A-League wrap: Wellington wait, Mariners clinch second

Wellington’s bid for a second consecutive finals berth may go down to the wire after losing 2-0 to Sydney FC on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, the Central Coast Mariners clinched second place on the table and a double chance, ending Gold Coast United’s faint hopes of doing the same with a 3-1 win at Skilled Park.

New Zealand outfit Wellington could head into their final-round clash with bottom-placed North Queensland on Sunday needing at least a point to fend off Newcastle for the final spot in the top six.

The Phoenix arrived for the Sky Blues’ final home game with a patched-up side and it showed.

Their leaky defence rode its luck in the first half and had goalkeeper Danny Vukovic to thank for keeping things even at the break.

But a comical penalty that eventually found the back of the net on the third attempt via an own-goal early in the second half was followed by a strike to replacement Brendan Gan sealed their fate.

Sydney midfielder Nick Carle was awarded a penalty in the 54th minute after being brought down by James Musa but hit his spot kick straight at Vukovic.

The ball came straight back to Carle, who hit his second attempt again at Vukovic.

It rebounded off the keeper then ricocheted off Nick Ward’s head and into the back of the net.

Attacker Gan put the game out of Wellington’s reach with an assured finish on 69 minutes after Shannon Cole broke through the defence before pulling his pass back into the box.

On the Gold Coast, all three of the Mariners’ goals came through debut senior strikes from National Youth League starlets Bernie Ibini-Isei, Mustafa Amini and Mitchell Duke, who all stepped into the squad to fill the shoes of a host of injured players.

The trio never looked out of place, capping a dominant performance from Graham Arnold’s men.

The hosts nabbed a consolation goal six minutes from time after Andrew Barisic flicked the ball into the path of fellow striker Shane Smeltz and, though the Kiwi made no mistake from close range, there was no danger of a late surge from United.

The win ensures that the Mariners will meet premiers Brisbane Roar in the major-semi final, with the first leg likely to be played on Saturday, February 19 at Bluetongue Stadium in Gosford.

United must now end Brisbane’s 24-match unbeaten run in Saturday’s M1 derby at Suncorp Stadium to have any chance of finishing third.