Adelaide United continued their undefeated start to the season, beating Central Coast Mariners 2-0 in Gosford.
The Mariners were the team who settled into the game the quickest, finding ways through Adelaide’s defence early on.
It looked as though United would struggle without the influential Marcelo Carrusca who was out of the side due to an ankle injury.
But his absence allowed Goodwin to push up into midfield who is always a threat with his reliable crossing ability.
The Reds were unable to find a breakthrough, however not through lack of trying, as the Mariners defence was organised and compact for the first 40 minutes.
That was until Fabio Ferreira’s cross found Pablo Sánchez alone in the box to convert his first A-League goal.
Two minutes later and the pocket-rocket forward doubled his tally, scooping up the rebound from an undeniable Tarek Elrich solo run from his own half.
Bruce Kamau replaced the in-form defender after 65 minutes due to a corky but the substitute combined well with Mabil to keep the pressure on the Mariners’ defence.
The Mariners struggled to mount a challenge to the Reds overall, with Galekovic making a number of routine saves to ensure a clean sheet.
They came close through substitute Glen Trifiro who fired a close-range shot that was saved with difficulty.
Their frustration culminated after Nick Montgomery got sent off for a second yellow card and goalkeeper Liam Reddy was booked for a foul on Goodwin outside of the box after going up for a last minute corner.
Coach Gombau thought that the game was very fair until we scored our goals and he was pleased with the team’s away form.
“For us it’s a very important game because we played away and we always try to win.
“There’s still a lot of games to come and it’s good that we’re starting to get fresh legs back into the team as we are closing in at the top of the table.”
Carrusca is expected to return to the squad for Friday night’s game against Melbourne Victory and Cameron Watson returned to the bench after suffering an injury in pre-season.
The Reds are just two points away from first placed Perth Glory and we need all the support we can get against an undefeated Victory side in Melbourne on Friday night.
