AFC Cup
The Australian side had to overcome an early own goal by goalkeeper Jack Warshawsky, with Jacob Farrell and Marco Tulio leading the fightback with braces to claim the three points.
#AFCCup - Group G | Central Coast Mariners (AUS) 6 -3 Bali United (IDN)
The win takes Central Coast top of Group G with six points from their three games, putting behind their 1-0 defeat to Malaysia’s Terengganu on Matchday One.
“We're pleased with the result,” said Jackson, who took over as head coach last month. “Everyone worked hard for the win. We're not going to get complacent, and we have two league games to take on first before coming back and facing Bali again.
“We knew Bali would be quick on the transition. I thought our possession was better than when we went up against Adelaide. Our structure, especially with (Jack) Warshawsky and our backline, has certainly improved.”
Warshawsky conceded inside the opening 20 minutes when he fumbled Privat Mbarga’s cross but Jackson believes the young goalkeeper will learn from the experience and praised his ability to move past the early error.
“I said that to him at half time because he came back strong. When the balls are going back to him, he shows composure and confidence to play out. So I’m really, really pleased for him.
“His teammates went up the other end and scored the goals for him and got him out of that, and that’s what we’re there to do.
“We’re there to be good teammates and help each other out through the tough times. Although physically, he didn’t have much to do, psychologically, I think he made giant strides forward today as a young goalkeeper.”
Bali United head coach Alessandro Cugura wants his team to bounce back from their disappointing defeat.
“We had a very challenging game. We stuck to our tactical plan, scored the first goal but made some mistakes,” said Cugura. “Our opponents had the quality to capitalise and scored multiple goals.
“We knew they would give everything in the game. Now, when we face them at home in the return leg, we need to return the favor and win that game.”
