The Central Coast Mariners have been ambushed by local rivals the Newcastle Jets in a 2-1 defeat that put a damper on the homecoming of their three Socceroos.
The Mariners had more than one reason to get up for Sunday's game: They were hosting an F3 Derby for their first game since mid-November and had repatriated World Cup stars Jason Cummings, Garang Kuol and Danny Vukovic.
But Central Coast looked worryingly flat for key periods of the game and were made to pay by a Newcastle side that now surges to fifth place on the ladder.
Central Coast flew out of the blocks and almost had the opener inside 30 seconds, when Brazilian Marco Tulio hit the right upright.
It was to be the Mariners' best chance for the rest of the half as the Jets took control and left Central Coast playing catch-up.
Daniel Stynes crossed to ex-Mariner Trent Buhagiar, who had looked likeliest for the visitors up to that point, and the Jets had the first goal of the game in the 12th minute.
Most of the 7,078 who turned out to Sunday's game were of the Mariner persuasion and had been hoping to see some World Cup-inspired brilliance from striker Cummings and super-sub Kuol.
But in the first half the Jets did a great job on Cummings, who sprayed his first clear-cut opportunity high in the 43rd minute.
The Mariners looked more like themselves in the second half and managed to turn pressure into a goal just after the break.
The ball deflected from a Jets defender over to Cummings and the Scottish-born cult hero stretched a foot out to push the ball slowly into the goal.
The Gosford crowd gave Cummings a standing ovation and did the same when Nick Montgomery subbed him out for fellow Socceroo Garang Kuol seven minutes later.
Kuol's injection into the game usually yields quick results for the Mariners but Newcastle were next to score, against the run of play, when the two Georgian Jets combined from a corner to exploit some poorly-constructed Mariner defence.
Beka Dartsmelia curved the ball to Beka Mikeltadze, who had an alarming amount of time and space to head the ball straight past Vukovic.
Vukovic punched the woodwork in frustration, aware of his teammates' lapse in concentration, and the Mariners were down 2-1.
Josh Nisbet looked to have equalised when he curled the ball into the goal from the edge of the box but VAR intervened and spotted a Michael Ruhs hand-ball in the lead-up.
Kuol has become known for his late moments of magic but neither he nor his teammates could close the gap despite the Mariners dominating possession as the game drew to a close.
