O'Neill strike secures Sky Blues win over Mariners

Sydney FC midfielder Brandon O'Neill scored an 'extraordinary' long distance goal, to help Sydney FC to a 2-1 win over Central Coast Mariners in Gosford.

Brandon O'Neill celebrates his winning goal. Source: Getty Images

Steve Corica's side may consider themselves lucky to leave with three points after a spirited effort by the home side, who went ahead in the 16th minute via the "Wizard of Woy Woy", Matt Simon.

Early on, the Sky Blues looked unsettled by the Mariners pace out wide and robust approach, with Simon clattering into Jop van der Linden and Jacob Melling catching Milos Ninkovic on the knee.

the Mariners went ahead in the 16th minute as Simon found himself unmarked in the box, finishing a Matthew Millar cross from short range to give his side the lead.

Sydney levelled just before the break, gifted a shot at penalty after Jack Clisby took down Rhyan Grant inside the box.

Adam le Fondre was handed the responsibility of taking the penalty, powering the ball past Mariners keeper Ben Kennedy as both sides went into the break level at 1-1.

Having pressured the visitors throughout the first half, some loose marking gave Brandon O'Neill enough room to shoot from distance in the 65th minute - something they would regret doing as the midfielder powered the ball into the top right corner from outside the box, giving his side the lead.

Prior to O'Neill's winner Sydney came closest to breaking the deadlock with Dutch defender van der Linden smashing a free kick against the crossbar.

The Marines tried hard to find an equaliser. n the final 20 minutes, with Aiden O'Neill's long-range shot pushed away by Sky Blues keeper Andrew Redmayne, while substitutes Tom Hiariej and Michael McGlinchey both fired wide.

"Last week we played well and got nothing out of it. Today we didn't play well," Sydney coach Corica said.

"We didn't got the ball down at all in the first half. Everything was going long and we didn't pick up any second balls and we had to do a lot better."

"The second half was better," said Corica, who wants to add a striker with pace in the January transfer window."

Mulvey meanwhile, managed to take some positives out of the match.

"I thought we played some really good stuff today," the Mariners coach said.

"Just those lapses of concentration where we were on our heels for the penalty and the lad skipped past on the left-hand side and I think Brandon had three or four touches on the ball before he actually unloaded."