2008–09 Central Coast Mariners FC season

The 2008–09 season was Central Coast Mariners Football Club's 4th season since the inception of the A-League.

Central Coast Mariners

2008–09 season
Executive Chairman	Lyall Gorman
Manager	Lawrie McKinna
Stadium	Bluetongue Stadium
A-League	4th
A-League finals	4th
A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup	Group stage
AFC Champions League	Group stage
Top goalscorer	League: Matt Simon (11) All: Matt Simon (13)
Highest home attendance	15,546 vs Perth Glory (31 December 2008, A-League)
Lowest home attendance	5,843 vs Tianjin Teda (19 May 2009, AFC Champions League)
Average home league attendance	10,465
← 2007–08 2009–10 →

Central Coast's A-League season commenced on 15 August 2008. After losing in the Grand Final in the previous season, they again made the finals series after finishing fourth, only to be eliminated by Queensland Roar.

The Mariners also competed in the Pre-Season Cup, where they were eliminated in the group stage.

In Asia, the Mariners lost in the Champions League group stage, drawing two games and losing four.

Players

Further information: List of Central Coast Mariners FC players

First team squad

Squad No.	Name	Nationality	Position(s)	Since	Date of Birth (Age)	Signed from	Games Played	Goals Scored
Goalkeepers
1	Matthew Nash		GK	2008	(1981-04-03) 3 April 1981 (age 44)	APIA Leichhardt Tigers	0	0
20	Danny Vuković		GK	2005	(1985-03-27) 27 March 1985 (age 40)	Bonnyrigg White Eagles	26	0
30	Andrew Redmayne		GK	2007	(1989-01-13) 13 January 1989 (age 36)	Australian Institute of Sport	2	0
Defenders
4	Pedj Bojić		RB, LB	2008	(1984-04-09) 9 April 1984 (age 41)	Sutherland Sharks	27	0
5	Brad Porter		RB, CM	2006	(1987-02-19) 19 February 1987 (age 38)	Australian Institute of Sport	53	1
6	David D'Apuzzo		LB	2008	(1988-09-05) 5 September 1988 (age 36)	APIA Leichhardt Tigers	10	0
8	Dean Heffernan		LB	2005	(1980-05-19) 19 May 1980 (age 44)	Sutherland Sharks	60	9
13	Paul O'Grady		CB	2005	(1978-11-06) 6 November 1978 (age 46)	Marconi Stallions	41	3
15	Andrew Clark		RB	2005	(1974-08-24) 24 August 1974 (age 50)	APIA Leichhardt Tigers	83	0
16	Nigel Boogaard		CB	2005	(1986-08-14) 14 August 1986 (age 38)	Central Coast Lightning	41	1
17	Matthew Osman		RB, RM	2005	(1983-07-29) 29 July 1983 (age 41)	Penrith United	77	4
18	Alex Wilkinson		CB, RB	2005	(1984-08-30) 30 August 1984 (age 40)	Manly United	109	1
25	Nathan Sherlock		CB	2009	(1990-02-02) 2 February 1990 (age 35)	Central Coast Mariners youth	0	0
Midfielders
2	André Gumprecht		RM, CM	2005	(1974-11-26) 26 November 1974 (age 50)	Singapore Armed Forces FC	83	5
3	Shane Huke		DM, CM, RB	2009	(1985-10-02) 2 October 1985 (age 39)	Rushden & Diamonds	5	0
7	John Hutchinson		LM, CM, DM	2005	(1979-12-29) 29 December 1979 (age 45)	Manly United	95	12
10	Adrian Caceres		LW, AM	2008	(1982-01-10) 10 January 1982 (age 43)	Melbourne Victory	29	3
12	Greg Owens		AM, RW	2007	(1981-01-27) 27 January 1981 (age 44)	Adelaide United	17	2
21	Ahmad Elrich		RW	2008	(1981-05-30) 30 May 1981 (age 43)	Wellington Phoenix	9	1
22	Nick Rizzo		LW	2009	(1979-06-09) 9 June 1979 (age 45)	Perth Glory	1	0
28	Matthew Lewis		LW	2009	(1990-06-06) 6 June 1990 (age 34)	Central Coast Mariners youth	1	0
Strikers
9	Nik Mrdja		FW	2005	(1978-11-30) 30 November 1978 (age 46)	AIK	44	11
11	Dylan Macallister		FW	2008	(1982-05-17) 17 May 1982 (age 42)	Lyn	26	5
19	Matt Simon		FW	2006	(1986-07-21) 21 July 1986 (age 38)	Central Coast Lightning	49	14
23	Adam Kwasnik		FW, RW, LW	2009	(1983-05-31) 31 May 1983 (age 41)	Wellington Phoenix	79	21
25	Brady Smith		FW	2009	(1989-08-10) 10 August 1989 (age 35)	Central Coast Mariners youth	1	0

