The Central Coast Mariners’ hopes of progressing through to the knockout stages of the AFC Champions League Elite have all but ended after slumping to a 4-0 defeat against Yokohama F Marinos.
With just a single point from their opening five games, the Mariners needed to win all three of their remaining fixtures to realistically retain any hope of advancing to the round of 16.
But they were overrun by the rampant Japanese powers at Central Coast Stadium on Tuesday night, conceding three goals before half-time.
As Mariners legend John Hutchinson watched on from the Yokohama dugout, Kenta Inoue bagged goals in the sixth and 30th minute as the 26-year-old cut bent an effort inside the near post for his first.
He then pounced on a loose ball and fired home as a static Mariners defence looked on for his second.
Brazilian striker Anderson Lopes made it three six minutes later, found by countryman Yan before easily creating a yard of space that allowed him to fire a deflected shot into the net.
Losing Ryan Edmondson to a knock just before the interval, the reigning A-League Men champions had no answer for the onslaught and by half-time were outshot 17 to four, with seven of the visitors’ efforts on target compared to just one from the hosts.
Seeking to go one better in this year’s ACLE after losing last season’s final to UAE outfit Al Ain, Yokohama put a bow on their evening on the hour when substitute Jun Amano bent a sublime free-kick into the top corner, leaving keeper Dylan Peraić-Cullen little chance.
The Mariners will end their ACLE group stage in February when they host Malaysian side Johor Darul Ta’zim before travelling to face Japanese outfit Kawasaki Frontale.
In the meantime, they will turn their attentions to Sydney FC in ALM action at Gosford this Sunday.
© AAP
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
Western United have broken their Central Coast hoodoo with a 3-1 A-League Men win courtesy of a Luke Vickery goal. Vickery came off the…
If the Mariners avoid losing, it’ll feel like a triumphant close to this two-year odyssey through Asia - despite being out of contention a long time ago.
After a couple months’ break, the AFC Champions League Elite is back to finish out the league stage, but for Central Coast Mariners, the…
Central Coast may have held onto a 2-2 draw after a serious second-half challenge from Newcastle, but Mariners coach Mark Jackson can only see…
Wellington have had two big penalty shouts contentiously denied in a dramatic 0-0 A-League Men draw with Central Coast. A win to either the…
The Central Coast Mariners have breathed fresh life into their A-League Men campaign with a 3-1 win over Western Sydney Wanderers. A well-taken strike…
