# 2005–06 Central Coast Mariners FC season

The 2005–06 season was the first for both the Central Coast Mariners and the A-League
Compared with its Sydney rival, the Central Coast Mariners had a far more low-key buildup to the inaugural A-League season. The majority of its squad were experienced players from the defunct National Soccer League. They generally exceeded most expectations, having a very successful season, culminating in two solid displays in the preliminary competitions and reaching the grand final in the A-League.

## Players
### First team squad

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 | John Crawley |
| 2 | MF | IRL | Wayne O'Sullivan |
| 3 | DF | AUS | Paul O'Grady |
| 4 | MF | AUS | Noel Spencer (captain) |
| 5 | DF | AUS | Michael Beauchamp |
| 6 | MF | GER | André Gumprecht |
| 7 | MF | AUS | John Hutchinson |
| 8 | DF | AUS | Dean Heffernan |
| 9 | FW | AUS | Nick Mrdja |
| 10 | MF | AUS | Tom Pondeljak |
| 11 | MF | AUS | Damien Brown |
| 12 | FW | SCO | Stewart Petrie |
| 13 | FW | AUS | Russell Woodruffe |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 14 | MF | AUS | Leo Carle |
| 15 | DF | AUS | Andrew Clark |
| 16 | DF | AUS | Nigel Boogaard |
| 17 | MF | AUS | Matthew Osman |
| 18 | DF | AUS | Alex Wilkinson |
| 19 | FW | AUS | Adam Kwasnik |
| 20 | GK | AUS | Danny Vukovic |
| 21 | MF | SCO | Ian Ferguson Short term cover |
| 22 | MF | AUS | Jamie McMaster Short term cover |
| 23 | MF | AUS | Brad Porter Short term cover |
| 24 | FW | AUS | Dez Giraldi Short term cover |
| 30 | GK | AUS | Matthew Trott Short term cover |

## Matches
### 2005-06 Pre-season fixtures

| Round | Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Crowd |
| 1 | 30 March 2005 | Central Coast | 3-0 | Gladesville Spirit | Unknown |
| 2 | 14 April 2005 | Central Coast | 9-0 | Wyoming FC | Unknown |
| 3 | 19 April 2005 | Central Coast | 3-3 | Manly United | Unknown |
| 4 | 25 April 2005 | Central Coast | 3-0 | Blacktown City | No public access |
| 5 | 27 April 2005 | Central Coast | 2-0 | Bonnyrigg White Eagles | Unknown |
| 6 | 8 July 2005 | Central Coast | 6-0 | Townsville | Unknown |
| 7 | 9 July 2005 | Central Coast | 1-2 | Queensland Roar | Unknown |
| 8 | 12 July 2005 | Central Coast | 3-0 | Central Coast Select XI | 1500 |
| 9 | 16 July 2005 | Central Coast | 2-0 | New Zealand Knights | Unknown |

### Phillips International Soccer Sevens

The Mariners competed in Phillips International soccer sevens tournament played in Hong Kong. Their group featured three of the biggest teams in the world, PSV, Manchester United and Celtic. The Mariners caused one of the upsets of the tournament by defeating a somewhat understrength Manchester United 2–1.
| Round | Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Crowd |
| 1 | 28 May 2005 | HKF Association Chairman's Select | 2-1 | Central Coast | Unknown |
| 2 | 28 May 2005 | Central Coast | 2-0 | Hong Kong Football Club 2 | Unknown |
| 3 | 28 May 2005 | Central Coast | 0-0 | Celtic | Unknown |
| Quarter Final | 29 May 2005 | Central Coast | 2-1 | Manchester United | Unknown |
| Semi Final | 29 May 2005 | Central Coast | 0-1 | PSV | Unknown |