2008–09 A-League squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  AUS Matthew Nash 2 MF  GER André Gumprecht 4 DF  AUS Predrag Bojić 5 MF  AUS Brad Porter 6 DF  AUS David D'Apuzzo 7 MF  MLT John Hutchinson 8 DF  AUS Dean Heffernan 9 FW  AUS Nik Mrdja 10 MF  AUS Adrian Caceres 11 FW  AUS Dylan Macallister 12 MF  AUS Greg Owens 13 DF  AUS Paul O'Grady 15 DF  AUS Andrew Clark 16 DF  AUS Nigel Boogaard

No. Pos. Nation Player 17 MF  AUS Matthew Osman 18 DF  AUS Alex Wilkinson (Captain) 19 FW  AUS Matt Simon 20 GK  AUS Danny Vukovic 21 MF  AUS Ahmad Elrich 22 FW  AUS Sasho Petrovski 23 MF  AUS Mile Jedinak 23 FW  AUS Adam Kwasnik 24 MF  ITA Andrea Merenda (Injury replacement) 26 MF  AUS Chris Tadrosse (Injury replacement) 28 MF  AUS Matthew Lewis 30 GK  AUS Andrew Redmayne 40 GK  AUS Mark Bosnich (Guest player)

2009 AFC Champions League squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  AUS Matthew Nash 2 MF  GER André Gumprecht 3 MF  AUS Shane Huke 4 DF  AUS Predrag Bojić 5 MF  AUS Brad Porter 6 DF  AUS David D'Apuzzo 7 MF  MLT John Hutchinson 8 DF  AUS Dean Heffernan 9 FW  AUS Nik Mrdja 10 MF  AUS Adrian Caceres 11 FW  AUS Dylan Macallister 12 MF  AUS Greg Owens 13 DF  AUS Paul O'Grady

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 DF  AUS Andrew Clark 16 DF  AUS Nigel Boogaard 17 MF  AUS Matthew Osman 18 DF  AUS Alex Wilkinson (captain) 19 FW  AUS Matt Simon 20 GK  AUS Danny Vukovic 21 MF  AUS Ahmad Elrich 22 MF  AUS Nick Rizzo 23 FW  AUS Adam Kwasnik 25 DF  AUS Nathan Sherlock 26 FW  AUS Brady Smith 27 MF  AUS Matthew Lewis 30 GK  AUS Andrew Redmayne

Youth squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  AUS Matt Nemes — DF  AUS Nick Kapsis — DF  AUS Nathan Sherlock (Captain) — DF  AUS Steven Tibbetts — DF  AUS Scott Wright — MF  AUS Ashley Balcomb — MF  AUS Laurence Braude — MF  AUS Matthew Lewis

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  AUS Tim McGowan — MF  AUS Sean Mitchell — MF  AUS Glen Trifiro — FW  AUS Ty Owens — FW  AUS Brady Smith — FW  AUS Daniel Taylor — FW  AUS Darko Vidovic

Transfers

In

Date	Pos.	Name	From	Fee
7 February 2008	MF	Adrian Caceres	Melbourne Victory	Free[1]
9 March 2008	MF	Ahmad Elrich	Wellington Phoenix	Free[2]
28 March 2008	FW	Dylan Macallister	Lyn	Free[3]
16 July 2008	DF	David D'Apuzzo	APIA Leichhardt Tigers	Undisclosed[4]
28 July 2008	DF	Pedj Bojić	Sutherland Sharks	Undisclosed[5]
19 August 2008	GK	Mark Bosnich	Unattached	Free[6]
20 August 2008	GK	Matthew Nash	APIA Leichhardt Tigers	Undisclosed[7]
1 October 2008	DF	Chris Tadrosse	Unattached	Free[8]
20 October 2008	MF	Andrea Merenda	Unattached	Free[9]
2 February 2009	MF	Shane Huke	Rushden & Diamonds	Free[10]
9 February 2009	FW	Adam Kwasnik	Wellington Phoenix	Free[11]
10 February 2009	MF	Nick Rizzo	Perth Glory	Free[12]

