that settled their opening fixture.

Central Coast, however, bounced back in style in new head coach Mark Jackson’s first game in charge when they posted a 9-1 win against Stallion with Marco Tulio headlining the spectacular display in Gosford with a hat-trick. Visitors Bali were beaten 6-3 with Tulio and Jacob Farrell netting twice before the return leg in Indonesia, which proved to be a much closer contest, was settled by Tulio from the spot.

 

A 1-1 draw with Terengganu in their penultimate outing helped Central Coast maintain their slender one-point advantage at the top and took the battle for a knockout stage berth to Matchday Six. Though the Turtles registered a 2-0 win against Bali in their final outing, the A-League side marched to a 3-0 win against Stallion and advanced to the ASEAN Zonal semi-finals.

When the continental campaign resumed in February, Central Coast had lost Brazilian attacker Tulio, who remains the tournament’s top scorer with eight goals, to Japan’s Kyoto Sanga adding to a long list of departures since their A-League triumph including Jason Cummings, Sam Silvera, Nectarios Triantis and Beni Nkololo.

 

But the Australian champions showed no signs of slowing down as their new English striker Ryan Edmondson hit a treble to down Cambodian champions Phnom Penh Crown 4-0 in the Zonal semi-finals while the likes of Angel Torres, Mikael Doka and Jing Reec, who joined at the start of the season, also stepped up to bolster their title charge.

Awaiting them in the ASEAN Zonal final were an all-familiar Macarthur FC who were equally impressive in their debut campaign. The game at the Campbelltown Sports Stadium in Sydney was a cagey affair until the 81st minute when Joshua Nisbet, another of their standout stars since transitioning into an advanced midfield role this season, played a defence-splitting pass for Torres to open the scoring.

 

The hosts, however, struck back through their captain Ulises Davila seven minutes later before Lachlan Rose pulled them into the lead in the extra time. The pressure mounted for the Mariners, but right-back Doka’s composed finish from the edge of the box restored parity before Ronald Barcellos struck to make it 3-2 for Jackson’s side with seconds left to play and crowning them the champions of the ASEAN Zone.

It was a different proposition altogether for Central Coast in the next stage as India's Odisha FC came calling in the first leg of the Inter-Zone Semi-final, but Doka’s impact remained the same as the Brazilian scored twice and provided the assist for Barcellos to seal the 4-0 win before a goalless draw in Bhubaneswar a week later saw them progress deeper in the tournament.

 

Mariners were on the back foot for much of their visit to the Dolen Omurzakov Stadium in Bishkek for the Inter-Zone final as Central Asia Zone winners FK Abdysh-Ata Kant dominated the first leg. Central Coast’s goalkeeper captain Daniel Vukovic was solid between the sticks to keep the scores level before Brian Kaltak netted against the run of play in the 81st minute.

 

But there was a twist in the tale when Magamed Uzdenov’s stunning volley in the second-half stoppage time levelled the game and set up a second leg that was finely in the balance. The Kyrgyz Premier League champions continued to pile the pressure on the Australians in the return leg in Gosford though the game remained goalless heading into the final quarter of an hour.

However, it was 18-year-old Miguel Di Pizio who grabbed the moment for Central Coast finding the breakthrough in the 78th minute after coming on as a substitute before Doka doubled the lead and the teenager got on the scoresheet again to wrap up the 3-0 win in the added time.

 

In the single-legged title clash in Muscat come Sunday, Central Coast will be up against an Al Ahed side who have plenty of pedigree in the AFC Cup having taken part in 12 editions and emerged victorious in 2019 when they defeated DPR Korea’s 4.25 in the decider. But the Mariners’ outstanding showing on their road to the final proves they will be more than a match for their Lebanese opposition.