The first piece of silverware for this season was won tonight by the Central Coast in the form of the A-League Club Championship. That win takes the Mariners seven points clear of their nearest rivals in the Club Championship, being Melbourne Victory and Wellington Phoenix.
This was achieved when the Isuzu Ute A-League Men's squad for the Mariners beat Western United in Tarneit, Victoria in today's fixture by the score of 2 goals to nil.
The first half was a cagey and tight affair with the Mariners having the best opportunity when Josh Nisbet had a shot strike the outside of the left upright.
Western United had some opportunities as well but none of them resulted in a shot on target.
With the score at half time being 0-all, both coaches made substitutions for the start of the second half. For the Mariners, this was in the form of bringing Ryan Edmondson on to replace Jing Reec.
It did not take long in the second half for the Mariners to take the lead. In the 51st minute an error by a Western United defender saw his pass come directly to Josh Nisbet. Josh advanced the ball into Western United's penalty area when sight unseen he cut the ball back to Max Balard. Max struck the shot without any hesitation past United's goalkeeper.
The Mariners appeared to have the ascendency in the match. Opportunites to Torres, Doka, Edmondson and Hall put pressure on the home side.
In the 76th minute, Mariners coach Mark Jackson substituted Christian Theohaurus on to replace Harry Steele. It only took 4 minutes for Christian to score what must be a contender for Mariner's goal of the year. A pass from right side defence found Christian who worked his way through and past a number of Western United's defence before he shot from well outside the penalty box with his left-foot. The shot curled into the left side of the goal, glancing the inside of the left upright.
Further opportunities to Edmondson, Di Pizio and Torres gave further hope to the Mariners of increasing the lead.
The score finished at 2-nil, resulting in the Mariner's men returning to top spot of the Men's A-League ladder and securing the Club Championship.
The Mariners Men's next A-League match is scheduled for Sunday, 21st April against Adelaide United in Gosford. Kick-off is scheduled for 3:00pm.