Out

Date	Pos.	Name	To	Fee
19 January 2008	DF	Alvin Ceccoli	Adelaide United	Free[13]
24 February 2008	DF	Tony Vidmar	Retired[14]
27 February 2008	MF	Tom Pondeljak	Melbourne Victory	Free[15]
4 March 2008	FW	John Aloisi	Sydney FC	Free[16]
2 June 2008	DF	Damien Brown	Retired[17]
16 June 2008	MF	Ian McAndrew	Released	Free[4]
25 June 2008	FW	Adam Kwasnik	Wellington Phoenix	Free[18]
18 July 2008	GK	Matthew Trott	Released	Free[19]
19 October 2008	GK	Mark Bosnich	Released	Free[20]
25 December 2008	MF	Mile Jedinak	Gençlerbirliği	$821,500[21]
4 February 2009	FW	Sasho Petrovski	Newcastle Jets	Free[22]

Club

Coaching staff

Position	Staff
Manager	Lawrie McKinna
Assistant coach Youth team coach Development manager	Alex Tobin
Goalkeeping coach	John Crawley
Strength and conditioning coach	Andrew Clark
Academy manager	Tony Walmsley

Other information

Executive chairman	Lyall Gorman
Ground (capacity and dimensions)	Central Coast Stadium (20,059 / 105x68 metres)

Source:^{[citation needed]}

Kit

Supplier: Reebok

Home

Home alt.

Away

Away alt.

Goalkeeper 1

Goalkeeper 2

Pre-season and friendlies

Central Coast Lightning v Central Coast Mariners

20 May 2008 Central Coast Challenge Cup	Central Coast Lightning	1–1	Central Coast Mariners	Gosford
19:00 AEST		Report		Stadium: Pluim Park Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones

Spirit FC v Central Coast Mariners

28 May 2008	Spirit FC	2–5	Central Coast Mariners	Sydney
19:30 AEST	Cunningham 50' (pen.) Orgad 70'		Macallister 10', 81' Brown 15' Brad Porter 20' Petrovski 80'	Stadium: Christie Park

Capricorn Cougars v Central Coast Mariners

6 June 2008	Capricorn Cougars	0–3	Central Coast Mariners	Rockhampton
19:30 AEST		Report	Simon 36', 78', 90+1' (pen.)	Stadium: Jardine Park Referee: Chris Beath

Whitsunday Miners v Central Coast Mariners

8 June 2008	Whitsunday Miners	0–5	Central Coast Mariners	Mackay
18:00 AEST			Petrovski 27' Hutchinson 49' Macallister 60', 76', 83'	Stadium: Harrup Park

Central Coast Mariners v Newcastle Jets

21 June 2008	Central Coast Mariners	0–1	Newcastle Jets	Budgewoi
14:45 AEST		Report	Song Jin-hyung 31'	Stadium: Frank Millington Field Referee: Stuart Wolfe

Belconnen United v Central Coast Mariners

25 June 2008	Belconnen United	1–2	Central Coast Mariners	Canberra
19:00 AEST	Wells 33'	Report	Beaton 68', 90'	Stadium: Belconnen Soccer Centre Attendance: 850 Referee: Gary Vanderburgt

ACT Rockets v Central Coast Mariners

27 June 2008	ACT Rockets	0–4	Central Coast Mariners	Canberra
19:00 AEST		Report	Bojić 14' Lagana 38' Petrovski 45' Osman 71'	Stadium: Deakin Football Centre

Northern Tigers v Central Coast Mariners

1 July 2008	Northern Tigers	0–3	Central Coast Mariners	Sydney
19:30 AEST			Jedinak 5' Petrovski 40' Smith 69'	Stadium: Mills Park Attendance: 1,000

Central Coast Mariners v Newcastle Jets

12 July 2008	Central Coast Mariners	3–0	Newcastle Jets	Canberra
13:00 AEST	Jedinak 4', 61' Petrovski 5'	Report		Stadium: Canberra Stadium Attendance: 4,873 Referee: Ben Williams

Central Coast Mariners v New Zealand U-23

15 July 2008	Central Coast Mariners	1–2	New Zealand U-23	Sydney
15:00 AEST	Macallister 73'	Report	20' (o.g.) Ellensohn 40'	Stadium: Knox Grammar School Attendance: 750 Referee: Matthew Gillett

