Adelaide United have jumped off the bottom of the Hyundai A-League ladder after recording a thrilling 3-2 come-from-behind win over Central Coast Mariners in Gosford on Saturday afternoon.
A second-half brace from Baba Diawara and a strike from Dylan McGowan proved the difference as Gui Amor’s side secured back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
In a free flowing encounter, both sides created chances in the opening stanza but it was the Mariners who struck first with Appiah netting his second goal of the season just prior to the break.
But the match turned after the interval with Adelaide netting three times in the space of 10 minutes early in the second period to take control of the match.
Central Coast pulled a goal back in the dying stages with Roy O’Donovan firing home from the spot but it wasn’t enough as Adelaide held on for a well-deserved victory.
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1-0 Central Coast Mariners: Kwabena Appiah, 44’
Adelaide failed to adequately clear their lines with Storm Roux pouncing on a loose ball before picking out Appiah in the area with the winger cleverly nodding the ball past Eugene Galekovic.
1-1 Adelaide United: Baba Diawara, 56’
Mariners defender Liam Rose failed to deal with a loose ball inside the area with Diawara pouncing to poke home past Ivan Necevski.
1-2 Adelaide United: Dylan McGowan, 61’
Jesse Makarounas whipped in an inviting cross from the corner with McGowan rising highest to bury a thumping header into the back of the net.
1-3 Adelaide United: Baba Diawara, 66’
Ben Garuccio delivered a well-weighted ball from the corner with Diawara wriggling free of his marker to nod home from close range.
2-3 Central Coast Mariners: Roy O’Donovan, 90’
Kim Jae-Sung was penalised for a handball inside the box with O’Donovan calmly slotting the ensuing spot kick past the wrong-footed Galekovic.
Eugene Galekovic becomes the 3rd player to reach 250 @ALeague games; his 235 for ADL is the most a player has played for 1 club #CCMvADL pic.twitter.com/URLdeBGC9D
— Fox Sports Lab (@FoxSportsLab) March 25, 2017
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