10-man Mariners’ side secured a vital 1-0 win against Melbourne Victory in Gosford, to move off the bottom of the Isuzu Ute A-League ladder.
Played with a stiff breeze, Melbourne Victory had the better chances early with Andrew Redmayne being called into action on multiple occasions in the first 15 minutes.
The home side started working their way into the match and it was Ali Auglah who scored the goal in the 34th minute. A loose ball from the Victory defence was intercepted by Donnell who headed the ball to Miguel Di Pizio. Ali Auglah received the ball from Di Pizio and ran straight at the Victory defence, working the ball onto his left foot. From the top corner of the penalty box, Auglah scored with a curling shot that beat the Victory goalkeeper.
Six minutes later, the match was suspended due to lightning with play resuming approximately an hour later.
In the few minutes after play resumed, the Mariners had two chances to score but unfortunately the shots went over the Victory crossbar.
With the score at 1-0 to the Mariners going into the second half, Victory kept the pressure on to the Mariners with Redmayne continuing to make crucial saves.
In the 55th minute, the Mariners were reduced to 10 men with Nathan Paull ruled to have made contact with Victory’s Vergos. As Paull was the last defender, the referee gave him a straight red card.
Victory continued to apply pressure with repeated corners and attacks on the Mariners goal to no avail.
The Mariners’ Men next play away on Saturday, 7th February against Brisbane Roar at Kayo Stadium in Redcliffe with kick-off scheduled for 5:00pm (AEDT).