Central Coast Mariners v Sunshine Coast

22 February 2009	Central Coast Mariners	2–1	Sunshine Coast	Budgewoi
10:00 AEDT	Osman 30' Mrdja 80'		85'	Stadium: Frank Millington Field

Central Coast Mariners v Newcastle Jets

24 February 2009	Central Coast Mariners	1–0	Newcastle Jets	Budgewoi
11:00 AEDT	Petrovski 64'			Stadium: Frank Millington Field

Jiangsu Sainty v Central Coast Mariners

28 February 2009	Jiangsu Sainty	2–1	Central Coast Mariners	Kunshan, China
14:30 CST	70' 90+2'	Report	Osman 40'	Stadium: Kunshan Sports Centre

Shandong Luneng v Central Coast Mariners

3 March 2009	Shandong Luneng	2–0	Central Coast Mariners	Jinan, China
15:00 CST	Li Jinyu 12' Lü Zheng 90'	Report		Stadium: Shandong Provincial Stadium

Central Coast Lightning v Central Coast Mariners

28 April 2009 Central Coast Challenge Cup	Central Coast Lightning	0–4	Central Coast Mariners	Gosford
19:00 (AEDT			Kwasnik (pen.) Boogaard Caceres Elrich	Stadium: Pluim Park

Competitions

Overall

Competition	Started round	Final position / round	First match	Last match
Pre-Season Challenge Cup	Group stage	Group stage	20 July 2008	3 August 2008
A-League	—	4th	15 August 2008	25 January 2008
A-League finals	Minor semi-final	Minor semi-final	6 February 2009	13 February 2009
AFC Champions League	Group stage	Group stage	11 March 2009	19 May 2009

Pre-Season Challenge Cup

Main article: 2008 A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup

Group stage

Main article: 2008 A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup § Group B

Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
Wellington Phoenix	3	2	1	0	5	3	+2	7	Advances to final
Central Coast Mariners	3	2	0	1	5	2	+3	6
Sydney FC	3	1	0	2	4	7	−3	3
Queensland Roar	3	0	1	2	3	5	−2	1

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Wellington Phoenix v Central Coast Mariners

20 July 2008 1	Wellington Phoenix	1–0	Central Coast Mariners	Wellington
16:00 NZST	Daniel 72' Hearfield  75' Dodd  83'	Report	Clark  22' Macallister  59'	Stadium: Westpac Stadium Attendance: 4,853 Referee: Michael Hester

Central Coast Mariners v Sydney FC

27 July 2008 2	Central Coast Mariners	3–0	Sydney FC	Gosford
15:00 AEST	D'Apuzzo  32' Clark  35' Porter 41'  70' Petrovski  56' 61' Mrdja 68' (pen.)	Report	Corica  49' Brosque  63' Fyfe  68' Colosimo  74' Payne  78' Giraldi  86'	Stadium: Bluetongue Stadium Attendance: 7,107 Referee: Chris Beath

Queensland Roar v Central Coast Mariners

3 August 2008 3	Queensland Roar	1–2	Central Coast Mariners	Brisbane
15:00 AEST	van Dijk  19' Moore  48' Zullo 50' Dodd  70'	Report	Hutchinson  19' Elrich 28' Macallister 32' Boogaard  60'	Stadium: Perry Park Attendance: 3,241 Referee: Peter Green

A-League

Main article: 2008–09 A-League

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Melbourne Victory (C)	21	12	2	7	39	27	+12	38	Qualification for 2010 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series
2	Adelaide United	21	11	5	5	31	19	+12	38
3	Queensland Roar	21	10	6	5	36	25	+11	36	Qualification for Finals series
4	Central Coast Mariners	21	7	7	7	35	32	+3	28
5	Sydney FC	21	7	5	9	33	32	+1	26
6	Wellington Phoenix	21	7	5	9	23	31	−8	26
7	Perth Glory	21	6	4	11	31	44	−13	22
8	Newcastle Jets	21	4	6	11	21	39	−18	18

Source: ultimatealeague.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
21	7	7	7	35	32	+3	28	5	2	4	19	14	+5	2	5	3	16	18	−2

Results by matchday

Matchday	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21
Ground	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H
Result	D	L	W	D	D	W	D	L	W	D	W	L	D	D	W	L	W	W	L	L	L
Position	2	6	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	5	2	4	4	5	4	4	4	3	4	4	4

