2018–19 Central Coast Mariners FC season
# 2018–19 Central Coast Mariners FC season

The 2018–19 Central Coast Mariners FC season was the club's 14th season since its establishment in 2004. The club participated in the A-League for the 14th time and the FFA Cup for the fifth time.

## Review

The Mariners were defeated in the first round of the 2018 FFA Cup by Adelaide United.

This season saw the appointment of Mike Mulvey as head coach following the departure of Paul Okon late in the previous season. Mike Mulvey lasted only until round 21 before becoming the forth coach sacked in 5 seasons. In the transfer window, the club re-signed two former players: all-time top scorer Matt Simon and New Zealand midfielder Michael McGlinchey. In pre-season, Jamaican Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt also came to the club to train on an indefinite basis. Mulvey was sacked by the Mariners following their 8–2 loss at home against Wellington Phoenix. Alen Stajcic was named as caretaker to carry out the remainder of the season.

## Background

The Mariners ended the previous A-League season in last place after losing to F3 Derby rivals Newcastle Jets 8–2 on the final matchday. Paul Okon had stepped down as head coach late in the season and his replacement, Wayne O'Sullivan, had his contract terminated soon after season's end. Former Gold Coast United and Brisbane Roar coach Mike Mulvey was named as the new coach in April 2018.

## Players

### First team squad

    As of 1 March 2019

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 | AUS | Ben Kennedy |
| 2 | DF | AUS | Jonathan Aspropotamitis |
| 3 | DF | AUS | Jack Clisby |
| 6 | MF | NED | Tom Hiariej |
| 7 | MF | AUS | Andrew Hoole |
| 8 | MF | NZL | Michael McGlinchey |
| 10 | FW | AUS | Tommy Oar |
| 11 | FW | AUS | Connor Pain |
| 12 | GK | AUS | Adam Pearce |
| 13 | MF | AUS | Aiden O'Neill (on loan from Burnley) |
| 15 | DF | AUS | Kye Rowles |
| 17 | FW | AUS | Peter Kekeris (Scholarship) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | MF | AUS | Matthew Millar |
| 19 | FW | AUS | Matt Simon |
| 21 | FW | AUS | Corey Gameiro |
| 22 | MF | AUS | Jacob Melling |
| 23 | MF | AUS | Mario Shabow |
| 24 | GK | AUS | Joe Gauci |
| 25 | FW | AUS | Jordan Murray |
| 26 | MF | AUS | Josh Nisbet |
| 28 | DF | ENG | Sam Graham (on loan from Sheffield United) |
| 29 | MF | IRL | Stephen Mallon (on loan from Sheffield United) |
| 68 | MF | TUR | Jem Karacan |

## Transfers

### Transfers in

| No. | Position | Player | Transferred from | Type/fee | Contract length | Date |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 | DF | Jack Clisby | | Free transfer | 1 year | 7 May 2018 |
| 21 | FW | Corey Gameiro | | Free transfer | 1 year | 8 May 2018 |
| 19 | FW | Matt Simon | Sydney FC | Free transfer | 2 years | 10 May 2018 |
| 2 | DF | Jonathan Aspropotamitis | Western Sydney Wanderers | Free transfer | 1 year | 14 May 2018 |
| 23 | MF | Mario Shabow | Newcastle Jets | Free transfer | 2 years | 7 June 2018 |
| 24 | GK | Joe Gauci | West Torrens Birkalla | Free transfer | 2 years | 19 June 2018 |
| 8 | MF | Michael McGlinchey | | Free transfer | 2 years | 26 June 2018 |
| 20 | DF | Kalifa Cissé | | Free transfer | 1 year | 28 June 2018 |
| 18 | MF | Matthew Millar | South Melbourne | Free transfer | 1 year | 9 July 2018 |
| 16 | MF | Josh Macdonald | Wollongong Wolves | Free transfer | 1 year | 6 August 2018 |
| 25 | FW | Jordan Murray | APIA Leichhardt Tigers | Free transfer | 1 year | 6 August 2018 |
| 13 | MF | Aiden O'Neill | Burnley | Loan | 1 year | 15 August 2018 |
| 44 | FW | Ross McCormack | Aston Villa | Loan | 1 year | 20 September 2018 |
| 10 | FW | Tommy Oar | | Free transfer | 2 years | 20 September 2018 |
| 68 | MF | Jem Karacan | | Free transfer | 1 year | 24 January 2019 |
| 28 | DF | Sam Graham | Sheffield United | Loan | 1 year | 31 January 2019 |
| 29 | MF | Stephen Mallon | Sheffield United | Loan | 1 year | 31 January 2019 |

### Transfers out

| No. | Position | Player | Transferred to | Type/fee | Date |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 | DF | Joshua Rose | Retired | Retired | 9 April 2018 |
| 2 | DF | Storm Roux | | End of contract | 18 April 2018 |
| 8 | FW | Blake Powell | | End of contract | 18 April 2018 |
| 16 | MF | Liam Rose | | End of contract | 18 April 2018 |
| 17 | FW | Josh Bingham | | End of contract | 18 April 2018 |
| 18 | GK | Tom Glover | Tottenham Hotspur | Loan return | 18 April 2018 |
| 19 | DF | Jacob Poscoliero | | End of contract | 18 April 2018 |
| 27 | FW | Peter Skapetis | | End of contract | 18 April 2018 |
| 12 | FW | Trent Buhagiar | | Mutual contract termination | 4 May 2018 |
| 23 | MF | Wout Brama | Twente | Free transfer | 1 June 2018 |
| 15 | DF | Alan Baró | | Mutual contract termination | 5 June 2018 |
| 10 | MF | Daniel De Silva | Sydney FC | Loan | 25 July 2018 |
| 44 | FW | Ross McCormack | Aston Villa | Loan return | 5 January 2019 |
| 5 | DF | Antony Golec | Wellington Phoenix | Free transfer | 30 January 2019 |
| 20 | DF | Kalifa Cissé | Retired | Retired | 30 January 2019 |
| 14 | MF | Adam Berry | | Mutual contract termination | 1 February 2019 |
| 4 | DF | Jake McGing | Wisła Płock | $29,000 | 1 March 2019 |
| 16 | FW | Josh Macdonald | | Mutual contract termination | 15 March 2019 |

