KEY POINTS:
The rehabilitation process continued for the troubled New Zealand Knights when they drew 0-0 with A-League soccer rivals the Central Coast Mariners in Gosford last night.
The result was a further boost for the competition stragglers, big losers on and off the field this season. With one round to play - a home game in Auckland against Perth on January 21- the Knights remain in last place after a failed campaign during which they lost their coach as well as the club's owners.
While last night's match was sorely lacking in quality, urgency was not a problem for the Mariners, who began the round just three points outside the top four and desperate for a win to maintain their playoff aspirations.
The home side had only themselves to blame, butchering a series of half-chances.
The Knights looked a carbon copy of their former selves in the opening quarter when Central Coast created and were presented with any number of scoring opportunities.
Marcina had a chance to steal the game for the Knights in the 87th minute when he found himself on a one-on-one with Danny Vukovic, but the Mariners goalkeeper calmly deflected Marcina's shot.
- NZPA
