The 2005–06 season was the first for both the Central Coast Mariners and the A-League

Central Coast Mariners FC
2005–06 season
ManagerLawrie McKinna
A-League3rd
Finals2nd
Pre-season cup1st
Top goalscorerS. Petrie (8)

Compared with its Sydney rival, the Central Coast Mariners had a far more low-key buildup to the inaugural A-League season. The majority of its squad were experienced players from the defunct National Soccer League. They generally exceeded most expectations, having a very successful season, culminating in two solid displays in the preliminary competitions and reaching the grand final in the A-League.

Players

First team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Australia AUS John Crawley
2 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Wayne O'Sullivan
3 DF Australia AUS Paul O'Grady
4 MF Australia AUS Noel Spencer (captain)
5 DF Australia AUS Michael Beauchamp
6 MF Germany GER André Gumprecht
7 MF Australia AUS John Hutchinson
8 DF Australia AUS Dean Heffernan
9 FW Australia AUS Nick Mrdja
10 MF Australia AUS Tom Pondeljak
11 MF Australia AUS Damien Brown
12 FW Scotland SCO Stewart Petrie
13 FW Australia AUS Russell Woodruffe
No. Pos. Nation Player
14 MF Australia AUS Leo Carle
15 DF Australia AUS Andrew Clark
16 DF Australia AUS Nigel Boogaard
17 MF Australia AUS Matthew Osman
18 DF Australia AUS Alex Wilkinson
19 FW Australia AUS Adam Kwasnik
20 GK Australia AUS Danny Vukovic
21 MF Scotland SCO Ian Ferguson Short term cover
22 MF Australia AUS Jamie McMaster Short term cover
23 MF Australia AUS Brad Porter Short term cover
24 FW Australia AUS Dez Giraldi Short term cover
30 GK Australia AUS Matthew Trott Short term cover

Matches

2005-06 Pre-season fixtures

RoundDateHome TeamScoreAway TeamCrowd
1 30 March 2005Central Coast3-0Gladesville SpiritUnknown
2 14 April 2005Central Coast9-0Wyoming FCUnknown
3 19 April 2005Central Coast3-3Manly UnitedUnknown
4 25 April 2005Central Coast3-0Blacktown CityNo public access
5 27 April 2005Central Coast2-0Bonnyrigg White EaglesUnknown
6 8 July 2005Central Coast6-0TownsvilleUnknown
7 9 July 2005Central Coast1-2Queensland RoarUnknown
8 12 July 2005Central Coast3-0Central Coast Select XI1500
9 16 July 2005Central Coast2-0New Zealand KnightsUnknown

Phillips International Soccer Sevens

The Mariners competed in Phillips International soccer sevens tournament played in Hong Kong. Their group featured three of the biggest teams in the world, PSV, Manchester United and Celtic. The Mariners caused one of the upsets of the tournament by defeating a somewhat understrength Manchester United 2–1.

RoundDateHome TeamScoreAway TeamCrowd
1 28 May 2005HKF Association Chairman's Select2-1Central Coast Unknown
2 28 May 2005Central Coast2-0Hong Kong Football Club 2Unknown
3 28 May 2005Central Coast0-0CelticUnknown
Quarter Final 29 May 2005Central Coast2-1Manchester UnitedUnknown
Semi Final 29 May 2005Central Coast0-1PSVUnknown

Club World Cup Qualification Competition

The Mariners were runners-up to Sydney FC in the qualifying tournament held to determine Australia's entry in the FIFA Club World Cup, losing in the grand final 1–0.

Round 1
(7 May)
Semi-finals
(11 May)
Finals
(15 May)
         
Perth Glory 1
Sydney FC 2
Sydney FC 3
Queensland Roar 0
Central Coast Mariners 0
Sydney FC 1
Central Coast Mariners (PEN) 0 (4)
Newcastle Jets 0 (2)
Central Coast Mariners 4
Adelaide United 0
Adelaide United (PEN) 0 (4)
Melbourne Victory 0 (1)

2005 Pre-Season Cup

Group B

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA
Sydney FC 7321051
Central Coast 6320143
Queensland Roar FC 4311163
New Zealand Knights FC 0300319
 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
12 August
 
