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Adelaide United have ended a three-match losing streak and gained a confidence boost for Tuesday's FFA Cup final, with a last-gasp 2-1 A-League away win over Central Coast.
Ryan Kitto fired home from the edge of the area in the 93rd minute to halt the Mariners' three-game unbeaten run.
The Mariners led at halftime in Gosford through a 40th-minute Wout Brama penalty after Paopa Diawara shoved Connor Pain.
German Daniel Adlung restored parity with a goal of the season contender, a wonderful swerving right-foot half-volley from 25 metres just before the hour mark.
The Reds created most chances in the game, while the Mariners had a good share of possession but didn't force their former gaolkeeper Paul Izzo to make any big saves.
Conversely, Mariners shot stopper Ben Kennedy made three important saves after Adelaide drew level and before Kitto scored.
United substitute George Blackwood had two chances to score the winning goal.
He had a header tipped over by Kennedy, who was then perfectly positioned to save a shot from the Adelaide replacement.
Kennedy was also called on to tip away a fierce Kitto drive and then watched a Karim Matmour header go just over the bar before the winner.
The best first-half chance also fell to the visitors and will be a big contender for miss of the season.
An unmarked Nikola Mileusnic was set up 8 metres out by his captain Isaias, but smashed the ball across the crossbar, while an earlier Matmour volley was pushed away by Kennedy.
The Mariners had a chance to double their lead just before the break when Kwabena Appaiah fired into the side netting.
Topics: a-league, soccer, sport, gosford-2250, adelaide-5000
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