The trick to getting the better of Sydney seems to be holding on during the 15 or 20 minutes they look classy and invincible; then rattling them with a few counter attacks; and then gradually wearing them down and coming over the top towards the end when they're buggered.
Mariners to begin with looked due for a caning. Then Dwight Yorke marvellous anywhere but in front of goal missed a penalty and Sydney came unstuck. By the end, Mariners looked more likely winners.
Though with scant options (or ideas) for his team on the pitch, Sydney coach Pierre Littbarski seems to think they'll loosen up and come good. But counterpart Lawrie McKinna knew what needed to be done to get a satisfactory result on the day.
While home fans went home dispirited after yet another draw which for the glamour club could only be considered yet another failure impartial observers were treated to exhilarating "end to end", "pulsating" -- football.
Dark clouds gathered above Sydney Football Stadium after a hot and humid day. A drenching seemed imminent, but only light rain fell, sufficient to grease the surface.
Sydney kicked off and Carney was away down the right. Sydney swamped the Mariners' penalty area but Carney's cross dropped behind David Zdrilic.
Mark Milligan's long throw went straight to Danny Vukovic for the first of his many catches of the evening.
David Zdrilic was good in the middle, pushing the ball wide to Carney who won a corner off Dean Heffernan. Jacob Timpano headed to Vukovic.
Mariners had an opportunity with one of their first half stars, Wayne O'Sullivan, crossing from the right to Sydney keeper Clint Bolton.
Bolton had another catch to make in the fourth minute when Mariners were awarded a free kick on the left side of the Sydney penalty area.
Saso Petrovski won a throw for Sydney on the left. This was quickly and cleverly taken by Alvin Ceccoli who found Steve Corica arriving behind the Central Coast full backs. Corica missed his chance, overrunning the ball.
In the seventh minute Corica put a lovely chip into the box for Terry McFlynn. Andrew Clark bundled into McFlynn's back and Sydney had a penalty. Yorke, after being halted during his first run up, hit a poor, soft shot easily saved by Vukovic, who is reputedly good at saving decently taken penalties.
Michael Beauchamp strong in attack and defence for the Mariners was good against Zdrilic and Carney. But Zdrilic was doing a good job for Sydney, holding the ball up and creating space for Petrovski and Carney.
In the 11th minute, the magnificent Tom Pondeljak, still in recovery mode from injury and not yet making a mark on the game, hit a long shot high.
John Hutchinson was a metre behind a cross from the left.
Dwight Yorke made Noel Spencer look silly and slow (Spencer would later get his own back), Mariners bungled a clearance from their penalty area, and McFlynn hit a wild long shot.
Yorke conceded a free kick 40 metres out. Spencer had the kick. Timpano got a fortunate touch to clear as Sydney stumbled in defence.
Sydney had a free kick for a foul on McFlynn. Petrovski, in behind the Mariners' defence, met it well but headed over.
Sydney were in charge, keener to the ball, but Central Coast had their moments.
A great Ceccoli cross was a bit too long for Petrovski and Zdrilic. Carney's return cross was too long for Yorke.
Ceccoli had a long run down the left and could have gone further but turned back and wasted possession.
Beauchamp stopped Zdrilic on the end of a neat cross from Petrovski who had rounded his marker with some nifty footwork.
Vukovic was forced to take the ball over the goal line and Sydney had two consecutive corners. The second, by Carney, was returned to Vukovic.
Clark fouled Petrovski and the quickly-taken free kick came out to Ceccoli who swung over another cross and Damien Brown conceded another corner.
Milligan cleared a Pondeljak shot off the line after O'Sullivan was sent behind the Sydney lines and crossed.
Then Fyfe saved Sydney twice, Mariners had a corner and Alex Wilkinson hooked a shot wide.
Mariners were getting some good action and Sydney were not handling the pressure at all well.
But Sydney won another free kick on the right of the Central Coast box. Mariners headed clear, feeding the ball promptly to Pondeljak who left his marker and forced Bolton to tidy up.
Milligan made a great run down the right after turning his marker and hit a perfect ball for Petrovski who (unjustly?) was called offside.
Zdrilic was showing signs of being too unselfish, laying off for team mates when he might have been better off turning to goal himself.
In the 33rd minute Hutchinson went down and was stretchered off with cruciate ligament damage to his left knee, replaced by Adam Kwasnik.
McFlynn later copped a yellow card, Spencer's free kick went into the Sydney wall, and O'Sullivan, again free on the right, hit a great cross met by Beauchamp whose header was not far off target.
Then there was some top defending by Timpano, coming across and putting an end to an ungainly run by Kwasnik.
In the 40th minute Corica come down the left and into the Mariners' penalty area. He played back for McFlynn who shot just over.
Carney was again good down the right. His cross was long but dangerous enough to win Sydney a corner.
Clark fouled Petrovski again. Yorke again took a quick kick but it was too long for Carney, coming into the left side of the box.
Pondeljak robbed Yorke who was taking too much time on the ball.
Bolton made a great save on a shot from Brown at the top left corner of the Sydney penalty area after passes across the field from Pondeljak and Spencer.
In time added on at the end of the first half another Beauchamp header went over the crossbar. Then Zdrilic got in behind Beauchamp but his shot, from a sharp angle, was high.
The second half kick off, as with the first, found Carney.
Brown wasted a free kick, too long for even the fleet footed Heffernan. Sydney had a goal kick.
Kwasnik clumsily robbed Yorke but immediately gave the ball away to Fyfe.
For the first four minutes of the second half, continuing where they left off in the first half, everything was Mariners.
Andre Gumprecht, who came to the fore in the second half, crossed well from the right but Ceccoli beat O'Sullivan to the ball.
Sydney sent a long ball looking for Carney but Heffernan slid in to take it away.