 
Melbourne Victory1
 
21 August
 
Central Coast Mariners3
 
Central Coast Mariners1
 
14 August
 
Perth Glory0
 
Sydney FC0
 
 
Perth Glory1
 

2005-06 A-League fixtures

26 August 2005 Round 1 Perth Glory 0 : 1 Central Coast Mariners Members Equity Stadium
20:00 UTC+8 Report
Summary
Spencer 66' Attendance: 11,113
Referee: Ben Williams
16 September 2005 Round 4 Sydney FC 2 : 3 Central Coast Mariners Aussie Stadium
20:00 UTC+10 Packer 13'
Yorke 72'
Report
Summary
Petrie 20' (pen.)
Gumprecht 35'
Spencer 90+1'
Attendance: 15,614
Referee: Peter O'Leary
25 September 2005 Round 5 Adelaide United 1 : 1 Central Coast Mariners Hindmarsh Stadium
17:00 UTC+9:30 Valkanis 34' Report
Summary
Kwasnik 19' Attendance: 7,013
Referee: Angelo Nardi
7 October 2005 Round 7 Queensland Roar 1 : 1 Central Coast Mariners Suncorp Stadium
20:00 UTC+10 Seo 57' Report
Summary
Spencer 41' Attendance: 13,195
Referee: Perry Mur
29 October 2005 Round 10 New Zealand Knights 1 : 3 Central Coast Mariners North Harbour Stadium
20:00 UTC+12 Yeo 7' (pen.) Report
Summary
Heffernan 4'
Petrie 49', 72' (pen.)
Attendance: 2,583
Referee: Neil Fox
5 November 2005 Round 11 Central Coast Mariners 1 : 5 Sydney FC Bluetongue Stadium
20:00 UTC+11 Hutchinson 40' Report
Summary
Yorke 9' (pen.)
Talay 14'
Petrovski 23', 68', 83'
Attendance: 10,529
Referee: Simon Przydacz
25 November 2005 Round 14 Central Coast Mariners 2 : 2 Queensland Roar Bluetongue Stadium
Heffernan 89'
Osman 56'
Brosque 7', 78'
Baird Red card 75'
Attendance: 5,194
Referee: Matthew Breeze
31 December 2005 Round 16 Central Coast Mariners 4 : 1 Newcastle Jets Bluetongue Stadium
Hutchinson 71', 82'
Brown 30'
Gumprecht 3'
Coveny 85'
Corbo Red card 56'
Attendance: 11,612
Referee: Mark Shield
14 January 2006 Round 18 Sydney FC 1 : 1 Central Coast Mariners Aussie Stadium
Carney 61' Pondeljak 52' Attendance: 15,977
Referee: Ben Williams
20 January 2006 Round 19 Adelaide United 1 : 1 Central Coast Mariners Hindmarsh Stadium
Veart 50' (pen.) Kwasnik 54' Attendance: 13,008
Referee: Mark Shield
27 January 2006 Round 20 Central Coast Mariners 3 : 1 Melbourne Victory Bluetongue Stadium
Heffernan 88'
Spencer 28', 62'
Ferrante 13' Attendance: 11,945
Referee: Simon Przydacz

2005-06 Finals series

10 February 2006 Semi-Final Leg 1 Newcastle Jets 0 : 1 Central Coast Mariners EnergyAustralia Stadium
Osman 76' Attendance: 10,236
Referee: Ben Williams
17 February 2006 Semi-Final Leg 2 Central Coast Mariners 1 : 1 Newcastle Jets Bluetongue Stadium
Heffernan 79' Thompson 28' Attendance: 17,429
Referee: Simon Przydacz
26 February 2006 Preliminary Final Adelaide United 0 : 1 Central Coast Mariners Hindmarsh Stadium
Pondeljak 7' Attendance: 11,405
Referee: Matthew Breeze
5 March 2006 Grand Final Sydney FC 1 : 0 Central Coast Mariners Aussie Stadium
Corica 62' Attendance: 41,689
Referee: Mark Shield

Ladder

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Adelaide United 21 13 4 4 33 25 +8 43 Qualification for 2007 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series
2 Sydney FC (C) 21 10 6 5 35 28 +7 36
3 Central Coast Mariners 21 8 8 5 35 28 +7 32 Qualification for Finals series
4 Newcastle Jets 21 9 4 8 27 29 2 31
5 Perth Glory 21 8 5 8 34 29 +5 29
6 Queensland Roar 21 7 7 7 27 22 +5 28
7 Melbourne Victory 21 7 5 9 26 24 +2 26
8 New Zealand Knights[lower-alpha 1] 21 1 3 17 15 47 32 6
Source: ultimatealeague.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. New Zealand Knights cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.

Finals

Statistics

Goal scorers

PlayerGoals
Stewart Petrie8
Dean Heffernan7
John Hutchinson6
Noel Spencer6
Andre Gumprecht2
Adam Kwasnik2

End of Year Awards

References

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