Western Sydney Wanderers lose head-start to Central Coast Mariners
Updated
For the second week running, Western Sydney have let a lead slip through their fingers, this time held to a 1-1 draw with Central Coast.
Super-sub cum starter Brendon Santalab scored Western Sydney's quickest-ever A-League goal but Tony Popovic's men were denied a second win of the season.
Like last week's 2-2 draw with Newcastle, the match should have belonged to the Wanderers, but they let a lead slip through their fingers for the second week in a row.
Robbie Cornthwaite's shocking backpass threw goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne under the bus to gift the Mariners a second-half equaliser.
It came after a rapid-fire start when Santalab, having demonstrated his shrewd capacity for netting late winners off the bench, provided a lesson on what can happen when he is given a start.
The 34-year-old, elevated to the XI an hour before kick-off in place of Kerem Bulut, was on the scoresheet just 82 seconds in.
An intelligent run down the right allowed Santalab to latch onto a feed by starting debutant Nicolas Martinez and pocket the opener in the left-hand corner.
Mariners goalkeeper Paul Izzo was beaten on that occasion but justified his selection by denying the red and black more than once, including a dive to parry away a header from Japanese winger Jumpei Kusukami.
Central Coast enjoyed their share of good spells, with Connor Pain's speed very nearly giving his side a second-half winner but for an off-target finish.
The Wanderers should have put the Mariners away when they had chances, and there were many.
In the end it was poor Redmayne who was left high and dry but, unlike his two errors last weekend, there was nothing he could have done to stop this goal.
A horrible backpass from Cornthwaite sold Redmayne short and forced him to rush into a challenge with a sliding O'Donovan, his block clearing the ball for 19-year-old midfielder Adam Berry to tap home.
AAP
Topics: a-league, soccer, sport, parramatta-2150, gosford-2250, nsw, australia
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