### Club World Cup Qualification Competition

The Mariners were runners-up to Sydney FC in the qualifying tournament held to determine Australia's entry in the FIFA Club World Cup, losing in the grand final 1–0.
| Round 1 (7 May) | Round 1 (7 May) | Semi-finals (11 May) | Semi-finals (11 May) | Finals (15 May) | Finals (15 May) |
| | | Perth Glory | 1 | | |
| | | Sydney FC | 2 | | |
| Sydney FC | 3 | Sydney FC | 2 | | |
| Queensland Roar | 0 | | | | |
| Queensland Roar | 0 | | | Central Coast Mariners | 0 |
| | | | | Sydney FC | 1 |
| Central Coast Mariners (PEN) | 0 (4) | | | | | Sydney FC | 1 |
| Newcastle Jets | 0 (2) | | | | |
| Newcastle Jets | 0 (2) | Central Coast Mariners | 4 | | |
| | | Adelaide United | 0 | | |
| Adelaide United (PEN) | 0 (4) | Adelaide United | 0 | | |
| Melbourne Victory | 0 (1) | | | | |

### 2005 Pre-Season Cup

Group B
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
| Sydney FC | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Central Coast | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| Queensland Roar FC | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 |
| New Zealand Knights FC | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 |
| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| 12 August | 12 August |
| Melbourne Victory | 1 |
| Melbourne Victory | 1 | 21 August | 21 August |
| Central Coast Mariners | 3 | 21 August | 21 August |
| Central Coast Mariners | 3 | Central Coast Mariners | 1 |
| 14 August | 14 August | | Central Coast Mariners | 1 |
| 14 August | 14 August | Perth Glory | 0 |
| Sydney FC | 0 | Perth Glory | 0 |
| Perth Glory | 1 | | |

### Ladder

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Adelaide United | 21 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 33 | 25 | +8 | 43 | Qualification for 2007 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series |
| 2 | Sydney FC (C) | 21 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 35 | 28 | +7 | 36 | Qualification for 2007 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series |
| 3 | Central Coast Mariners | 21 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 35 | 28 | +7 | 32 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 4 | Newcastle Jets | 21 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 27 | 29 | −2 | 31 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 5 | Perth Glory | 21 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 34 | 29 | +5 | 29 | |
| 6 | Queensland Roar | 21 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 27 | 22 | +5 | 28 | |
| 7 | Melbourne Victory | 21 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 26 | 24 | +2 | 26 | |
| 8 | New Zealand Knights | 21 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 15 | 47 | −32 | 6 | |
* ↑ New Zealand Knights cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.

### Finals

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Preliminary final | Preliminary final | Preliminary final | Final | Final | Final |
| Adelaide United | Adelaide United | 2 | 1 | | | | Sydney FC | Sydney FC | 1 |
| Sydney FC | Sydney FC | 2 | 2 | | | | Central Coast Mariners | Central Coast Mariners | 0 |
| | | | | Adelaide United | Adelaide United | 0 | | | |
| | | | | Central Coast Mariners | Central Coast Mariners | 1 | | | |
| Central Coast Mariners | Central Coast Mariners | 1 | 1 | | | | | | |
| Newcastle Jets | Newcastle Jets | 0 | 1 | | | | | | |

## Statistics
### Goal scorers

| Player | Goals |
| Stewart Petrie | 8 |
| Dean Heffernan | 7 |
| John Hutchinson | 6 |
| Noel Spencer | 6 |
| Andre Gumprecht | 2 |
| Adam Kwasnik | 2 |

## End of Year Awards

* Mariners Medallist - player of the year, as voted by Club members:
** Michael Beauchamp
* Chairman's Award - awarded for outstanding service to the club:
** John Hutchinson and Ben Coonan (Mariners' media officer) (shared)
* Golden Boot (top goalscorer):
** Stewart Petrie
* Jesters' Pies Marinators' Goal of the Year:
** Noel Spencer, round 1 vs Perth Glory
* Central Coast Mariners Members Player of the Year Award:
** Andre Gumprecht