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Newcastle Jets v Central Coast Mariners

15 August 2008 1	Newcastle Jets	1–1	Central Coast Mariners	Newcastle
20:00 EAST	J. Griffiths 90+1' (pen.)	Report	Simon 87'	Stadium: EnergyAustralia Stadium Attendance: 16,022 Referee: Matthew Breeze

Central Coast Mariners v Sydney FC

23 August 2008 2	Central Coast Mariners	2–3	Sydney FC	Gosford
19:00 AEST	Petrovski 13' (pen.), 67'  55' Clark  48' Bojić  56' Boogaard  80'	Report	Corica 6', 14' Middleby  30' Colosimo  45' Musialik  68'  68' Cole 81'  90+1' Fyfe  90+3'	Stadium: Bluetongue Stadium Attendance: 10,932 Referee: Ben Williams

Queensland Roar v Central Coast Mariners

31 August 2008 3	Queensland Roar	2–4	Central Coast Mariners	Brisbane
17:00 AEST	Reddy  15' Tiatto  28' Miller 69' van Dijk 73' (pen.)	Report	Simon  15' 31' Jedinak  18' 48' Macallister 64', 71'  78' Clark  76'	Stadium: Suncorp Stadium Attendance: 12,185 Referee: Peter O'Leary

Wellington Phoenix v Central Coast Mariners

14 September 2008 4	Wellington Phoenix	0–0	Central Coast Mariners	Wellington
17:00 NZST	Hutchinson  51' Bojić  54'	Report	Johnson  6' Dodd  18' Hearfield  45'	Stadium: Westpac Stadium Attendance: 6,928 Referee: Strebre Delovski

Central Coast Mariners v Melbourne Victory

20 September 2008 5	Central Coast Mariners	2–2	Melbourne Victory	Gosford
19:00 AEST	Simon 11', 82'	Report	Thompson 15', 90+4' Theoklitos  53' Kemp  71'	Stadium: Bluetongue Stadium Attendance: 9,010 Referee: Peter Green

Central Coast Mariners v Perth Glory

26 September 2008 6	Central Coast Mariners	4–1	Perth Glory	Gosford
20:00 AEST	Petrovski 9'  58' Simon  20' Jedinak 29'  39' Caceres 45' Osman 64' Bojić  79'	Report	Tarka  38' Rukavytsya 63' Trinidad  90+2'	Stadium: Bluetongue Stadium Attendance: 8,016 Referee: Mark Shield

Adelaide United v Central Coast Mariners

3 October 2008 7	Adelaide United	3–3	Central Coast Mariners	Adelaide
19:30 ACST	Dodd 7' (pen.) Cornthwaite 19'  85' Cristiano  32' 50' Costanzo  66' Jamieson  74' Ognenovski  79'	Report	Clark  9' Jedinak 66' (pen.), 76' Simon 84' Bojić  88'	Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium Attendance: 9,074 Referee: Ben Williams

Central Coast Mariners v Wellington Phoenix

19 October 2008 8	Central Coast Mariners	0–1	Wellington Phoenix	Gosford
15:00 AEDT	Jedinak  18' Simon  61'	Report	Dodd 53' McKain  62' Gao Leilei  83'	Stadium: Bluetongue Stadium Attendance: 9,011 Referee: Ben Williams

Central Coast Mariners v Newcastle Jets

24 October 2008 9	Central Coast Mariners	1–0	Newcastle Jets	Gosford
20:00 AEDT	Macallister 33' Wilkinson  56' O'Grady  86'	Report	Håkansson  38' North  63'	Stadium: Bluetongue Stadium Attendance: 10,710 Referee: Matthew Breeze

Sydney FC v Central Coast Mariners

1 November 2008 10	Sydney FC	3–3	Central Coast Mariners	Sydney
19:00 AEDT	Bridge 28' Casey 39' McFlynn 57'	Report	Jedinak  18' Petrovski  34' Simon 63', 81' Mrdja 78' Hutchinson  90+4'	Stadium: Sydney Football Stadium Attendance: 18,251 Referee: Strebre Delovski

Central Coast Mariners v Adelaide United

15 November 2008 11	Central Coast Mariners	3–0	Adelaide United	Gosford
19:30 AEDT	Simon 18' Petrovski 44' Caceres 50' Wilkinson  90+2'	Report	Barbiero  65' Spagnuolo  72'	Stadium: Bluetongue Stadium Attendance: 7,865 Referee: Matthew Breeze

