Central Coast Mariners FC in Asian football


Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional football club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. The first Asian football match played by the Mariners was against Pohang Steelers on 11 March 2009. They have since participated in the AFC Champions League on four occasions, organised by the Asian Football Confederation. The team has made the knockout stage of Asian competition once.
Qualification for Asian club competitions is determined by a team's position in the domestic league. The winners of the A-League Premiership and Championship have always qualified, with the next-best team in the A-League regular season occasionally receiving a place.
John Hutchinson holds the club record for most appearances with 24. Adam Kwasnik is the club's record goalscorer in Asian football with three goals. The Mariners' biggest winning margin in Asia is a 5–1 scoreline, this was achieved at home against Tianjin Teda in the 2012 AFC Champions League.

History

2009 AFC Champions League

The Mariners qualified for the 2009 AFC Champions League after finishing first in the 2007–08 A-League regular season. They played their first ever match in Asia against K-League side Pohang Steelers, finishing in a scoreless draw at Central Coast Stadium. In the next match, against Tianjin Teda, Adrian Caceres became the club's first ever goalscorer in Asian football when he deflected a shot from Shane Huke into the goal; the match finished in a 2-all draw. After picking up two points from their first two games, the team had a run of four consecutive losses which saw them eliminated in the group stage.
SeasonCompetitionRoundOppositionScore
2009AFC Champions LeagueGroup stage Pohang Steelers0–0, 3–2
2009AFC Champions LeagueGroup stage Tianjin Teda2–2, 0–1
2009AFC Champions LeagueGroup stage Kawasaki Frontale0–5, 2–1

2012 AFC Champions League

Central Coast returned to Asian competition in the 2012 AFC Champions League after finishing second in the 2010–11 A-League. The club drew their first three matches against Tianjin Teda, Nagoya Grampus and Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, before suffering a 5-goal loss away to Seongnam. In the following match, against Tianjin Teda, the mariners produced their best-ever Champions League result to date, winning 5–1 at home in what was their first ever win in the competition. Needing an away win in their final group game against Nagoya Grampus to progress to the next round, the club suffered a 3–0 loss and were eliminated from the competition.
SeasonCompetitionRoundOppositionScore
2012AFC Champions LeagueGroup stage Tianjin Teda0–0, 5–1
2012AFC Champions LeagueGroup stage Nagoya Grampus1–1, 3–0
2012AFC Champions LeagueGroup stage Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma1–1, 5–0

2013 AFC Champions League

The Mariners were the only team to receive direct qualification to the 2014 AFC Champions League after winning the 2011–12 A-League Premiership. This campaign included a 2–1 win over Guizhou Renhe, as well as an away win against Suwon Bluewings only two days after winning the 2013 A-League Grand Final. A loss to Kashiwa Reysol in the final group game was not enough to prevent the Mariners from qualifying for the round of sixteen for the first time. In the next round, Central Coast came up against Chinese Super League champions Guangzhou Evergrande and lost 5–1 over two legs. Evergrande went on to win the competition.
SeasonCompetitionRoundOppositionScore
2013AFC Champions LeagueGroup stage Suwon Bluewings0–0, 0–1
2013AFC Champions LeagueGroup stage Kashiwa Reysol3–1, 0–3
2013AFC Champions LeagueGroup stage Guizhou Renhe2–1, 2–1
2013AFC Champions LeagueRound of 16 Guangzhou Evergrande1–2, 3–0

2014 AFC Champions League

The club qualified for the 2014 AFC Champions League after winning the 2013 A-League Grand Final, but were forced to deny rumours that they were considering withdrawing from the competition for financial reasons. A double from Mile Sterjovski gave the club a victory over Sanfrecce Hiroshima at home - the Mariners' first victory against Japanese opposition. The club also defeated Beijing Guoan. A loss in their final match against Sanfrecce eliminated the Mariners from the tournament.
SeasonCompetitionRoundOppositionScore
2014AFC Champions LeagueGroup stage FC Seoul2–0, 1–2
2014AFC Champions LeagueGroup stage Sanfrecce Hiroshima2–1, 1–0
2014AFC Champions LeagueGroup stage Beijing Guoan2–1, 1–0

2015 AFC Champions League

The Mariners participated in the 2015 AFC Champions League after coming third in the 2013–14 A-League. They entered in the qualifying play-off, where they lost at home to Guangzhou R&F, and were therefore eliminated.
SeasonCompetitionRoundOppositionScore
2015AFC Champions LeagueQualifying play-off round Guangzhou R&F1–3

Overall record

By season

By country