The Central Coast Mariners will play in an A-League Men grand final for the first time since 2013 after surging to an emotional 2-0 win over Adelaide United.
Buoyed by a packed-out Central Coast Stadium, the first time in the Mariners’ history that they had sold out the venue, quickfire goals from Samuel Silvera and Marco Tulio just after half-time broke the Reds’ resistance and lifted the hosts to a 4-1 aggregate win over the semi-final’s two legs.
The competition’s youngest side will now try to finish their fairytale season in an ALM decider against Melbourne City at Bankwest Stadium on June 3.
City will be chasing a premiership/championship double while playing in a fourth straight grand final.
Their dominating streak beginning in the same season the Mariners recorded a fourth wooden spoon in five campaigns.
Befitting the game’s mammoth stakes, both sides started at a blistering pace.
But it was the Mariners who were able to hold their early energy and take control of the contest, coming agonisingly close to opening the scoring with a series of chances to Nectarios Triantis, Tulio, and Brian Kaltack.
But three minutes into the second stanza, the breakthrough arrived when Jason Cummings drove inside from the right and cut the ball back for Silvera to score and send the home crowd into raptures.
It was 2-0 four minutes later when Tulio pounced on the rebound of a sharp Joe Gauci save and fired in from a near-impossible angle.
Desperately searching for a way back in, Adelaide coach Carl Veart moved to introduce Nestory Irankunda to the fray as his side began to hurl themselves forward in desperation.
The teenage sensation lashed an effort into the post in the 70th minute but neither he nor his veteran teammates could find a way to spoil the Mariners’ historic evening.
AAP
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