The Central Coast Mariners have secured a 3-0 A-League Men win over a 10-man Adelaide United outfit in Gosford.
Adelaide defended stoutly after goalkeeper Joe Gauci was dismissed in the first half but eventually the pressure tolled when Marco Urena gave the home side the advantage with a classy volley in the 77th minute.
The floodgates then opened when Urena’s strike partner Jason Cummings was rewarded for his hard work with the Mariners’ second.
Substitute Matt Hatch then made it three late into added time.
After failing to win a league game in January and February, Nick Montgomery’s side finished March undefeated (three wins, two draws) and will have confidence they can mount a challenge for the finals.
Adelaide struggled to fashion many opportunities away from home and their hopes took a blow when Gauci was sent off in the 24th minute on Sunday.
Urena looked to race onto a long ball from Mark Birighitti and as Gauci surged out the Mariners man headed past the Adelaide keeper.
Gauci missed the ball and clattered into Urena on the edge of the box and initially referee Alireza Faghani produced a yellow card.
After protestation from the Mariners players, the Iranian official ran over to review the decision and then brought out the red card.
The dismissal forced Lachlan Brook off and 17-year-old keeper Steven Hall came on to play in goal.
Adelaide defended narrowly and kept the Mariners at bay for the best part of 50 minutes but eventually they succumbed to the home side’s numerical advantage.
Urena signalled his intent when the goalkeeper tipped one effort over the bar but the Costa Rican made no mistake with a volley from a Lewis Miller cross to put the Mariners ahead with less than a quarter of an hour left.
Adelaide’s heads sunk and with defeat likely they allowed Cummings to pop up in the 90th minute.
Hatch added the Mariners’ third with a well-taken finish two minutes later.
The only sour points for the Mariners were a concussion to Farrell and a late send-off for Brazilian Moresche after he was shown his second yellow card.