Melbourne Victory v Central Coast Mariners

21 November 2008 12	Melbourne Victory	2–1	Central Coast Mariners	Melbourne
20:00 AEDT	Pondeljak 37' Thompson 60'	Report	Hutchinson 34' Bojić  84'	Stadium: Telstra Dome Attendance: 21,455 Referee: Strebre Delovski

Perth Glory v Central Coast Mariners

29 November 2008 13	Perth Glory	2–2	Central Coast Mariners	Perth
18:00 WDT	Dadi  29' Harnwell  30' Shroj  34' Rukavytsya 55', 62' Trinidad  76' Djulbic  79'	Report	Jedinak 31' Porter  53' Simon  55' Boogaard  90' Petrovski 90+2'	Stadium: Members Equity Stadium Attendance: 6,496 Referee: Peter O'Leary

Central Coast Mariners v Queensland Roar

6 December 2008 14	Central Coast Mariners	1–1	Queensland Roar	Gosford
18:00 AEDT	D'Apuzzo  10' Bojić  72' Gumprecht 83'	Report	van Dijk 11' DeVere  90+1'	Stadium: Bluetongue Stadium Attendance: 8,995 Referee: Ben Williams

Central Coast Mariners v Sydney FC

13 December 2008 15	Central Coast Mariners	2–1	Sydney FC	Gosford
19:00 AEDT	Macallister 11' Vuković  63' Bojić  64' Jedinak 90' (pen.)	Report	Aloisi 65' (pen.) Cole  90+2' Fyfe  90+3'	Stadium: Bluetongue Stadium Attendance: 11,220 Referee: Peter Green

Wellington Phoenix v Central Coast Mariners

19 December 2008 16	Wellington Phoenix	1–0	Central Coast Mariners	Wellington
19:30 NZDT	Smeltz 2'  62' Durante  90' Brown  90+2'	Report	Caceres  45' Porter  49' Macallister  52'	Stadium: Westpac Stadium Attendance: 6,722 Referee: Chris Beath

Newcastle Jets v Central Coast Mariners

26 December 2008 17	Newcastle Jets	1–2	Central Coast Mariners	Newcastle
20:00 AEDT	A. Griffiths  7' J. Griffiths 9' (pen.)	Report	Petrovski  43' 67' Simon 80'  90+4' Macallister  90+4'	Stadium: EnergyAustralia Stadium Attendance: 11,413 Referee: Peter O'Leary

Central Coast Mariners v Perth Glory

31 December 2008 18	Central Coast Mariners	1–0	Perth Glory	Gosford
18:00 AEDT	Heffernan  42' Hutchinson 80'	Report		Stadium: Bluetongue Stadium Attendance: 15,546 Referee: Strebre Delovski

Central Coast Mariners v Queensland Roar

10 January 2009 19	Central Coast Mariners	3–4	Queensland Roar	Gosford
19:00 AEDT	Mrdja 5' Simon 55', 81' Porter  59' Caceres  73' Clark  76'	Report	Moore  12' van Dijk 43', 48' Minniecon 60' Bojić 69' (o.g.)	Stadium: Bluetongue Stadium Attendance: 11,454 Referee: Matthew Breeze

Melbourne Victory v Central Coast Mariners

16 January 2009 20	Melbourne Victory	3–0	Central Coast Mariners	Melbourne
20:00 AEDT	Allsopp 68' Hernández 71' Thompson 75'	Report	Clark  44' Hutchinson  80' Heffernan  87' Porter  90+3'	Stadium: Telstra Dome Attendance: 24,003 Referee: Peter Green

Central Coast Mariners v Adelaide United

25 January 2009 21	Central Coast Mariners	0–1	Adelaide United	Gosford
19:00 AEDT	Simon  74'	Report	Barbiero  26' Cornthwaite  45+2' Cristiano 82'	Stadium: Bluetongue Stadium Attendance: 12,351 Referee: Matthew Breeze

Finals series

Main article: 2008–09 A-League § Finals series

Minor semi-final

Central Coast Mariners v Queensland Roar

6 February 2009 First leg	Central Coast Mariners	0–2	Queensland Roar	Gosford
20:00 AEDT		Report	Nichols 30' Tiatto  34'  75' van Dijk 54' (pen.) Packer  56' Zullo  58'	Stadium: Bluetongue Stadium Attendance: 9,514 Referee: Ben Williams

