Coach Alain Moizan and his men took on last season’s A-League minor premiers at the Stade Numa Daly in Noumea on Saturday evening and were looking to improve on their showing from the first game, a 1-1 stalemate at the same venue on Thursday.
But instead it is the Mariners who will have taken the most from the two matches after a pair of pleasing performances.
“We got exactly what we wanted out of the trip,” Central Coast coach Graham Arnold said.
“We got two good games against a strong opposition in New Caledonia. I believe the Oceania nations have improved enormously and we can’t thank New Caledonia enough for showing us such great hospitality throughout our stay.”
Youngster Mitchell Duke netted a brace for the Mariners while Troy Hearfield and Bernie Ibini also got their names on the scoresheet.
New Caledonia midfielder Miguel Kayara – who hit home a stunning free kick to equalise for Les Cagous on Thursday – enhanced his reputation further with another fine solo effort, weaving his way past two defenders before producing a sharp shot to make it 2-1 in the second half.
Les Cagous went on to score again when Roy Kayara bent a corner straight past goalkeeper Justin Pasfield in the 81st minute but the Mariners had already notched four times by then and held on to secure their first win of the pre-season campaign.
“We performed very well tonight,” Arnold said.
“We scored some good goals and, in all honesty, we could have scored more. I am very happy with the performance and the trip.”
Despite failing to post a win in either of the matches, Les Cagous boss Moizan will be pleased to have had the chance to give his players a much-needed run out ahead of the next phase of qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Stage 3 of the Oceania qualifiers kick off for New Caledonia with a clash against New Zealand in Noumea on September 7 and Les Cagous will also take on Solomon Islands and fellow francophones Tahiti.
The tournament consists of a round-robin home-and-away play-off series based on a league system and the winner will advance to an inter-continental play-off against the fourth-placed CONCACAF nation, scheduled to be held in November 2013, for a berth at Brazil 2014.
For the full match schedule of the Oceanian Zone Stage 3 Qualifiers 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ click here

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