In the 50th minute Gumprecht did very well to get to a ball behind the Sydney defence but his shot was poorly hit and Timpano had time just to clear off his line.
In the 52nd minute Pondeljak made a good run onto the ball and headed to goal where he turned Timpano and Fyfe inside out before pulling the ball across Bolton and inside the left post. Fancy that!
Sydney were losing. And, very embarrassed, they lifted several notches. Briefly.
They won a free kick on the right side of the Mariners' box. Corica delivered well to the left post where Fyfe took the ball off Yorke's head and put it just wide.
Kwasnik copped a yellow, Wilkinson was caught fouling a couple of times, and Spencer forced an error from Yorke only to see Heffernan give the ball away.
Several snappy passes down Sydney's left set up Corica for a low drive well held by Vukovic.
In the 60th minute Gumprecht made a wonderful unbalanced clearance but Sydney came again down the right. Carney, according to a script none of the Mariners defenders had read, cut in along the top of the penalty area. With the aid of a distracting run from Zdrilic he found room for his left foot and, predictably, shot inside Central Coast's right post.
Now, could Sydney sustain the pressure? Corica, Petrovski and Zdrilic combined on the edge of the Mariners' penalty area but Beauchamp stopped them.
Fyfe fluffed and let in Pondeljak and Milligan cleared.
Sydney started making mistakes, allowing Mariners time with the ball.
Corica and Milligan sent Yorke on a penetrating run. Yorke set up Petrovski on the left for a good rising shot, left of goal.
Brown set up Heffernan for a run down Mariners' left. Heffernan put in a good cross for O'Sullivan who couldn't quite make contact under pressure from Ceccoli.
The slippery Pondeljak was fouled by Corica. Spencer took the free kick from 25 metres out and Kwasnik's header was tapped over by Bolton.
Matthew Osman replaced the depleted Pondeljak but Central Coast kept attacking.
Bolton saved from one Mariners corner. Mariners had another and Bolton saved a low shot.
Heffernan shot (or very firmly crossed) from the left. Kwasnik slid in to the right post but was too late.
Andrew Packer replaced Corica and Sydney gained some legs but lost direction.
Petrovski chipped a ball across the Mariners box two metres from the goal line. It looked like trouble for the visitors but Beauchamp cleared.
Even with Pondeljak off, Central Coast looked the better team. Kwasnik shot just over the bar. And Timpano earned a yellow card for a foul on Kwasnik.
From the free kick Kwasnik got some but not enough contact on the ball with a quick turn and shot to the right of goal.
In the 80th minute Heffernan rounded Packer and hit hard and low to the left of goal.
Mariners were on top and Sydney looked tired.
Clark put a cross from Petrovski safely away for a Sydney corner. The ball was cleared out to Milligan whose long shot cut grass on its way to Vukovic who made another good save.
Kwasnik got to a cross from Brown but Fyfe beat Osman to the ball.
In the 83rd minute Carney just got around Heffernan and his hurried shot was blocked by Vukovic.
Again Zdrilic in a good position to turn to goal passed instead and Mariners shut Sydney down and cleared the ball away.
Carney, relishing a switch to midfield, came into the Central Coast penalty area from the left but was beaten by Vukovic diving at his feet.
In the 85th minute Petrovski shot low from the edge of the box but Vukovic dived to his right to save.
Mariners worked down their right flank and Kwasnik shot low to the left of goal.
With Sydney's Cove still in good voice, Carney was trying to be in everything.
In the 89th minute Mariners had a corner. Kwasnik bumbled with the ball at the edge of the penalty arc but shot and won another corner.
A long ball was sent for O'Sullivan but Heffernan fouled Milligan. And Sydney and Central Coast had to settle for a point each.
Carney won the head to head with Heffernan. He probably came out on top in the personal duals; and while by the end of the game Heffernan's legs looked heavy as logs (testimony to the amount of work they'd been doing), Carney seemed one of the few Sydneysiders willing or able to fight for the winner.
Talk in the urinals after the match: How can you score in extra time if you pass back to the goalkeeper? And something about strikers both being inept.
Littbarski was satisfied with a draw, though he had been hoping for a win. With the exception of Carney he said Sydney had problems finishing (perhaps it was Littbarski I overhead in the loo). Both sides had good opportunities he said.
He said with a squad of 18 and with McFlynn out next week he was struggling to find strikers in form (or with confidence) and, again with the exception of Carney, players able to deliver good crosses.
He said Sydney started the second half slowly again and Mariners developed a rhythm. "Especially in the centre of the park, Gumprecht and Spencer, we couldn't really catch them for 15 or 20 minutes."
Sydney were not using the left side option enough, he said, and were guilty of technical errors, including allowing Pondeljak room to score.
McKinna credited Hutchinson's recent scoring performances for Mariners' position in the league, and said it was unfortunate that he would be out for a few months now. But it was good that Kwasnik got a goal and Stewart Petrie would be back next week.
He thought either team could have won and that a draw was a fair result.
He thought the overall performance of his team was fantastic and showed they deserved to be where they were. If Sydney hadn't scored at a crucial time he thought Mariners would have run over the top of them.
There were chances for both sides in the last 15 minutes, which would have been entertaining for the crowd. He expressed special appreciation to the families who came down from the Central Coast with flags waving.
Of his goal, Pondeljak said he had been waiting for the Sydney defence to slip up: "I didn't run all the way from half way just to throw it away. I was starting to get in a bit of a tangle and I thought if I don't get a shot off here I'm going to look like a real idiot."
He said he wasn't surprised he ran out of legs by the 70th minute; the game was fast paced and Mariners didn't come to Sydney to defend.
He expected to be playing up front with Petrie against Adelaide next week.