90+2min: It’s headed away by the defence and Durante wins a free-kick from Kalik. The pressure is off and that could be the last big chance.

90 min: Izzo punches away a deep cross into the box. He was impeded anyway and wins a free-kick. The Mariners go up the other end and win a 14th corner. Moss tips it over for corner No15.

89 min: Time is ticking away and despite attacking intent from both sides it looks like this one will end a stalemate - the first draw in this fixture since the A-League began, according to the prematch stats I glanced at. Blame the A-League if I’m wrong.

87 min: The Nix have completely changed their mindset since losing the lead. Krishna this time causing problems in the box, nipping in to get the ball ahead of Izzo, but he can’t get enough of a touch to steer it anywhere useful. The Mariners still probing at the other end. This could still go either way.

85 min: The Nix win a free-kick on the right-hand side of the box. Caceres whips it in but the header from McGlinchey flies into the air and Izzo is underneath it when it comes back down.

82 min: Kalik comes on for Austin. The youngster can hold his head up as he walks off. Will another fresh pair of legs prove the key for the Mariners?

80 mins: It’s opened up again, with both sides searching for a winner. Just 10 minutes to find one.

78 min: Somewhat predictably, the Nix have started to attack again and - surprise, surprise - the Mariners don’t look so comfortable when they’re on the back foot. Austin goes down after making a challenge and stays down. Hopefully it’s just cramp. Gulley has come off for Fenton.

75 min: Another corner for the Mariners. That’s 79 for the hosts... OK, maybe not that many. Off comes Bonevacia for Ridenton.

73 min: Bit of a goalmouth scramble and still the Mariners can’t find a way through. Stout defending from the Nix as chaos reigned in the box. We’re coming close to siege territory from the Mariners.

70 min: Ferriera flashes one just wide! That was a decent chance, and he should have hit the target despite the angle. At least the Mariners are getting closer. Poor old Ferreira, he looks shattered. Sure enough, that’s his last act of the game. On comes Bingham as his replacement.

67 min: Egads it’s corner number 11! How many do they need? This time it’s the clearest effort yet, finding an unmarked McGing in the box, but the lanky defender can’t steer it goalwards. In fact it bounces off his shoulder and goes out.

65 min: Corner number 10 goes for a goal kick. The Mariners finally win the header but it goes wide under pressure from the defence.

64 min: And another corner for the Mariners, this time it’s not so well defended. The ball eventually falls for O’Donovan and, for a fraction of a second, it looks like he’s clean through... but there’s a good reason for that - he’s a yard offside.

63 min: Another corner for the Mariners (their eighth of the game) and again it’s defended well by the Phoenix. Despite all their chances, the Mariners still haven’t created anything clear cut.

60 min: Izzo gets a crucial finger on a powerful strike to put it behind. As a bonus, the touch was so slight the referee thinks it went straight out and gives a goal-kick. Win win for Izzo.

58 min: Good keeping from Izzo to smother out a Phoenix attack with Bonevacia threatening. A freight train toots its horn and scares the bejesus out of fan, commentator and blogger alike.

56 min: Bonevacia on the end of a quick break by the Phoenix but his final touch is a little too hard and the shot is easily blocked by the Mariners defence.

55 min: Heffernan comes on for Liam Rose. At least that means I don’t have to keep specifying which “Rose” I’m talking about any more. Cheers Tony, nice one. I’m sure he had me in mind when he made the call.

54 min: Still the Mariners attack though... and still another promising move comes to nothing - Liam Rose the guilty party this time, floating a ball high into the grateful hands of Moss.

52 min: Solid start by the Nix this half. Looks like there’s going to be plenty of action at either end. The visitors are still shading it in my opinion, although the “shots” stats probably suggest otherwise. They’ve just looked more solid at the back and more dangerous with the few chances they’ve created.

50 min: He’s straight into the action too, getting in a good, solid challenge to halt a Mariner attack.

47 min: By the way, Rufer has come on for Sarpong at half-time. For any Aussies thinking the name Rufer is familiar, it’s because young Alex Rufer is the nephew of Oceania legend Wynton.

44 min: Corner at the other end for once after a good run from Krishna. Chance to land another blow for Phoenix... but Poscoliero gets a solid head on it and that’s that.

43 min: The Mariners crank up the pressure as the half comes to a close. They’ve had six corners this half, but haven’t really had any opportunities they should have buried - just a lot of half-chances. Good defending from Sigmund denies Ferreira.

40 min: A bizarre defensive header from Sigmund bounces out for a corner. The ball eventually comes out to L.Rose, but a poor first touch forces him into a crude challenge and he goes in Beath’s book too. Those yellows are mounting up.

38 min: Austin is getting a lot of joy down the Phoenix right flank, but so far they’ve failed to make the most of it. Brollies all round at Gosford - it’s pouring down.

37 min: Ferreira’s effort goes well over. Gulley did well to close down the short free-kick and the danger passes.

36 min: Sigmund goes in the book for a trip on Austin on the edge of the area. No complaints about that one. Dangerous territory, just on the left of the area.

34 min: Krishna with a fizzer that flicks off Rose and goes out for a corner. The corner is wasted but it’s more evidence of the Nix looking dangerous when they get a sniff around the box. When he struck the ball, I had visions of the net bursting.

32 min: Beath blows up for another free-kick (there’s been a lot) and the Mariners fans vent their frustration with a few boos. The ref has been a little whistle-happy so far. The fact it’s just starting to chuck it down hasn’t helped the fans’ mood.

