Soccer: Knights see red

New Zealand Knights 0 Central Coast Mariners 1

Two red cards and a penalty conceded in the final ten minutes gave the Knights the worst possible end to a dour affair against Central Coast Mariners at North Harbour Stadium tonight.

Che Bunce was the first to go on 82 minutes after being adjudged to have brought down Damian Mori just inside the box.

Adam Kwasnik side-footed home the penalty to give the Mariners only their second goal of the season – one more than the Knights.

But the heartache didn't end there for the home side. Five minutes later Gregory Duruz was sent off for an elbow in front of the dugout which sparked a brief touchline scrap between the two teams.

Ironically, Duruz was named man of the match moments later. But there was little else for the disappointing crowd of 1632 to laugh at during a game which had offered almost nothing until the late fireworks.

The two teams with the worst goalscoring records in the A-league had seemingly been heading for a scoreless draw, which would have flattered the Mariners who were more or less invisible throughout the game.

The Knights had been by far the better team in the second half, showing some willingness to get forward at pace. However, a long range Scott Gemmill strike on 74 minutes was as close as Mariners' keeper Danny Vukovic came to having some work to do.

Things were even quieter at the other end, where Knights' keeper Michael Turnbull went 13 minutes without touching the ball midway through the half.

The first half was best forgotten, the only bright point for the hapless Knights being that the Mariners were even worse.

Neither side showed any drive to get forward or show any pace, favouring aimless long balls.

Malik Buari's clear header on goal, headed down to his feet, and a Dani Rodrigues half-volley from outside the box, which Turnbull took easily, were as good as it got.

Among the many Keystone Cops moments was an air shot in the opposition box by Bunce, a sliced attempt at a cross from skipper Darren Bazeley – who had a wretched game, including an error which led indirectly to the penalty – and a shot from Mariners' Jamie McMaster which would have cleared rugby posts.

Things picked up in the second half, until ill-discipline cost the Knights dear and sent them to their fourth consecutive loss and 360 minutes of scoreless football.

NZ Knights 0
Central Coast Mariners 1 (Kwasnik, pen 82)
H-T: 0-0

Attendance: 1632