Queensland Roar v Central Coast Mariners

13 February 2009 Second leg	Queensland Roar	2–1 (4–1 agg.)	Central Coast Mariners	Brisbane
19:30 AEST	Nichols 21' McKay 49'	Report	Boogaard  38' O'Grady  45' Mrdja 64' Heffernan  80' Hutchinson  85'	Stadium: Suncorp Stadium Attendance: 23,705 Referee: Peter Green

AFC Champions League

Main article: 2009 AFC Champions League

Group stage

Main article: 2009 AFC Champions League group stage § Group H

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Pohang Steelers	6	3	3	0	7	3	+4	12	Advance to knockout stage
2	Kawasaki Frontale	6	3	1	2	10	7	+3	10
3	Tianjin Teda	6	2	2	2	6	5	+1	8
4	Central Coast Mariners	6	0	2	4	5	13	−8	2

Source: WorldFootball.net

Central Coast Mariners v Pohang Steelers

11 March 2009 1	Central Coast Mariners	0–0	Pohang Steelers	Gosford, Australia
20:00 AEDT	Bojić  40' Simon  82'	Report	Shin Hyung-min  78'	Stadium: Bluetongue Stadium Attendance: 6,870 Referee: Khalil Al-Ghamdi (Saudi Arabia)

Tianjin Teda v Central Coast Mariners

18 March 2009 2	Tianjin Teda	2–2	Central Coast Mariners	Tianjin, China
20:00 CST	Éber 37' Tan Wangsong  41' Wu Weian 66' Cao Yang  84'	Report	Simon  6' 61' Boogaard  30' Bojić  40' Caceres 48'	Stadium: TEDA Football Stadium Attendance: 27,005 Referee: Malik Abdul Bashir (Singapore)

Central Coast Mariners v Kawasaki Frontale

8 April 2009 3	Central Coast Mariners	0–5	Kawasaki Frontale	Gosford, Australia
20:00 (AEST)	Osman  10'	Report	Jong Tae-se 8' Taniguchi 22' Juninho 37' Nakamura 49' Renatinho 70'	Stadium: Bluetongue Stadium Attendance: 9,419 Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)

Kawasaki Frontale v Central Coast Mariners

21 April 2009 4	Kawasaki Frontale	2–1	Central Coast Mariners	Kawasaki, Japan
JST	Igawa  19' Juninho 47' Mori  73' Renatinho 81'	Report	Boogaard  39' Osman  39' Simon 59' Clark  79' Gumprecht  84'	Stadium: Todoroki Athletics Stadium Attendance: 8,419 Referee: Fareed Al-Marzouqi (United Arab Emirates)

Pohang Steelers v Central Coast Mariners

5 May 2009 5	Pohang Steelers	3–2	Central Coast Mariners	Pohang, South Korea
13:00 (KST	Denílson 8' (pen.), 71' (88)	Report	Bojić  7' Simon  27' Kwasnik 54', 57'	Stadium: Pohang Steel Yard Attendance: 11,539 Referee: Masoud Moradi (Iran)

Central Coast Mariners v Tianjin Teda

19 May 2009 6	Central Coast Mariners	0–1	Tianjin Teda	Gosford, Australia
20:00 (AEST	Caceres  90+5'	Report	Han Yanming  12' Ma Leilei  34' Mao Biao 64' Zhao Yanming  90+3' Fan Baiqun  90+4'	Stadium: Bluetongue Stadium Attendance: 5,843 Referee: Muhsen Basma (Syria)