30 min: An inswinger from Caceres doesn’t beat the first man. The ball goes skywards into the box, Poscoliero wins the header, but O’Donovan is a fraction offside as he latches onto the ball and fires it home. More encouragement for the hosts.

27 min: The Mariners still have that urgency about them, and so they should with the amount of half-chances they’ve created. I’ll be amazed if the scoreline stays this way for the next hour of play.

26 min: A timely challenge from Muscat to deny the Mariners in the box. It was a high challenge, and an inch either side could have resulted in a penalty, but he timed it well. Poscoliero heads one wide after the resulting corner.

23 min: Well the Mariners have created a few half-chances, probably more than the Nix, but it’s the visitors who’ve looked more dangerous when they get near the hosts’ box. Another spirited surge forward, this time from J.Rose, comes to nothing.

20 min: Silky skills from Caceres on the edge of the area to create a half-volley while surrounded by three Phoenix players, but his final effort never had the power or position to trouble the keeper and it bounces wide.

19 min: Krishna juuuuust can’t connect with a pull-back that’s a smidge too much behind him for a clean strike. That was another let-off for the Mariners, who are still concentrating their efforts on the other end of the field.

18 min: Ooo, nice work from Austin to beat his man on the right flank... but his cross is too deep and beats everyone. A little more composure and he’ll be a danger man for the Mariners.

15 min: Izzo takes another two attempts to smother a hopeful effort from distance. Hardly inspiring for his centre-halves.

14 min: The Mariners haven’t dropped their heads despite that early blow. They still keep attacking - Ferreira doing most of the running. Another surge from the Mariners man is blocked close to the Phoenix area. It’s at the other end the hosts have problems.

12 min: So that’s the second week running a former Mariner has come back to haunt his old club. It’s the Jets next week... trying to rack my brains for ex-Coasties.

10 min: Dear oh dear Mariners. Another hopeful ball into the box, a slash from the defender sends it skywards and Izzo flaps slightly under little pressure. He claims it at the second attempt but it should have been dealt with far more easily.

8 min: O’Donovan in the book this time. Again, not really a terrible challenge, just a little nip on J Rose.

6 min: Bonevacia goes in the book for a challenge on Ferreira. Chris Beath putting his foot down early.

5 min: Well it didn’t take long for the brass band to start churning out the tunes. Yellow Submarine comes out for the first time, but surely not the last. Bit of a stalemate on the pitch so far... the Phoenix have managed to work their way into a couple of decent positions but haven’t made the most of them.

3 min: Less haste, more speed would probably be good advice to both teams at the minute. A lot of rushing around but no real incisiveness, thanks mainly to poor distribution. Still, it’s early days and the game is still settling.

The teams are out and warming up. Not long to go now. It’s the 150th A-League appearance by former Mariner McGlinchey apparently. Well done that man.

You have to admire the dedication of the Phoenix fans who make the away trips. You can’t put a price on that sort of passion. FFA take notice.

Line-up time. No huge surprises. The loss of Nick Fitzgerald after last week’s suspension is a blow to the hosts but at least he’ll be back soon. Austin replaces him. A hamstring injury to Vince Lia will keep him out of the Phoenix side for quite a while. Justin Gulley makes his debut.

Central Coast: Izzo, Roux, J.Rose, McGing, Poscoliero, Montgomery, L.Rose, Caceres, Austin, Ferreira, O’Donovan. Subs: Pearce, Heffernan, Bosnar, Kalik, Bingham

Wellington: Moss, Gulley, Durante, Sigmund, Muscat, Riera, Rodriguez, McGlinchey, Bonevacia, Sarpong, Krishna. Subs: Powell, Rufer, Fenton, Ridenton, Italiano

Unconfirmed reports that the FFA have agreed to a suggestion from Jerry Hall a new Foxtel executive to stage a one-off match for unmarketable franchises to fight for their licence. Apparently the rules of the game will be changed drastically to boost ratings. See below.

Actually, an X-Factor-style elimination sing-off between Ernie Merrick and Tony Walmsley would probably be more likely. It would certainly increase viewing figures – which apparently is what football is all about. For the record, my money would be on Merrick. He’s got form.

There are prematch reports (on Fox basically) that the Mariners are chasing Everton youngster Jindrich Stanek as a replacement for Liam Reddy. So that’s the final nail in the coffin for self-professed Socceroos legend Michael Turnbull. There was a lot of talk about the Bachelorette star “not getting a rose” from the Mariners earlier in the week. I’ve never seen the show, so didn’t understand what he wanted with Liam Rose anyway.

Just to go back to those comments from Graham ‘mind games’ Arnold before last week’s clash: will Walmsley have taken note and had a word with his wingers, or just brushed them off? It wasn’t quite up there with Arnold’s “mansion” mischief with the Wanderers a few weeks ago, but they’re still a little niggly. Judge for yourself anyway.

It’s important we stay balanced behind the ball when we go forward. We’ve seen that the Mariners wingers don’t defend. They cheat on halfway so we’ve got to make sure we’ve got a plan behind the ball. If we do lose it we have to have numbers behind the ball to counter-act that.

Richard Gadsby will be here shortly to take you through all the action from Gosford. In the meantime, have a read over our match report from last night’s FFA Cup final between Perth Glory and Melbourne Victory.