The Wanderers Foxtel Y-League team have been defeated 5-0 by Central Coast Mariners at Marconi Stadium on Sunday morning.
Alou Kuol grabbed a double for the Mariners, with the other goals coming from Dylan Ruiz-Diaz, Harry McCarthy and Michael Katsoulis.
It was a cagey start from both sides. The game’s first real chance fell the way of Central Coast, as Mohamed Al Taay did well to block a shot from former Wanderer John Roberts.
The Wanderers then had a good spell with the returning Thomas Aquilina making some good runs down the right flank.
Aquilina then stung the palms of Mariners goalkeeper Adam Pearce and soon afterward he set up Jacob Vasiliou for a shot which flew wide.
On 37 minutes the Red & Black then fell behind when Kuol netted from inside the area.
The Wanderers nearly found an immediate response when Rory Jordan tackled Pearce in front of the goal, however, the ball didn’t fall kindly for him.
Tate Russell also had a good chance when he danced around an opponent, but Pearce was able to make the save.
Unfortunately, Kuol would score again in first half stoppage time, leaving the Wanderers 2-0 down at the interval.
The Red & Black rang in the changes at the start of the second half. Jamie Percevski, Presley Ortiz and Alessandro Lopane all made their Foxtel Y-League debuts for the club as they pushed to get back in the contest.
The battle became even tougher when Ruiz-Diaz scored just before the hour mark to make it 3-0.
The Wanderers responded as Russell forced Pearce to tip a long-range effort over the crossbar and Jarrod Carluccio threw himself at a cross but couldn’t get his header on target.
Central Coast grabbed their fourth goal when McCarthy struck with a little over 15 minutes remaining, however, to their credit the Wanderers kept going.
The Red & Black went close when Carluccio raced past a couple of defenders and had his shot blocked and Ortiz fired inches over the bar from the rebound.
In the final minute, Katsoulis hit the back of the net to round off a difficult day for the Red & Black.
The result sees the Wanderers drop to fourth place in the Foxtel Y-League Group B. The next game is this Saturday when the Red & Black travel to Jubilee Stadium to face Sydney FC. Kick-off is at 4:45pm.
Western Sydney Wanderers 0
Central Coast Mariners 5 (Alou Kuol 37’ 45+1’, Dylan Ruiz-Diaz 58’, Harry McCarthy 74’, Michael Katsoulis 90+3’)
Western Sydney Wanderers: Jack Greenwood, Dean Pelekanos (Jamie Percevski 46’), Noah Pagden, Mohamed Al Taay (c), Thomas Aquilina, Lochlan Constable, Fabian Monge, Tate Russell, Rory Jordan (Alessandro Lopane 60’), Jarrod Carluccio, Jacob Vasiliou (Presley Ortiz 57’)
Unused substitute: Oliver Kalac
