Mariners win AFC Cup

Central Coast Mariners person go conscionable the 2nd A-League men’s outfit to triumph an Asian nine contention aft beating Lebanese squad Al-Ahed 1-0 successful the AFC Cup final.

An 84th-minute extremity from substitute Alou Kuol astatine the Sultan Qaboos Sport Complex successful Muscat, Oman connected Monday greeting (AEST) secured the Mariners the victory, arsenic good arsenic $2.3 cardinal successful prizemoney.

The Mariners besides stay connected way to triumph the treble aft clinching the A-League premiership past Wednesday.

They volition present instrumentality location to contention the A-League finals bid successful the anticipation of securing a 3rd trophy this play by winning a 2nd successive championship.

“I ever knew that we could travel present and get the win,” Mariners manager Mark Jackson said aft his squad ended a 10-year hold for a 2nd A-League nine to triumph an Asian crown aft Western Sydney Wanderers’ AFC Champions League occurrence successful 2014.

“It was a truly hard crippled against a large hostile but we’ve got afloat content successful the boys.

“It’s a fantastic accomplishment for the lads, the staff, everybody astatine the nine and the supporters arsenic well.”

The Mariners volition besides spell down successful past arsenic the last nine to triumph the competition, which volition beryllium scrapped adjacent play to marque mode for the three-tier Asian Football Confederation men’s nine competitions – the AFC Champions League Elite, AFC Champions League 2 and AFC Challenge League.

Central Coast volition contention the 2024 Champions League Elite contention courtesy of their A-League premiership win.