Teenage playmaker Miguel Di Pizio has starred for the Central Coast Mariners, scoring his first senior goal as his side extended their unbeaten A-League Men run to 10 games with a 2-0 win over Brisbane Roar.
Not since the 2011/12 season - when they finished as premiers - have the Mariners enjoyed such a run of games without defeat.
Di Pizio's first-half strike at Central Coast Stadium on Saturday keeps them on track to surpass their record 15-game unbeaten run set in that campaign.
Angel Torres added a second in the 90th minute to put the result beyond doubt and move the Mariners up to third on the table.
New recruit Ronald Barcellos had some lively moments on debut while English forward Ryan Edmondson was a keen observer after arriving from Carlisle United during the week.
"I'm delighted, I said before the game it was going to be really challenging and it really was," said Mariners coach Mark Jackson.
"They caused us some problems in the first half and we had to come up with some solutions."
Brisbane began brightly in Gosford, Ayom Majok forcing Danny Vukovic into action when he raced onto a ball played into the Mariners’ box.
Vukovic had to be alert once more when Nikola Mileusnic latched onto a loose ball and unleashed, the Mariners’ goalkeeper finger-tipping the ball wide.
The warning sparked Central Coast into action and it wasn’t long before Torres burst down the left and blasted wide of Macklin Freke’s goal.
The Mariners found plenty of joy on that flank, and soon after Jacob Farrell made an incisive run forward.
The left-back turned the ball in-field for Di Pizio, with the 18-year-old firing it beyond the reach of Freke to give the Mariners the lead in the 38th minute.
Torres nearly doubled their advantage before halftime but again edged his chance wide.
The Colombian was causing all sorts of problems for the Roar and next sent a well-weighted pass into the path of Christian Theoharous, who was unable to convert.
Brisbane struggled to create in the second half but young striker Tom Waddingham missed a gilt-edged opportunity to level for Ben Cahn’s side when he glanced the ball wide of Vukovic’s left post before Torres' late strike iced the win for Central Coast.
The defeat continues a mid-season slump for the Roar, who have lost seven of their last eight and face table-topping Wellington next week.
"We probably did enough in the first half to be ahead, and with Waddy’s chance it could have been 1-1," Cahn said.
“If we can put some of our stronger and more quality players in there, then we still believe we can make the (top) six.”
