# Central Coast Mariners FC 2–8 Newcastle Jets FC

The 2017–18 A-League match between Central Coast Mariners and Newcastle Jets, took place on 14 April 2018. Newcastle Jets won 8–2, which is the joint highest scoring game in the history of the competition. The record was later matched by Wellington Phoenix in the 2018–19 season, where they also beat the Mariners 8–2.

## Background

Heading into the final round of the regular season, Newcastle Jets had already secured second place, 14 points behind premiers Sydney FC and four points ahead Melbourne Victory. Central Coast Mariners were looking to avoid a second wooden spoon in three years, sitting two points ahead of Wellington Phoenix.

## Match
### Summary

Joe Champness opened the scoring in the 10th minute. Ten minutes later, Roy O'Donovan scored from a through ball from Steven Ugarkovic to score Newcastle' second goal of the game. Newcastle's third goal came from Riley McGree who finished top of the box with a low left foot shot to the right of the goal. A deflection cross by Andrew Hoole had Connor Pain score one goal back with an open net for the Central Coast Mariners. In the second half of the match, the 53rd minute had Newcastle score their fourth goal by Riley McGree. In the 60th minute, a corner was awarded which Newcastle used to score their fifth goal through Lachlan Jackson for his first goal for Newcastle Jets. A penalty was awarded by Jake McGing who fouled Joe Champness, as Roy O'Donovan scored his penalty for his second goal of the match. A seventh goal came as Riley McGree completed his hat-trick by scoring his third goal in the match with a left foot shot deflecting off Wout Brama. The final ten minutes, saw Trent Buhagiar score the Mariners' second goal in the 80th minute. One minute later, Patito Rodriguez cut back the ball to Dimitri Petratos who scored Newcastle's eighth goal, with ten minutes left. This was to be the aggregate record of most goals scored in an A-League match.

### Details

| Central Coast Mariners | Newcastle Jets |
| GK | 1 | Ben Kennedy |
| RB | 4 | Jake McGing |
| CB | 15 | Alan Baró |
| CB | 21 | Kye Rowles |
| LB | 3 | Joshua Rose | 72' |
| DM | 23 | Wout Brama |
| AM | 11 | Connor Pain |
| DM | 16 | Liam Rose | 63' |
| AM | 7 | Andrew Hoole |
| AM | 24 | Lachlan Wales |
| CF | 8 | Blake Powell | 63' |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 18 | Tom Glover |
| DF | 2 | Storm Roux | 72' |
| MF | 17 | Josh Bingham | 63' |
| MF | 22 | Jacob Melling |
| FW | 12 | Trent Buhagiar | 63' |
| Manager: ||
| Wayne O'Sullivan ||
| GK | 1 | Jack Duncan |
| RB | 18 | John Koutroumbis |
| CB | 5 | Ben Kantarovski | 46' |
| CB | 44 | Nikolai Topor-Stanley |
| LB | 17 | Daniel Georgievski |
| DM | 6 | Steven Ugarkovic |
| RM | 3 | Jason Hoffman | 87' |
| AM | 7 | Dimitri Petratos |
| LM | 27 | Riley McGree |
| CF | 9 | Roy O'Donovan |
| CF | 24 | Joe Champness | 72' |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 20 | Glen Moss |
| DF | 16 | Nick Cowburn |
| DF | 22 | Lachlan Jackson | 46' |
| MF | 32 | Angus Thurgate | 87' |
| FW | 11 | Patito Rodríguez | 72' |
| Manager: ||
| Ernie Merrick ||
| Assistant referees: Paul Cetrangolo (FFSA) James Cleal (NNSWF) Fourth official: Kurt Ams (FFNSW) | Match rules 90 minutes No extra time or penalties Five named substitutes Maximum of three substitutions |

### Statistics

| Statistics | Central Coast Mariners | Newcastle Jets |
| Goals scored | 2 | 8 |
| Total shots | 15 | 15 |
| Ball possession | 54.2% | 45.8% |
| Corner kicks | 4 | 4 |
| Fouls | 15 | 9 |
| Offsides | 3 | 5 |
| Yellow cards | 0 | 3 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 |

## Aftermath

The match set the record as the highest scoring match in A-League history, previously set at 9 when Adelaide United defeated North Queensland Fury 8–1. Newcastle Jets would go onto finish runner-up, losing to Melbourne Victory in the Grand Final, due to a controversy involving VAR.
Immediately following the match, caretaker manager Wayne O'Sullivan was sacked by the club after four games, losing all of them. Since Wellington Phoenix lost their final game, Central Coast Mariners finished bottom of the table, a feat they would repeat the following year, along with another 8–2 defeat, this time to Wellington Phoenix.