Western Sydney Wanderers 4 Central Coast Mariners 1: Santalab fires hosts top

Brendon Santalab’s double helped Western Sydney Wanderers to a 4-1 home win over Central Coast Mariners and to the top of the A-League.

The veteran forward netted once either side of the break to give his a comfortable 3-1 lead.

Romeo Castelen had previously opened the scoring for the hosts, before Luis Garcia levelled the scoring midway through the first half.

Mitch Nichols piled even more misery on Central Coast late on to put the match to bed, with the visitors remaining rock bottom in the table.

Western Sydney dominated proceedings right from the start and needed only eight minutes to open the scoring. Castelen picked up possession down the left, cut inside and beat goalkeeper Adam Pearce with a stunning strike in the top corner.

Luis Garcia restored parity from out of nowhere in the 21st minute, heading home from close range after a sublime cross from Mitch Austin.

Santalab then stepped up to lead his side the way, finding the net from a rebound after Pearce failed to hold on to Castelen’s attempt in the 36th minute.

The 33-year-old again struck shortly after the interval when he once more beat the Central Coast shot stopper with a good header at the far post after a perfect cross from Scott Neville.

There was even more to come from the hosts in the closing stages of the game, Nichols making it four after some good work from Mark Bridge.