Canberra United 3 (Strika 12’, Green 30’ & Krklec 67’) Central Coast Mariners 6 (Paz 1’, 25’ 51, William 92’, Smylie 85’ & Kekeris 95’)
With the scores locked at 3-3 in the 85th minute the Mariners and Canberra United looked certain to end in a draw but the Mariners remarkably managed to score three goals in the dying stages to earn an epic 6-3 win in the Foxtel National Youth League.
Matias Paz stole the headlines with a hat-trick which included the opener in just the first minute of play which was complimented by goals to Peter Kekeris, Jordan Smylie & Charles William.
The Mariners took the lead at 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 that Canberra United continued to pull back to even terms on every occasion but when the Yellow & Navy found the back of the net in the 85th minute there would be no stopping them.
The game kicked off in outstanding fashion with Paz raising above the pack to head home in the opening minute of play to give his side an early lead.
Canberra equalised, but Paz was a man on a mission and had his brace in the 25th minute when he claimed possession in a dangerous area to fire home and make it 2-1.
Canberra made it 2-2 leading into the break and it was clear that the Mariners would need to work to get some breathing space between the two teams.
Six minutes into the second half, Paz had his hat-trick to again put the Mariners in the lead with a tidy finish past Canberra United’s keeper.
But the home side refused to give up and equalised through Tom Krklec who captialised on a Mariners’ defensive error to lock the scores at 3-3.
The game stayed that way until the final five minutes of regular time where a determined Mariners outfit came home strong to score a flurry of late goals and claim three points.
The quick-firing Mariners were spurred on by a wonder-strike from substitute, Jordan Smylie who pulled the trigger on laser beam from outside the area to make it 4-3. After a number of chances that could have extended the score line even further, Peter Kekeris & Charles William also etched their names on the scoresheet to make it a resounding 6-3 win in Canberra.
Full focus for Wayne O’Sullivan’s Mariners Youth Team now shifts to next Sunday where the Mariners play host to Sydney FC Youth. Kick-off is 4:30pm at the Central Coast Mariners Centre of Excellence.
