Western Sydney Wanderers, Central Coast Mariners settle for draw

Brendon Santalab scored Western Sydney Wanderers' quickest-ever A-League goal, but Tony Popovic's men were denied a second win of the season after being held to a 1-1 draw by Central Coast Mariners on Saturday.

Like last week's 2-2 draw with Newcastle Jets, the match should have belonged to the Wanderers, but they let a lead slip through their fingers for the second week in a row.

Robbie Cornthwaite's poor backpass put goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne in trouble and gifted the Mariners a second-half equaliser.

It came after a rapid-fire start when Santalab, having demonstrated his shrewd capacity for netting late winners off the bench, provided a lesson on what can happen when he's given a start.

The 34-year-old, elevated to the XI an hour before kickoff in place of Kerem Bulut, was on the score sheet just 82 seconds in.

An intelligent run down the right allowed Santalab to latch onto a ball by starting debutant Nicolas Martinez and pocket the opener in the left-hand corner.

Mariners goalkeeper Paul Izzo was beaten on that occasion but justified his selection by denying the red and black more than once, including a dive to parry away a header from Japanese winger Jumpei Kusukami.

Central Coast enjoyed their share of good spells, with Connor Pain's speed very nearly giving his side a second-half winner but for an off-target finish.

The Wanderers should have put the Mariners away when they had chances -- and there were many.

In the end it was Redmayne who was left high and dry but, unlike his two errors last weekend, there was nothing he could have done to stop this goal.

A bad backpass from Cornthwaite sold Redmayne well short and forced him to rush into a challenge with a sliding O'Donovan, his block clearing the ball for 19-year-old midfielder Adam Berry to tap home.