Central Coast Mariners FC in Asian football

Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional football club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. The first Asian football match played by the Mariners was against Pohang Steelers on 11 March 2009. They have since participated in the AFC Champions League on four occasions, organised by the Asian Football Confederation. The team has made the knockout stage of Asian competition once (2013).

Central Coast Mariners FC in Asian football
ClubCentral Coast Mariners
First entry2009 AFC Champions League
Latest entry2015 AFC Champions League

Qualification for Asian club competitions is determined by a team's position in the domestic league. The winners of the A-League Premiership (regular season) and Championship (finals series) have always qualified, with the next-best team(s) in the A-League regular season occasionally receiving a place.

John Hutchinson holds the club record for most appearances with 24. Adam Kwasnik is the club's record goalscorer in Asian football with three goals. The Mariners' biggest winning margin in Asia is a 5–1 scoreline, this was achieved at home against Tianjin Teda in the 2012 AFC Champions League.

History
Adrian Caceres was the first Mariners player to score in Asian competition.

2009 AFC Champions League

The Mariners qualified for the 2009 AFC Champions League after finishing first in the 2007–08 A-League regular season.[1] They played their first ever match in Asia against K-League side Pohang Steelers, finishing in a scoreless draw at Central Coast Stadium.[2] In the next match, against Tianjin Teda, Adrian Caceres became the club's first ever goalscorer in Asian football when he deflected a shot from Shane Huke into the goal; the match finished in a 2-all draw.[3] After picking up two points from their first two games, the team had a run of four consecutive losses which saw them eliminated in the group stage.[4]

Season Competition Round Opposition Score
2009 AFC Champions League Group stage Pohang Steelers 0–0 (H), 3–2 (A)
Tianjin Teda 2–2 (A), 0–1 (H)
Kawasaki Frontale 0–5 (H), 2–1 (A)

2012 AFC Champions League

Central Coast returned to Asian competition in the 2012 AFC Champions League after finishing second in the 2010–11 A-League.[5] The club drew their first three matches against Tianjin Teda, Nagoya Grampus and Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma,[6] before suffering a 5-goal loss away to Seongnam.[7] In the following match, against Tianjin Teda, the mariners produced their best-ever Champions League result to date, winning 5–1 at home in what was their first ever win in the competition.[8] Needing an away win in their final group game against Nagoya Grampus to progress to the next round, the club suffered a 3–0 loss and were eliminated from the competition.[9]

Season Competition Round Opposition Score
2012 AFC Champions League Group stage Tianjin Teda 0–0 (A), 5–1 (H)
Nagoya Grampus 1–1 (H), 3–0 (A)
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma 1–1 (H), 5–0 (A)

2013 AFC Champions League

The Mariners were the only team to receive direct qualification to the 2014 AFC Champions League after winning the 2011–12 A-League Premiership.[10] This campaign included a 2–1 win over Guizhou Renhe,[11] as well as an away win against Suwon Bluewings only two days after winning the 2013 A-League Grand Final.[12] A loss to Kashiwa Reysol in the final group game was not enough to prevent the Mariners from qualifying for the round of sixteen for the first time.[13] In the next round, Central Coast came up against Chinese Super League champions Guangzhou Evergrande and lost 5–1 over two legs.[14] Evergrande went on to win the competition.[15]

Season Competition Round Opposition Score
2013 AFC Champions League Group stage Suwon Bluewings 0–0 (H), 0–1 (A)
Kashiwa Reysol 3–1 (A), 0–3 (H)
Guizhou Renhe 2–1 (H), 2–1 (A)
Round of 16 Guangzhou Evergrande 1–2 (H), 3–0 (A)

2014 AFC Champions League

The club qualified for the 2014 AFC Champions League after winning the 2013 A-League Grand Final, but were forced to deny rumours that they were considering withdrawing from the competition for financial reasons.[16] A double from Mile Sterjovski gave the club a victory over Sanfrecce Hiroshima at home - the Mariners' first victory against Japanese opposition.[17] The club also defeated Beijing Guoan.[18] A loss in their final match against Sanfrecce eliminated the Mariners from the tournament.[19]

