The Mariner’s chance to seal second place against Perth Glory last weekend didn’t go to plan and they now need a win against Brisbane Roar to ensure third place and remain in with a chance to take second should Western Sydney slip up against the Melbourne Heart. Everything that could go wrong for the Central Coast Mariners did in Perth but it’s hard to explain why the performance was as disappointing as it was. Perhaps it was the busy recent schedule, the long travel to Perth or the unscheduled travel delay caused by smoke in their air craft. It may even have been the debutante referee who mis-controlled the game. Regardless of all the excuses, the reality was our performance was only barely good enough to have expected a draw. We just didn’t seem to play the game with the apparent desperation of “finals football” and given recent good performances, that’s what I was expecting. There is no doubting the referee’s contribution to the result in Perth. In my opinion there were no valid penalties in the game – despite one being awarded to each team, a Perth goal was given where an offside Perth player interfered with the play [...]