Western Sydney Wanderers hold off Mariners to secure win

The Western Sydney Wanderers survived a strong second-half showing by Central Coast to score an important 2-1 A-League win in Gosford.

The Wanderers' first win in five games lifted them, at least temporarily, back into sixth spot.

In a proverbial game of two halves on Sunday, the Wanderers dominated the first and probably should have been more than two goals ahead. The Mariners came roaring back after the break, pulling a goal back with less than 15 minutes to go and had almost all the worthwhile chances.

A corner found Jaushua Sotirio on his own on the edge of the area and his slick sidefoot volley deflected off Mariners defender Liam Rose into the net.

The visitors' lead was doubled when Mariners goalkeeper Ben Kennedy was unable to keep out a powerful header from Oriol Riera.

In the first half, the Mariners were unable to shut down Riera and fellow Spaniard Raul Lorente, who set up the second goal with a fine cross, while the Wanderers racked up the chances. Riera had a header well saved by Kennedy, who also blocked a close-range shot from Mark Bridge, while Marcelo Carrusca blazed over the bar near the end of the half.

Substitute and recent Mariners signing Peter Skapetis gave the home fans some hope when he pulled a goal back with a fine 76th-minute header. It was his first touch in front of Mariners supporters shortly after going on the ground.

The Mariners created a few half-chances in the first 45 minutes but Vedran Janjetovic had only one easy save to make before the break.

It was a different story in the second half as the Mariners created almost all the chances. Jacob Melling forced Janjetovic into saves and Daniel De Silva also tested the Wanderers' custodian.