Adelaide United 4 Central Coast Mariners 2: Mauk and Djite shine

Adelaide United beat Central Coast Mariners 4-2 on Sunday at the Coopers Stadium to go second in the A-League table.

Roy O’Donovan gifted the Mariners a surprise lead in the 16th minute, but Isaias, Stefan Mauk and Bruce Djite all found the net in to help the home side to a comfortable 3-1 lead at half-time.

Pablo Sanchez extended the advantage with 10 minutes to go, shortly before O’Donovan doubled his personal tally at the other end.

O’Donovan missed an early chance when he headed over the crossbar, but the forward made amends in the 16th minute, cutting inside from the right before beating Eugene Galekovic with a low shot at his near post.

The home side levelled just before the half-hour mark following some poor goalkeeper from Paul Izzo, who failed to keep out Isaias’ ambitious long-range strike.

Mauk gave Adelaide the lead six minutes later with a fine individual goal, dribbling past a number of defenders before finding the net with a calm shot.

Djite then added a third for the hosts in the 38th minute with a simple finish after some good work from Mauk and Craig Goodwin.

The referee awarded Adelaide a penalty in the closing stages of the game after Sanchez was brought down by Harry Ashcroft, with the 33-year-old stepping up himself to coolly convert.

O’Donovan pulled one back in the 83rd minute with a spectacular volley, but it was nothing more than a consolation goal for the bottom-of-the-table visitors.