The Wolves' FFA Cup dream is over, after Luke Wilkshire's men fell 2-1 to the Mariners in an entertaining and fiery clash at WIN Stadium on Wednesday night.
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Captain Lachlan Scott gave his fans hope of a potential 'Cupset' when his goal fired Wollongong to a 1-0 lead at half time in the round of 16 clash. However, the Mariners drew level midway through the second stanza, before Harry McCarthy's late header guided the A-League Men's side to victory.
Both sides were reduced to 10 men during the game, with Mariners goalkeeper Mark Birighitti and Wolves defender Darcy Madden receiving red cards.
The result means the Mariners progress to the nation-wide competition's quarter-finals.
Central Coast started the game in positive fashion, creating some nice chances, forcing Wolves gloveman Hayden Durose to make a couple of quality saves.
There was controversy around the 20-minute mark when Birighitti collided with Wolves defender Nick Littler inside the Mariners' box. The goalkeeper then shoved his opponent to the ground, leading to tempers flaring between the two teams.
Birighitti received a red card for his involvement, with the referee also awarding a penalty. Scott made no mistake from the spot and the home side led 1-0 after 20 minutes.
With five minutes left in the half, the hosts nearly doubled their advantage through Scott, but gloveman Yaren Sozer scrambled to make a nice save.
At the other end, Moresche almost equalised twice, but the Wolves defence were able to scramble on both occasions.
The Mariners had more possession and shots on target in the half, however, the score remained 1-0 at the break.
The visitors started the second stanza on the right foot, with Jacob Farrell dancing into the box, but his shot just swayed wide.
Marco Urena appeared to have got Central Coast on the board in the 62nd minute from point-blank range, but Darcy Madden made a desperate sliding tackle to clear the ball.
However, the Mariners continued to press hard and were rewarded, with Moresche drilling the ball into the back of the net minutes later to draw level at 1-1.
Urena continued to look threatening and found himself one-on-one with Durose, with the gloveman making a great save. At the other end, Scott wound up from long-range, which was denied by Sozer.
With about 15 minutes left, Wolves midfielder Brendan Griffin put a dangerous ball in the box, with Nicholas Duarte's flick-on just skimming over the cross bar.
Minutes later, Moresche beat Durose and looked destined to score, however, Littler was able to make a desperate clearance on the goal line. The game continued to open up, with Mariners player Cy Goddard looping a shot from outside the box, but Durose denied the midfielder with a great save.
However, from the ensuing corner, a nice ball into the box found the head of substitute McCarthy, who gave the Mariners a 2-1 lead after 80 minutes.
Wollongong's hopes of a comeback were dented when Madden was sent off following a tough challenge on McCarthy. From a free kick outside the box, Oli Bozanic then nearly extended the visitors' lead, but his shot was denied by the cross bar.
Urena had a couple of late chances to drill home Central Coast's third goal, but couldn't convert. However, it didn't matter as the Mariners prevailed 2-1.
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Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
