Advantage Mariners, Melbourne City in A-League semi-finals
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Central Coast's Scottish-born striker Jason Cummings scored seven minutes before halftime
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Central Coast Mariners look best placed to reach the Australian championship final after winning 2-1 at Adelaide United in their A-League playoff semi-final on Saturday, but Melbourne City will also be quietly confident after drawing 1-1 at Sydney FC.
Central Coast's Scottish-born striker Jason Cummings scored seven minutes before halftime for his 17th goal of the campaign to silence a noisy crowd at Hindmarsh Stadium on Saturday night.
United had taken the lead in the fourth minute, courtesy of a Craig Goodwin penalty, but Mariners left back James McGarry curled in a sensational equaliser 11 minutes later and Cummings's clinical finish turned out to be the winner.
"Really tough place to come to ... the atmosphere was electric but I thought the boys handled it really well," Mariners coach Nick Montgomery told reporters. "But it's not over, it's only halfway. We know we've got another tough game next weekend."
The second leg will take place next Saturday at Central Coast Stadium, about an hour north of Sydney, with the Mariners 90 minutes away from a first championship final since they won their sole A-League title in 2013.
Sydney FC have played in seven championship finals, winning five, but they will have their work cut out reaching an eighth after Friday's draw with City at Sydney Football Stadium.
Mathew Leckie, whose superb individual goal against Denmark earned Australia passage to the last 16 of the World Cup in November, opened the scoring for the visitors in the 18th minute with a glancing header.
Sydney FC blew their first chance to equalise when playmaker Anthony Caceres had a penalty saved by Tom Glover on the hour mark but English striker Adam Le Fondre made no mistake when the referee ordered it to be retaken because of encroachment.
The home side later thought they had a winner when Socceroos fullback Rhyan Grant turned in Le Fondre's cross but VAR ruled that the Englishman had been offside when he played the ball.
City, already Premiers for the second consecutive year after finishing top of the regular season standings, will gain no benefit from the away goal, but coach Rado Vidosic was upbeat about their chances of progressing next Friday. "We are Premiers and we only lost three games the whole season," he told reporters.
"We have the most goals scored, least goals conceded. Of course we are confident we can do the job."