### From academy squad

| N | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Age | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 17 | FW | | Peter Kekeris | 19 | 1 year scholarship contract |
| 26 | MF | | Josh Nisbet | 19 | 0.5 year contract |

### Contracts extensions

| No. | Name | Position | Duration | Date |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 5 | Antony Golec | Left back | 1 year | 25 April 2018 |
| 22 | Jacob Melling | Defensive midfielder | 2 years | 26 April 2018 |
| 21 | Kye Rowles | Central defender | 1 year | 9 May 2018 |
| 11 | Connor Pain | Winger | 1 year | 9 May 2018 |
| 1 | Ben Kennedy | Goalkeeper | 1 year | 19 June 2018 |
| 12 | Adam Pearce | Goalkeeper | 1 year | 19 June 2018 |
| 3 | Jack Clisby | Left back | 2 years | 12 April 2019 |
| 25 | Jordan Murray | Forward | 2 years | 17 April 2019 |

### Technical staff

| Position | Staff |
| - | - |
| Head coach | Alen Stajcic (caretaker) |
| Assistant coach | Nick Montgomery |
| Goalkeeping coach | Matthew Nash |
| Strength and conditioning coach | |
| Physiotherapist | Murray Leyland |
| Youth football coach | Ben Cahn |
| Head of sports science | Tim Knight |

## Squad statistics

### Appearances and goals

| N | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | A-League | A-League | A-League | A-League | A-League | FFA Cup | FFA Cup | FFA Cup | FFA Cup | FFA Cup |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| N | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | | | | Apps | Goals | | | | Apps | Goals | | | |
| 1 | GK | | Ben Kennedy | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | | Jonathan Aspro | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 13+0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | | Jack Clisby | 21 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16+4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | | Tom Hiariej | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | | Andrew Hoole | 21 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 14+7 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | | Michael McGlinchey | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11+9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | | Tommy Oar | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6+5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | | Connor Pain | 25 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 21+3 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | GK | | Adam Pearce | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | MF | | Aiden O'Neill | 21 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 20+1 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | | Kye Rowles | 21 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 20+0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | | Peter Kekeris† | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | | Matthew Millar | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | | Matt Simon | 21 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 18+2 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | | Corey Gameiro | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | | Jacob Melling | 21 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 15+5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | | Mario Shabow | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3+8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | GK | | Joe Gauci | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | FW | | Jordan Murray | 21 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11+10 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | | Josh Nisbet† | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | | Charles M'Mombwa† | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | | Alec Vinci† | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | | Sam Graham | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | | Stephen Mallon | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | FW | | Jordan Smylie† | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | | Lewis Miller† | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | DF | | Michael Glassock† | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 68 | MF | | Jem Karacan | 8 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 7+1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Out on loan: ||||||||||||||
| 10 | MF | | Daniel De Silva | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players no longer at the club: ||||||||||||||
| 4 | MF | | Jake McGing | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | | Anthony Golec | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | | Adam Berry | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | | Josh Macdonald | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | | Kalifa Cissé | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8+0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | FW | | Ross McCormack | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5+0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

* Last updated: 14 April 2019
* Source: au.soccerway.com
* = Number of bookings; = Number of sending offs after a second yellow card; = Number of sending offs by a direct red card.

† = Scholarship or NPL/NYL-listed player

## Competitions

### Overall

| Competition | Started round | Final position / round | First match | Last match |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| A-League | — | 10th | 21 October 2018 | 26 April 2019 |
| FFA Cup | Round of 32 | Round of 32 | 1 August 2018 | 1 August 2018 |

### A-League

**League table**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Perth Glory | 27 | 18 | 6 | 3 | 56 | 23 | +33 | 60 | Qualification to 2020 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series |
| 2 | Sydney FC (C) | 27 | 16 | 4 | 7 | 43 | 29 | +14 | 52 | Qualification to 2020 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series |
| 3 | Melbourne Victory | 27 | 15 | 5 | 7 | 50 | 32 | +18 | 50 | Qualification to 2020 AFC Champions League preliminary round 2 and Finals series |
| 4 | Adelaide United | 27 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 37 | 32 | +5 | 44 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 5 | Melbourne City | 27 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 39 | 32 | +7 | 40 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 6 | Wellington Phoenix | 27 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 46 | 43 | +3 | 40 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 7 | Newcastle Jets | 27 | 10 | 5 | 12 | 40 | 36 | +4 | 35 | |
| 8 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 27 | 6 | 6 | 15 | 42 | 54 | −12 | 24 | |
| 9 | Brisbane Roar | 27 | 4 | 6 | 17 | 38 | 71 | −33 | 18 | |
| 10 | Central Coast Mariners | 27 | 3 | 4 | 20 | 31 | 70 | −39 | 13 | |

* 1 2 3 The top two teams enter the Finals series at the semi-finals, while the teams ranked third to sixth enter the Finals series at the elimination-finals.
* ↑ Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.

**Results summary**

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |

Last updated: 14 April 2019. Source: ultimatealeague.com

**Results by round**

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ground | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | H | A |
| Result | D | D | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | W | L | D | L | L | L | L | D | L | L | W | L | L | L | W | L |
| Position | 3 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |

**Matches**

Win  Draw  Loss

