Post by radinho on Sept 24, 2007 16:03:00 GMT 10
Sasho Petrovski's late strike lifted Central Coast Mariners four points clear at the top of the A-League with a 1-0 win over Perth Glory.
The result at Bluetongue Stadium drops the Glory to dead last with three scoreless draws and two losses, and just the one goal this season.
The scoreline also stretched the Mariners' clean sheet run to five in a row in 2006/07, equalling Preston's 21-year-old national league record.
In the 80th minute Petrovski played a neat one-two with substitute Andre Gumprecht on the right, and the 32-year-old striker flicked a neat, close-range finish into the back of the net.
Only minutes later Glory defender Jamie Coyne played a terrible back pass to 'keeper Tom Tomich, but the ball rolled inches past the post.
Short-term signing Damian Mori missed the best other chance of the match for the home side, but he scuffed his tap-in in the 21st minute.
The Glory wasted a number of chances too, with James Robinson smacking his header against the bar in the 70th minute and Jordan Simpson shooting high from five yards in the opening minutes.
Petrovski was also the hero in the Mariners' opening round win over his former club Sydney FC.
His goal proved the difference in a tight encounter, where the Glory produced some of their best football of the season and both sides were guilty of wasting easy chances.
The first fell to the Glory in the eighth minute when midfielder Simpson met a pin-point Mitchell Prentice cross first-time from five yards, but scuffed his side-footed volley over the bar.
Then it was the Mariners injury-replacement player Mori who got himself in perfect position to finish great lead-up work from strike partner Petrovski but he completely miscued his tap-in.
The sloppy attempt came as a surprise to the 9,000-plus crowd, who had become accustomed to Mori's stunning ability to pop up with a goal.
The leading all-time Socceroos and national league goalscorer had netted six times in eight appearances in his previous stints with the Central Coast.
Round 5 SCOREBOARD:
Newcastle Jets 2 (Adam Griffiths 4', Stuart Musialik 22') drew with Melbourne Victory 2 (Archie Thompson 65', Adrian Caceres 83')
Crowd: 11,179
Wellington Phoenix 2 (Felipe 64', Shane Smeltz 87') drew with Adelaide United 2 (Diego 69', Bruce Djite 78')
Crowd: 12,127
Queensland Roar 0 lost to Sydney FC 1 (Patrick 69')
Crowd: 16,582
Central Coast Mariners 1 (Sasho Petrovski 80') defeated Perth Glory 0
Crowd: 9,274
