A BIZARRE and eventful 3-2 win over Central Coast on Sunday has seen Melbourne City retake the advantage in the tumultuous battle for third spot.
City saw a controversial two-goal lead evaporate in the moments either side of halftime, before the 62nd minute sending off of Mariners goalkeeper Paul Izzo — and resultant penalty to Bruno Fornaroli — proved decisive.
Fornaroli finished with a double — the other strike a brilliant fourth minute free kick — in his 50th A-League game.
The Uruguayan also now has 40 A-League goals.
While Brisbane could have joined it on 33 points later with a win in Newcastle, City’s success in a soggy Gosford ensured it leapt over Perth into third.
It has next week off before the Jets visit AAMI Park.
Perth has a tricky AAMI Park encounter with Melbourne Victory on Saturday, while Brisbane travels to Adelaide on March 19 just days after playing in Japan.
“It was a crazy game,” Fornaroli said on Fox Sports.
“The most important today is that we win here.
“We want to fight to the end, so this is the way.”
Bruno’s bamboozling free kick0:52
A-League: Bruno Fornaroli scores a belter against the Mariners.
With own goals at either end there was no shortage of talking points, which again unfortunately included disputable refereeing.
Mariners coach Paul Okon was irate all day.
Fernando Brandan, in the starting line-up for just the third time in 2017, appeared to have handballed before he was brought down for the free kick that led to Fornaroli’s opener.
And then Ruon Tongyik was lucky not to have conceded a 15th minute penalty for his contact with Connor Pain, made worse when City’s swift counter from the resultant corner led to the visitor’s second — which came after Nick Montgomery spectacularly turned the ball in to his own net.
City is likely to have little sympathy given its own gripes with crucial decisions that have gone against it this season.
Mariners’ horror minute1:10
A-League: The Mariners can’t take a trick.
And the Mariners still had the chance to still get a result after Fabio Ferreira pulled one back in first half injury time with a deflected long-range shot, before Tongyik also scored an own goal in the 47th minute.
The game was in the balance until Izzo’s send off.
After a poor Jacob Poscoliero back pass, Izzo’s attempted clearance hit Fornaroli and deflected forward. Fornaroli ran it in to the penalty box before Izzo collected him from behind.
It was the third City goal from a counter attack, which was instructive in the way the game was played.
Prior to yesterday City had lost the possession battle just three times this season.
But the Mariners clearly held sway in this department until Izzo’s sending off, with City then doing what so many teams have tried to do to it this season: hurt its opposition in transition.
Originally published as City seizes third with manic win over Mariners
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