Central Coast Mariners continued their red-hot form with a 4-0 demolition of Adelaide United in the Isuzu UTE A-League on Saturday.
The rampant Mariners put Adelaide to the sword in Gosford, where Central Coast climbed up to second in the standings thanks to a pair of own goals and strikes from Beni N’Kololo and Jacob Farrell.
Central Coast led 1-0 at half-time courtesy of a Alexandar Popovic own goal before it unravelled for Adelaide – veteran Isaias Sanchez sent off just 10 seconds into the second half.
Isaias was given his marching orders immediately after the restart when he unleashed a dangerous swinging leg tackle from behind on Farrell.
The flood gates opened after that as Central Coast slammed through three goals in the next 12 minutes.
It would have been even worse if not for Samuel Silvera’s 66th-minute strike being rubbed out by VAR after a team-mate was ruled offside.Â
Adelaide’s worst-ever loss remains a 7-1 defeat to Brisbane Roar in 2011 when Besart Berisha scored a first-half hat-trick on the way to four goals for the match.
But Saturday’s result felt just as deflating as the Reds produced arguably the worst second half in the club’s history.
Central Coast’s fourth straight home win lifted them into second spot on the ladder, while Adelaide slipped to fifth and are in danger of dropping further after winning just one of their past five matches.
Adelaide’s defence held firm until the 31st minute when Silvera, filling the void left by the departed Garang Kuol, unleashed a curling strike from outside the box.
The ball appeared set to miss the target, but it deflected off Adelaide defender Popovic and into the back of the net.
Adelaide’s victory hopes evaporated following a brain fade from Isaias immediately after half-time.
Two minutes later the scoreboard read 2-0 when N’Kololo fired in from close range after great lead-up work from Silvera.
The humiliation continued when Panashe Madanha became the second Adelaide player to score an own goal, with the ball bouncing in off his legs after a save from goalkeeper Joe Gauci.
And it was 4-0 in the 58th minute when Silvera skipped past Juande to set up Farrell for a goal.
Silvera was denied a goal of his own eight minutes later when it was deemed his offside team-mate had obscured the goalkeeper’s vision.
Adelaide managed to avoid a total capitulation in the final 30 minutes of the match but it will still be remembered as a dirty day for the Reds.
“That’s how I like my football, a quiet day in the office for me,” Mariners goalkeeper Danny Vukovic told Paramount. “I knew we had a performance like that in us.
“Samuel Silvera was amazing, as were all the boys. Of course the red card makes it easier for us.”