Statistics

Appearances

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		A-League		A-League finals		Pre-Season Cup		AFC Champions League
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	AUS	Matthew Nash	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	MF	GER	Andre Gumprecht	17	1	5 + 6	1	1	0	2	0	2 + 1	0
3	MF	AUS	Shane Huke	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4 + 1	0
4	DF	AUS	Pedj Bojić	27	0	20	0	1	0	1	0	5	0
5	DF	AUS	Brad Porter	32	1	20 + 1	0	2	0	3	1	3 + 3	0
6	DF	AUS	David D'Apuzzo	10	0	2 + 6	0	0	0	1 + 1	0	0	0
7	MF	MLT	John Hutchinson	31	2	20	2	2	0	3	0	6	0
8	DF	AUS	Dean Heffernan	14	0	5 + 1	0	1	0	1	0	6	0
9	FW	AUS	Nik Mrdja	22	4	3 + 11	2	0 + 2	1	0 + 3	1	3	0
10	MF	AUS	Adrian Caceres	29	3	17 + 3	2	1 + 1	0	3	0	2 + 2	1
11	FW	AUS	Dylan Macallister	26	5	12 + 5	4	2	0	3	1	2 + 2	0
12	MF	AUS	Greg Owens	1	0	0 + 1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
13	DF	AUS	Paul O'Grady	9	0	3 + 4	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
15	DF	AUS	Andrew Clark	18	0	7 + 4	0	1 + 1	0	2	0	3	0
16	DF	AUS	Nigel Boogaard	18	0	11	0	1	0	1	0	5	0
17	MF	AUS	Matthew Osman	27	1	13 + 4	1	2	0	2 + 1	0	5	0
18	DF	AUS	Alex Wilkinson	32	0	21	0	2	0	3	0	6	0
19	FW	AUS	Matt Simon	25	13	16 + 3	11	2	0	0	0	4	2
20	GK	AUS	Danny Vuković	27	0	16	0	2	0	2 + 1	0	6	0
21	MF	AUS	Ahmad Elrich	9	1	3	0	0	0	2	1	1 + 3	0
22	MF	AUS	Nick Rizzo	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0 + 1	0
23	MF	AUS	Adam Kwasnik	4	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	3 + 1	2
25	FW	AUS	Brady Smith	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
25	DF	AUS	Nathan Sherlock	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
28	MF	AUS	Matthew Lewis	1	0	0 + 1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
30	GK	AUS	Andrew Redmayne	2	0	1 + 1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Players who made appearances but left the club during the season:
22	FW	AUS	Sasho Petrovski	25	7	16 + 4	6	0 + 2	0	3	1	0	0
23	MF	AUS	Mile Jedinak	15	6	15	6	0	0	0	0	0	0
24	MF	ITA	Andrea Merenda	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
26	MF	AUS	Chris Tadrosse	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
40	GK	AUS	Mark Bosnich	6	0	4	0	0	0	1 + 1	0	0	0

Goalscorers

Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.

Rank	Pos.	No.	Player	A-League	Finals	Pre-Season Challenge Cup	AFC Champions League	Total
1	FW	19	Matt Simon	11	0	0	2	13
2	FW	22	Sasho Petrovski	6	0	1	0	7
3	MF	23	Mile Jedinak	6	0	0	0	6
4	FW	11	Dylan Macallister	4	0	1	0	5
5	FW	9	Nik Mrdja	2	1	1	0	4
6	MF	10	Adrian Caceres	2	0	0	1	3
7	MF	7	John Hutchinson	2	0	0	0	2
	FW	23	Adam Kwasnik	0	0	0	2	2
9	MF	2	André Gumprecht	1	0	0	0	1
	DF	17	Matthew Osman	1	0	0	0	1
	DF	5	Brad Porter	0	0	1	0	1
	MF	21	Ahmad Elrich	0	0	1	0	1
Total				35	1	5	5	46

Clean sheets

Rank	Pos.	No.	Player	A-League	Finals	Pre-Season Challenge Cup	AFC Champions League	Total
1	GK	20	Danny Vuković	3	0	0	1	4
2	GK	40	Mark Bosnich	1	0	0	0	1

Disciplinary record

As of 17 May 2014

R.	Name	A-League		A-League finals		Pre-Season Cup		AFC Champions League		Total
1	Pedj Bojić	7	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	10	0
2	Matt Simon	6	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	9	0
3	Andrew Clark	5	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	8	0
	Nigel Boogaard	1	1	1	0	1	0	2	0	5	1
5	Dylan Macallister	2	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	1
6	Sasho Petrovski	4	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	5	0
	Brad Porter	4	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	5	0
	Dean Heffernan	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	1
	John Hutchinson	3	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	5	0
10	Adrian Caceres	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	0
11	Alex Wilkinson	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	Paul O'Grady	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	David D'Apuzzo	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0
	Matthew Osman	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	0
15	Danny Vuković	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	André Gumprecht	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0

Awards

• PFA A-League Team of the Season: Mile Jedinak

The Mariners Medal dinner was held in early March 2009, in Tumbi Umbi:^[23]

• Mariners Medal (players' player of the year): Matt Simon
• Marinators Goal of the Year (fan-voted): John Hutchinson, for his long-range strike against Perth Glory on 31 December 2008
• Golden Boot: Matt Simon
• Chairman's Award: Ben Coonan (media officer)