Flashback: Green Gully's late show shocks Mariners

Tim Gibson 1723620289,1723683783

In 2016, Green Gully etched their names into Australia Cup folklore, becoming the second Member Federation team to eliminate A-Leagues opposition.

And they did so with a dramatic late turnaround against Central Coast Mariners, just three years removed from being A-League Men Champions.

A packed Green Gully Reserve witnessed the history-making moment that spawned one of the all-time great Australia Cup goals from Liam Boland to win it in stoppage time.

Green Gully’s Road to the Round of 32

Green Gully did not experience smooth sailing in the early rounds of the competition, with a series of nail-biting clashes.

In Preliminary Round 4, they edged past Carinlea 1-0 courtesy of former Brisbane Roar winger George Lambadaridis’ goal.

The side’s tough run continued into Round 5, prevailing on penalties following a 0-0 draw with Geelong SC.

However, Green Gully were developing a pattern of defensive sturdiness, and in Round 6, they built on this by downing fellow NPL Mens’ Victoria giants Heidelberg United 2-0.

They earned their place in the Round of 32 with a 1-0 win over FC Bulleen Lions as Melbourne Victory icon Rodrigo Vargas grabbed the winner.

A general view is seen during the Australia Cup Round of 32 match between Green Gully and the Central Coast Mariners at Green Gully Reserve on August 2, 2016 — Green Gully became just the second Member Federation club to defeat an A-Leagues side in the Australia Cup.

Mariners’ redemption?

The Mariners were looking for redemption after crashing out in the Round of 32 to Wellington Phoenix the year before, and finishing bottom of the A-League Men ladder in 2015/16.

While letting go of ex-Barcelona and Liverpool playmaker Luis Garcia in the off-season, the Mariners still boasted clinical forward Roy O’Donovan and captain Nick Montgomery.

Fabio Ferreira and the now Europe-bound Paul Izzo were also part of the squad, meaning the favourites tag was firmly placed on Central Coast.

Kliment Taseski of Green Gully and Connor Pain of the Mariners compete for the ball during the Australia Cup Round of 32 match between Green Gully and the Central Coast Mariners at Green Gully Reserve on August 2, 2016 — Central Coast fielded a strong side, taking an early lead and living up their billing as favourites until the final five minutes.

Mariners living up to favourites tag

Just 15 minutes into the game, Green Gully’s impenetrable Cup defence so far was breached.

Recent signing Blake Powell gave Central Coast the lead by executing a well-hit volley, which seemingly had given the visitors a platform to secure victory, leading all the way to the 85th minute.

Mariners players celebrates a goal by Blake Powell of the Mariners during the Australia Cup Round of 32 match between Green Gully and the Central Coast Mariners at Green Gully Reserve on August 2, 2016 — Blake Powell struck early for the Mariners in what increasingly looked like the winner until the script was flipped in the 85th minute.

Boland! Boland! Boland!

As the game ticked into the final five minutes, good fortune struck for Green Gully to get back on level terms.

In the 85th minute, Nicholas Krousoratis' cross fell at the feet of Captain Daniel Jones took on a snap-shot from inside the area that fortuitously deflected off Liam Boland - who was offside - and into the net.

Extra time and penalties loomed but an opportunistic Boland turned and spotted Ivan Necevski off his line, clipping a left-footed effort from 40 yards over the goalkeeper to snatch the win in the 92nd minute.

That goal, and the call by Mike Cockerill, have gone down as one of the all time Australia Cup moments in the history of the competition.

What they said

Despite the nature of Gully's two goals, Papas insisted his team were worthy of their win.

"Proud of the last six minutes but proud of the whole game, to be honest," Papas said afterwards.

"I thought from the word 'Go' we didn't take a back step."

"We've done something special, absolutely. It's not going to happen many times, that's for certain.

"I mean, if you look at all cup competitions around the world, you end up with these situations very rarely - a semi-professional team can go out and take the game to a professional team.

"But like I said, the performance warrants the victory I believe."

Speaking to Goal Australia after the match, Boland said: "I've tried it a few times this year and it hasn't come off, but what a time for it to come off.

"I was having a stinker in the second half.

"I thought I was alright in the first half but I'm just glad I took my chance - I didn't have much - I'm in shock to be honest, it was unbelievable."

“We fought real hard, we believed all week that we could do it and for us to do it in that fashion, come back in the second half, we’ve done that all year. It just shows the character in the group.”

Liam Boland of Green Gully celebrates a goal in the dyaing stages to win during the Australia Cup Round of 32 match between Green Gully and the Central Coast Mariners at Green Gully Reserve on August 2, 2016 — Pure elation. Liam Boland celebrates after scoring from 40 yards to send Green Gully to the Round of 16.

What Happened After

Gully’s run continued beyond the Round of 16, coming from a goal behind again to beat a 10-man Melbourne Knights 3-1 - with Boland stepping up with a brace.

Unfortunately Arthur Pappas’ men endured a painful end to their run against a 10-man Canberra Olympic in the Quarter Finals.

A 95th minute stoppage-time penalty from goalkeeper Angelo Konstantinou was enough to send Olympic through to the Semi Finals and Green Gully crashing out.

The Mariners' slow start to the season carried on into their A-League Men campaign. They finished eighth, equal on points with ninth placed Adelaide United and just a point above bottom of the table Newcastle Jets.

In 2024, Central Coast would become the second A-Leagues side after Wellington Phoenix to be eliminated by Member Federation opposition on three seperate occasions.