On Thursday, A-League Men side Central Coast Mariners secured their spot in the Inter-Zone final of the 2023/24 AFC Cup as Mark Jackson’s team played out a goalless draw with Odisha FC at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, completing a convincing 4-0 aggregate victory over the Indian Super League side.
Despite Mikael Doka’s first-half penalty miss for the Australians, their comfortable 4-0 lead from the first leg in Gosford rendered it inconsequential.
Next up for the Mariners is a clash against Abdysh-Ata Kant from Kyrgyzstan in the Inter-Zone final next month, following their win over Taiwan’s Taichung Futuro on Wednesday.
The Inter-Zone final’s first leg is scheduled to take place in Bishkek on April 17, with the return leg in Gosford a week later.
Central Coast arrived in India with confidence after their resounding victory in the initial encounter and started brightly. Ronald Barcellos and Angel Torres tested the Odisha defense early on, with the latter denied by goalkeeper Amrinder Singh.
A chance to break the deadlock came when Ryan Edmondson was fouled in the box, leading to a penalty, but Doka failed to convert, hitting the post.
Despite controlling possession, the Mariners faced a resilient Odisha side. However, they continued to pose a threat, with Edmondson and Christian Theoharous coming close to scoring.
In the end, Mariners comfortably secured their place in the next round, with substitute Miguel Di Pizio’s late effort being the closest to adding to the scoreline as they advanced with ease.