Season Competition Round Opposition Score
2014 AFC Champions League Group stage FC Seoul 2–0 (A), 1–2 (H)
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2–1 (H), 1–0 (A)
Beijing Guoan 2–1 (A), 1–0 (H)

2015 AFC Champions League

The Mariners participated in the 2015 AFC Champions League after coming third in the 2013–14 A-League.[20] They entered in the qualifying play-off, where they lost at home to Guangzhou R&F, and were therefore eliminated.[21]

Season Competition Round Opposition Score
2015 AFC Champions League Qualifying play-off round Guangzhou R&F 1–3 (H)

Overall record

By season
Central Coast Mariners FC record in Asian football by season
Season Pld W D L GF GA GD Round
2009 6024513-8Group stage
2012 6132711-4Group stage
2013 8215614-8Round of 16
2014 620447-3Group stage
2015 100113–2Qualifying play-off round
Total2756162348-25

By country
Central Coast Mariners record in Asian football by country
Country Pld W D L GF GA GD Win%
 China 113261417-327%
 Japan 8116519-1412.5%
 South Korea 8134412-812.5%

See also

References
  1. Cockerill, Michael (5 March 2008). "Mariners, Jets poised for Asian windfall". The Age.
  2. Fitzgibbon, Liam (11 March 2009). "Mariners draw with Pohang Steelers". ESPN FC.
  3. "Mariners show character in Tianjin draw". Football NSW. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  4. Fitzgibbon, Liam (20 May 2009). "Central Coast Mariners end Asian Champions League campaign with loss to Tianjin Teda". The Daily Telegraph.
  5. "Reds bound for AFC Champions League 2012". Adelaide United. 7 December 2011.
  6. Howitt, Liam (3 April 2012). "Central Coast Mariners hold Seongnam to Asian Champions League draw despite Josh Rose send-off".
  7. Fitzgibbon, Liam (18 April 2012). "Seongnam beat Mariners 5-0 in ACL". ESPN FC.
  8. Howitt, Liam (2 May 2012). "Mariners rout Tianjin Teda 5-1 in Asian Champions League". Herald Sun.
  9. "Nagoya ends Mariners' Asian campaign". The World Game. 15 May 2012.
  10. "AFC cuts Champions League slots". Football Federation Australia. 29 November 2012. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014.
  11. Maher, Steven (3 April 2013). "Central Coast Mariners beat Guizhou Renhe 2-1 in Asian Champions League clash". AdelaideNow.
  12. "Heroes of Suwon". Central Coast Mariners. 24 April 2013.
  13. Adno, Carly (1 May 2013). "Central Coast Mariners beaten 3-0 by Kashiwa Reysol but still qualify for knockout phase of Asian Champions League". The Advertiser (Adelaide).
  14. "Mariners bow out of Asia". Football Federation Australia. 22 May 2013.
  15. Yip, Bobby (9 November 2013). "Guangzhou edge Seoul to claim Champions League". Reuters.
  16. Bossi, Dominic (29 November 2013). "Central Coast Mariners say they won't withdraw from Asian Champions League". Sydney Morning Herald.
  17. "Mile Sterjovski bags double in Central Coast Mariners ACL win over Sanfrecce Hiroshima". Sydney Morning Herald. 11 March 2014.
  18. "Marcel Seip's volley seals Mariners' ACL victory". Guardian Australia. 2 April 2014.
  19. Adno, Carly (23 April 2014). "Central Coast eliminated from AFC Champions League after loss to Sanfrecce Hiroshima". PerthNow. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014.
  20. "Season 2014/15 Hyundai A-League draw revealed". Football Federation Australia. 12 June 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  21. "Guangzhou R&F cruise past Mariners in ACL qualifier". FourFourTwo. 17 February 2015. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
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