Kristensen strike sees Roar defeat Mariners

Brisbane Roar's recruitment of former Denmark international Thomas Kristensen has paid off after the midfielder scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Central Coast Mariners in Gosford.

Thomas Kristensen

Thomas Kristensen celebrates with his teammates after scoring his first goal for Brisbane Roar. Source: Getty Images

Kristensen reacted best in the 33rd minute after a goal-mouth scramble saw the ball bounce free to him just inside the box. 

The Roar had the better of the chances in a tight-fought encounter, Mariners' keeper Paul Izzo, as well as the woodwork, can be thanked for keeping the score so low. 

It's the first win of the season for Brisbane, while Central Coast are without an A-League win since January 30 this year when Luis Garcia inspired his side to a 3-1 victory over Wellington. 

The loss extends the Mariners' winless run to 13, however rookie coach Paul Okon will be buoyed by his team's effort.

Playing in their first home game of the season, the Mariners treated the 7,073 crowd with an intent missing from their 4-0 humiliation against Sydney FC a week earlier.

The return of Fabio Ferreira injected a creative outlet early on the right flank, while gloveman Izzo produced a number of strong saves in place of a dropped Ivan Necevski.

Brisbane had to survive a handball shout on Luke De Vere that could've been fatal, while Mariners talisman Roy O'Donovan's header had to be parried away by Michael Theo soon after.

However despite the home side's bright early display, Kristensen drew first blood for the visitors and rewarded right back Jack Hingert in the 33rd minute.

His cross was met with a quick-fire shot from Brett Holman, only for a deflection to draw Izzo out of the goals and then get beat by Kristensen's low hit.

The Mariners re-asserted their dominance after halftime but failed to muster a clear chance, eventually running out of puff and allowing the Roar back into the contest.

Twice Izzo denied point-blank opportunities to Jamie Maclaren, who was also denied by the crossbar in the 59th minute.

The former Socceroo wasn't the only one to throw away chances, with substitute Brandon Borrello also bombing a second goal for his side after an Izzo error late in the game.

Mid-week signing Scott Galloway made his first appearance for the Mariners late in the second half after moving from Melbourne Victory.

The last time the Mariners defeated an Australian side in the A-League was over a year ago when they beat Perth Glory 3-2 at home on October 10, 2015. 


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3 min read
Published 22 October 2016 7:36pm
Updated 22 October 2016 8:10pm
By Nick Stoll


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