Cole strike sees Sydney home

A spectacular freekick from midfielder Shannon Cole fired Sydney FC to a 3-2 win over the Central Coast Mariners at Gosford on Saturday night in yet another pulsating contest between the two rivals.

Veteran striker Sasho Petrovski looked to have salvaged a point for Central Coast when he bagged his second goal in the 68th minute at Bluetongue Stadium.

But Cole, in only his second A-League game, broke the hearts of the Mariners fans and secured the three points for the visitors through his first goal in the Hyundai A-League with only nine minutes to play.

A foul by defender Nigel Boogaard outside the box gave Cole the chance to be Sydney's saviour, and he did not disappoint.

His powerful shot left Mariners goalkeeper Danny Vukovic no chance.

It was an action-packed derby with the Mariners forced to come from behind twice.

Sydney captain Steve Corica opened the scoring in the sixth minute when he finished off a great move involving Terry McFlynn and Alex Brosque.

The Mariners were level six minutes later when a foul by Rob Middleby provided Petrovski with a chance from the penalty spot. The former Sydney goalpoacher made no mistake.

But the Mariners were not level for long with Corica, who was the best player on the field in the first half, scoring his second in the 14th minute. Mark Bridge was heavily involved in the build up, as was Brosque.

The second half was just as tense with Sydney enjoying the best of play after resumption but the Mariners were patient and deserved their equaliser, though.

The home side then received another boost when combative Sydney midfielder Stuart Musialik was red carded in the 69th minute for a foul on Brad Porter. He protested the decision but referee Ben Williams had no hesitation pulling out the red card.

The Mariners pushed forward in the final five minutes and had chances but could not find the back of the net as Cole's winner proved enough for the Sky Blues.