Auckland FC’s push for A-League Men Premiers’ Plate ends with loss to Central Coast Mariners
Monday, 20 April 2026
At Go Media Stadium, Auckland: Central Coast Mariners 1 (Ali Auglah 19’) Auckland FC 0. HT: 1-0
Auckland FC’s quest to win back-to-back Premiers’ Plates in A-League Men came to an end as they lost 1-0 to the Central Coast Mariners on a wet and a wild afternoon at their Go Media Stadium home.
A 14,019-strong crowd got plenty of bang for their buck on Sunday, as the round 25 match featured a near 50-minute lightning delay late in the first half, after a contentious stomp on Auckland striker Sam Cosgrove only led to a yellow card, not a red one.
The upshot at the final whistle was that Auckland can no longer catch the Newcastle Jets in the race for top spot, trailing by four points with just three more there for the taking, nor can anyone else.
Auckland have gone winless in four matches since beating the Jets on the road on March 14 and still have work to do to confirm a second-place finish and a first-round bye in the six-team finals series.
They control their own destiny, knowing a win in their final match, away to Sydney FC this Sunday will do the job.
A draw or a loss by one or two goals would give Adelaide United the chance to move past them with a win away to Melbourne City later on Sunday, while a heavier loss would move Sydney past them immediately on goal difference.
The moment of controversy in the match against the Mariners came in the 13th minute, after an Auckland corner led to a handball shout that was waved away and a Jesse Randall shot from the left that curled out wide to the right.
Cosgrove was thumped in the back by Mariners centre back James Donachie as he leapt for the ball during that passage of play, with the defender then stepping on the striker’s back as he moved on.
Referee Jonathan Barreiro reviewed replays on the pitchside monitor but decided it only merited a yellow card, seemingly because it was not 100% clear that Donachie had intended the offence.
Auckland’s fill-in coach, Danny Hay, felt it was 100% intentional and a red card when he spoke after the match. Mariners boss Warren Moon felt the opposite.
It wasn’t the most forcefully directed stamp you’ll ever see, but it could have changed the game. Hay said if the Donachie had been sent, “I can pretty much guarantee that we would have gone on to win it”.
From the ensuing free kick on the edge of the box, Randall forced Andrew Redmayne to punch the ball out for a corner with a strong effort.
Auckland should have won another corner when Lucas Mauragis then headed the ball clear, but the referee pointed for a goal kick – another moment of frustration for Hay and his staff.
Two minutes later, the Mariners had the ball in the back of the net, after a rapid counter left the Auckland defence scrambling.
Jake Girdwood-Reich gave the ball away just over halfway and Jesse Mantell led the surge forward in a three-on-two move, finding Nathanael Blair to his left who then curled the ball into the path of scorer Ali Auglah on the right, through Dan Hall’s legs.
Lachlan Brook joined Hiroki Sakai in the book for responding harshly to an erroneous throw-in call that was instantly corrected. From it, Felipe Gallegos sent a fierce shot wide to the right.
Lightning in the 35th minute of play forced the players from the field for almost 40 minutes, from 3.42pm to 4.20pm, and there were another 10 minutes of warm-ups before play resumed after a nearly 50-minute wait. They had to stay off for 30 minutes from the last lightning strike within 10km of the ground.
The second half began just before 5pm, when the match was originally scheduled to have been ending.
There was some early head tennis in the Mariners’ box from an Auckland corner but it ended with Callan Elliot heading straight into Redmayne’s waiting arms.
The Mariners’ goalkeeper had to be alert to keep the ball out in the 59th minute when it came his way off one of his team-mates at a corner won by Gallegos, who shifted to left back, while Donachie then intervened to deny Guillermo May, on for Elliot, at the back post.
Back in action after recovering quickly from a groin injury, goalkeeper Michael Woud had to be alert to keep in Auckland in it down the other end, stopping Donachie once and Auglah twice.
Five minutes of stoppage time gave the home team a clock, but they didn’t threaten Redmayne’s goal before it expired.
Hay said afterwards he couldn’t fault his side’s effort, but was frustrated that they continued to lack a cutting edge at the attacking end of the pitch.
They have been without key creator Francis de Vries in their club record four-match winless run, following his calf injury while playing for the All Whites in March.
What’s next
Adelaide moved within a point of Auckland FC with a win at home against Macarthur FC in Sunday’s late match.
In the final round of the regular season, the Jets host the eighth-placed Mariners next Saturday, with sixth-placed Melbourne Victory travelling to play wooden-spooners Western Sydney Wanderers later that night.
Auckland are then away to fourth-placed Sydney FC next Sunday afternoon, with third-placed Adelaide away to fifth-placed Melbourne City later that night.
Auckland can only realistically fall as far as fourth, which means they are guaranteed a home final, but whether it’s an elimination final in week one or one leg of a semifinal in week two or three remains to be seen.