Central Coast Mariners beaten 3-0 by Kashiwa Reysol but still qualify for knockout phase of Asian Champions League Central Coast Mariners lose to Kashiwa but scrape through to the Asian Champions League knockout stages. Central Coast Mariners defender Patrick Zwaanswijk (left) and Kashiwa Reysol's Watanabe Hirofumi compete for the ball in Gosford. Kashiwa Reysol 3 Guizhou Renhe 0 THE Central Coast Mariners have qualified for the knockout phase of the Asian Champions League, despite losing 3-0 to Japan's Kashiwa Reysol in Gosford tonight. Graham Arnold's men had their destiny in their own hands before the game, knowing that a win would guarantee progression. Failing that, they would need to rely on South Korea's Suwon Bluewings to either beat China's Guizhou Renhe or draw with them. And that's exactly what happened - that match ended in a 2-2 draw, allowing the Mariners to reach the knockout phase for the first time. The Mariners may have 'won' by qualifying for the last 16, but there wasn't much to enjoy about their performance on the night. They were thoroughly outplayed by Kashiwa, despite looking the sharper of the two sides in the first half. Second half goals from Masato Kudo, Cleo and Wagner earned the visitors a deserved victory. After a goalless first-half, both sides upped the tempo at the start of the second and it was an almost frantic five minutes after the break. Daniel McBreen went close to breaking the deadlock when his powerful drive was saved on the line and, just minutes later, a perfectly timed tackle on Pedj Bojic in the box by Kondo kept Kashiwa in the game. But Kashiwa struck a massive blow in the 59th minute when Kudo, running onto an excellent through-ball, calmly slotted home past Mathew Ryan to take the lead. And the visitors nearly doubled their advantage five minutes later when Wagner's thumping volley went just wide. The Mariners, with the crowd's support, fought hard to get back into the game, but Kashiwa scored a second through one of their three Brazilian stars, Cleo, after a bit of a scramble in front of goal. And the three-goal rout was complete with five minutes remaining when Kashiwa's other Brazilian, Leandro Domingues, netted an inch-perfect free-kick Earlier, the Mariners showed no signs of exhaustion in the opening half despite playing their third game in nine days. They got off to a strong start, controlling the majority of play and dominating possession. By the 36th minute the home side had already put 11 balls into the visitors' box, though none of them had the makings of a goal - they all just lacked the finishing touch. Joshua Rose started brightly on the left and in the 12th minute drive a good shot just wide, hitting the side netting. He, along with Bernie Ibini and Bojic, were at the heart of the Mariners' attack during the half. Despite all their possession, there wasn't a clear-cut chance for the Mariners in the opening half. Kashiwa, playing a full-strength team, started to get into the game towards the end of the half, but solid defending from Patrick Zwaanswijk and Trent Sainsbury in the middle prevented them from getting close to a goal-scoring opportunity.