The A-Leagues has confirmed that the Mariners will earn the right to host the biggest game of the year in front of their passionate home fans at Gosford’s Industree Group Stadium should they qualify by beating Sydney FC in the two-leg semi-final.
Mark Jackson’s men took a giant step toward a second successive Isuzu Ute A-League Grand Final when they beat Sydney FC 1-2 in front of Sydney’s own supporters at a rain-soaked Allianz Stadium on Friday night.
Now Sydney FC faces the daunting task of entering the cauldron that will be a packed Industree Group Stadium on the Central Coast next Saturday (18 May), needing to beat the Mariners by two goals or more to spoil the Mariners’ dream.
Hundreds of tickets were sold within hours of the Mariners winning their first-leg semi-final on Friday night and a crowd in excess of 20,000 is assured in Gosford on Saturday night.
Tickets to the semi-final are available only through Ticketek here: https://bit.ly/3QF2aFg
Industree Group Stadium Venue Manager, Kath Casey, is urging fans to Arrive Early and leave additional time for the Stadium Entry Process.
“The Stadium precinct and indeed the entire Central Coast will be busy so plan your travel and arrive early. There will be pop-up food stalls and family-friendly activities inside the Stadium,” Ms Casey said.
The big semi-final and the potential of a Grand Final the following weekend will drive visitation to the Central Coast and provide a boon for local businesses, with hotels and all accommodation houses to be filled.
“Travelling fans should book their accommodation early and make the most of a festival of football and everything the amazing Central Coast has to offer,” Ms Casey added.
Coach Mark Jackson says their loyal and passionate Central Coast home fans have been the team’s 12th man on the field all season, and what a season it has been!
The mighty Mariners are enjoying a history-making run of success on the back of their A-League Grand Final win last year.
This season the Mariners have:
• Won the A-Leagues Club Championship with both their men’s and women’s elite teams excelling;
• Won the A-League Premier’s Plate after finishing on top of the league after 27 rounds;
• Won the prestigious AFC Cup as the champion team of Asia after a gruelling travel schedule of over 103,000km that took them to eight different countries.
The Mariners only returned from Oman on Tuesday yet they somehow found enough energy reserves to beat a fresh Sydney FC in the rain at Allianz Stadium on Friday night, in a game that ended with two red cards for the home team.
Sydney took the lead in the first half through fullback Joel King but a Josh Nisbet equaliser on the stroke of half-time brought the Mariners back into the game. A penalty conceded by Anthony Caceres early in the second half led to Mikael Doka’s expertly-taken spot kick as the visitors took a 2-1 lead that they held until the full-time whistle.
Four minutes after Central Coast’s second goal, Jack Rodwell was sent off after referee Ben Abraham reviewed the Sydney defender’s bad challenge on Christian Theoharous, and returned to the pitch to upgrade the initial Yellow Card to Red, with contacted deemed to be “above the ankle and studs to the shin”.
Corey Holman was the next Sky Blue to receive his marching orders, collecting a second Yellow Card pin the 82nd minute after catching Mariners substitute Ronald Barcellos in the face with a high arm.
Sydney FC faces the prospect of being without both players for the second leg semi-final on Saturday night.
The Mariners’ Theoharous will undergo a fitness test during the week as the team prepares for the game that can catapult the Mariners into a home Grand Final the following weekend.
