The Central West Mariners had a much improved performance in their NSW State League clash with Inter Lions on Saturday night.
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Despite drawing 2-2 and missing out on a chance to go outright fourth, coach Andrew Fearnley was happy with the performance.
“We dominated possession in the first half and we were far more positive, we held the ball well and created some really good chances, we got two (goals) but it could have been a lot more” he said.
“In the second half I still thought we were good but we just didn’t take our chances, a penalty hurt us and then an error at the set piece came back to bite us.”
One of the areas the Mariners improved upon was their ball retention and quality of passing, which may have been down to their new signing Josh Ward, according to Fearnley.
“He only landed on Wednesday morning from the UK, he was solid in the first half and made a difference in how we used the ball,” he said.
“He’s a quality player and the sixty minutes we got out of him today was good, if we build on that going forward I think he’ll make a big difference.”
Once again Charlie McDonald Bailey was a tower of strength at the back, perhaps out to prove why he is one of the better centre backs in the competition after conceding five last time out.
McDonald Bailey consistently made important tackles and interceptions as the Lions pushed forward in the second half, and also used his head well to nullify the Inter Lions crossing ability.
With the game at 2-1, the Mariners may have been guilty of sitting back, and were certainly not as efficient on the ball, giving possession away cheaply on numerous occasions.
Despite this they could have taken a 3-1 lead when they hit the bar 20 minutes into the second half.
A great move down the left hand side through captain Adam Scimone put left back John Henry in behind, only the be thwarted by the woodwork.
Despite their position on the table the Lions proved that there is never an easy match in NSW State League, threatening to equalise throughout the second half.
With 10 minutes to go they drew level at 2-2, denying the Mariners the three points for the second time this year.
A man was left free at the back post after McDonald Bailey lost his footing , headed across goal before the ball was bundled over the line for a scrappy equaliser.
Despite another missed opportunity to take three points from a team below them on the ladder, Fearnley said his side should take heart from a performance against a team better than their position on the table.
“They’re a team that are below where they’ve been in recent years, but they’re certainly had some good results in the past three or four games,” he said.
“They’re very defensively strong and you can see that by the way they play, it’s just disappointing for us that we didn’t get the three points because I definitely feel like we deserved it.”
The Mariners face Nepean FC next week at home, who despite running last on the ladder, defeated fifth place Gladesville Ryde Magic 2-0 on the weekend, once again proving there are no easy games in NSW State League 1.