Much like the animals at the Australian Reptile Park, the Central Coast Mariners will be looking to show some bite against the Queensland Roar in Saturday’s crucial Hyundai A-League match up at Bluetongue Stadium.
Much like the animals at the Australian Reptile Park, the Central Coast Mariners will be looking to show some bite against the Queensland Roar in Saturday’s crucial Hyundai A-League match up at Bluetongue Stadium.
Yesterday, Adrian Caceres, Andre Gumprecht, John Hutchinson and Paul O’Grady mixed it with the Tasmanian devils, pythons and dingo-s at one of the Central Coast’s many tourist attractions and will hoping to replicate such bravery on the playing pitch on Saturday night.
Joining them will be Pedj Bojic, who returns from suspension for the hosts alongside fellow defenders Andrew Clark and David D-Apuzzo, who each impressed for the Mariners- National Youth League (NYL) side at Members Equity Stadium last Saturday.
Going in the opposite direction is Australian youth international Nigel Boogaard, who in addition to his two-match suspension in the wake of last week-s draw in the Western Australian capital has been ruled out for up to six weeks with an ankle injury.
The Mariners are otherwise unchanged for a shot at the Roar, who sit just above the fourth placed Mariners on a tight Hyundai A-League ladder ahead of the final the round of the second third of season four.
“It-s good to be back at Bluetongue Stadium, we-ve had two hard away games, we were unfortunate against Melbourne and probably fortunate against Perth, so we-re looking to pick up the form that we showed against Adelaide,” said Mariners Football Manager Lawrie McKinna.
“Queensland are a great side and we-ll need to be at the top of our game to get three points – which we need.
“We-ve got two games at home in a row and they-re two games that we must win, if we get two wins here, it sets us up great for going to Wellington coming into Christmas, there-s some big games coming up for us.
“Whoever does well over the Christmas period usually goes on to win the Championship, so we-ll be hoping that by January, we-ll be sitting top of the Hyundai A-League.”
Saturday-s meeting between the Mariners and the Roar at Bluetongue Stadium marks the fifteenth match up between the two sides in all competitions.
The Mariners and the Roar share one of the more peculiar head to head records in the Hyundai A-League, with draws overwhelmingly dominating past results between the two clubs – a consequence of an amazing six straight stalemates between October 2005 and October 2006.
Recently, the Mariners and the Roar have traded successes away from home, with the Mariners yet to post a Hyundai A-League triumph over their Brisbane-based counterparts at Bluetongue Stadium.
In total, the Mariners have claimed four victories against the Roar, have suffered just as many losses and have played out seven draws.
“The Roar will be hard, but we-ll be focusing on the fact that we beat them 4-2 at Suncorp Stadium, we closed them down well and beat them well that day,” said McKinna.
“We-ll be focusing on that, but they-ve got some great attacking options, a lot of pace in their team and Craig Moore at the back leads them well.
“They-ve got a wealth of talent up there and it-s going to be a very hard game.”
Central Coast Mariners vs. Queensland Roar
Bluetongue Stadium – Saturday, 6 December 2008, Kick off 6pm
Position Midfielder
DOB 26 Nov, 1974
Height 175cm
Weight 77kg
Position Defender
DOB 9 Apr, 1984
Height 180cm
Weight 75kg
Position Midfielder
DOB 19 Feb, 1987
Height 179cm
Weight 74kg
Position Defender
DOB 5 Sep, 1988
Height 180cm
Weight 77kg
Position Midfielder
DOB 29 Dec, 1979
Height 179cm
Weight 78kg
Position Striker
DOB 30 Nov, 1978
Height 186cm
Weight 87kg
Position Midfielder
DOB 10 Jan, 1982
Height 178cm
Weight 84kg
Position Striker
DOB 17 May, 1982
Height 191cm
Weight 92kg
Position Defender
DOB 24 Aug, 1974
Height 180cm
Weight 74kg
Position Midfielder
DOB 29 Jul, 1983
Height 183cm
Weight 75kg
Position Defender
DOB 13 Aug, 1984
Height 187cm
Weight 85kg
Position Striker
DOB 22 Jan, 1986
Height 188cm
Weight 79kg
Position Goalkeeper
DOB 27 Mar, 1985
Height 187cm
Weight 96kg
Position Striker
DOB 5 Mar, 1975
Height 180cm
Weight 80kg
Position Midfielder
DOB 3 Aug, 1984
Height 189cm
Weight 88kg
Position Midfielder
DOB 10 Sep, 1985
Height 172cm
Weight 73kg
Position Goalkeeper
DOB 13 Jan, 1989
Height 194cm
Weight 84kg
The Mariners- Hyundai A-League campaign continues at their Bluetongue Stadium home on Saturday, 6 December when they host the Queensland Roar in Round 14. Kick off is at 6pm.
Tickets for this match are on sale from Ticketek outlets, from the Ticketek website – www.ticketek.com.au, or via phone on 132 849.
