Central Coast defeat Adelaide to surge into first A-League Men grand final in a decade

Central Coast Mariners coach Nick Montgomery has warned naysayers to write his side off at their peril after his charges set up an A-League Men grand final clash with Melbourne City.

The Mariners surged into their first decider in a decade with a 2-0 triumph over Adelaide United in Gosford on Saturday evening, winning the two-legged semi-final 4-1 and setting up a date with the three-time defending ALM premiers at Commbank Stadium on July 3.

“In two weeks time, there will be a bit of a David versus Goliath battle but we’re looking forward to it,” Montgomery told reporters. “We can’t wait to walk out and, whatever happens that night, we’ll give it a good crack. We know we can beat anybody, so we’ll go in full of confidence and go in and try to win the game against a very good Melbourne City team.”

Saturday was the third time in as many games the Mariners had defeated the Reds, preceded by a 2-1 win in the first leg and a 4-1 thumping in the final week of the regular season.

And Montgomery admitted that perceived attempts from their opponents to down-play that form guide had provided some added motivation for his side.

“They had to come here and win, they were desperate,” he said. “We wanted revenge because there’s been a lot of talk coming out of Adelaide for the last couple of weeks.

“There’s a couple of ways to lose. You can lose with dignity and accept that you got beat by the better team, or you can make excuses. And there were a lot of excuses over the last couple of weeks.

“I kept quiet, we kept quiet. I said to the boys, let your football do the talking. I think nobody can think any different: we deserved to get to the grand final.”

After finishing the regular season in second, Saturday’s progression continues a