Central Coast Mariners on track for unprecedented treble after winning AFC Cup
The Central Coast Mariners have ended Australia’s painful 10-year drought in Asian club competitions after beating Lebanese outfit Al Ahed 1-0 to win the AFC Cup and remain on track for a historic and unprecedented treble.
Days after sealing the A-League premiership, the Mariners bagged their second trophy of the season – and a handy $2.3 million in prize money – after a tense contest at the Sultan Qaboos Sport Complex in Muscat, Oman on Monday morning (AEST) that was decided by an 84th-minute strike by Alou Kuol.
Played in by Brazilian import Ronald Barcellos, substitute Kuol squeezed his shot through the legs of Al Ahed goalkeeper Mostafa Matar to finally snap the stubborn resistance posed by the nine-time Lebanese champions and former AFC Cup winners.
The Mariners had to weather a late storm from Al Ahed to successfully see out their victory and clinch the first piece of silverware for an Australian team in Asia since the Western Sydney Wanderers’ miraculous AFC Champions League title in 2014.
While the AFC Cup is the continent’s second-tier club competition – and thus not as prestigious as the Champions League – it is still a remarkable achievement given the Mariners’ meagre resources, the departure of five key players and coach Nick Montgomery from last season’s team, their poor start to this season under his replacement Mark Jackson, and the huge travel demands placed upon them to get as far as they did.
Mariners were crowned A-League Men premiers after their game against Adelaide United on May 1.
Players and staff have flown more than 100,000 kilometres to play games in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Kyrgyzstan and, finally, Oman – all in economy class – a feat that has added a huge physical and mental burden on top of their A-League title defence. They will now hop onto yet another flight home and will have to back up on Friday night for the first leg of their A-League semi-final against Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium as they turn their attention to their last available honour this season.
No team has ever won the A-League premiership and championship and an Asian trophy in the same season; indeed, the Mariners were just the third Aussie team to even make an AFC final, after the Wanderers and Adelaide United in 2008.
If the Gosford-based side can round off their campaign with a victory in the grand final, they will enter the conversation as one of Australia’s all-time great club teams, if they’re not already in it.
The match itself was typical Asian fare – the Mariners dominated possession but struggled to generate clear-cut chances against a team that was happy to sit back in numbers, frustrate their opponents and drain the clock through feigned injuries and other antics. Eventually, their pressure told in the second half, with Kuol providing the breakthrough after numerous other opportunities were either blocked, saved or fired wide of the mark.
This was the last edition of the AFC Cup, which is being replaced next season by the new AFC Champions League 2 as part of a revamp of Asia’s club competitions; the Mariners, by finishing first on the A-League ladder, have already qualified for the rebadged AFC Champions League Elite.
Only a few hundred people appeared to be in the stands; this year’s final was due to be hosted by the qualifying team from the AFC’s western zone, but as with their national team, Al Ahed were unable to stage the game in Lebanon, so a neutral venue had to be found.
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