The Central Coast Mariners depart for Adelaide today with a virtually unchanged squad determined to continue the clubs hot streak of form against an opponent also riding high after a whirlwind past month domestically and abroad.
The Central Coast Mariners depart for Adelaide today with a virtually unchanged squad determined to continue the clubs hot streak of form against an opponent also riding high after a whirlwind past month domestically and abroad.
Guest player and goalkeeper Mark Bosnich is the only omission from the Mariners- side that was so comprehensive against the Perth Glory last Friday due to his hamstring injury, with Matthew Nash promoted at Bosnich-s expense in addition to the inclusion of youth international David D-Apuzzo in an extended 16-man squad.
Friday-s match up at Hindmarsh Stadium is perhaps the glamour fixture of Round 7, with the fourth-placed Mariners, unbeaten in four matches, squaring off against an opponent, placed third, that has recently elevated Australian domestic football to new heights by virtue of their successes in the AFC Champions League.
Joining the Mariners in Adelaide will be newly appointed Assistant Coach and South Australian football icon Alex Tobin, who will return to the city where he is perhaps most celebrated for his unparalleled football exploits on Friday.
Born in Melbourne, Tobin was raised in Adelaide and played the overwhelming majority of his record breaking domestic career with former National Soccer League (NSL) club Adelaide City.
Tobin accumulated 436 appearances for Adelaide City, the majority of which as captain and after last year being inducted into the Football Federation Australia Hall of Fame, was given the same honour by the Football Federation of South Australia in July alongside Adelaide United coach Aurelio Vidmar.
“I-m really looking forward to it, to get back to Adelaide and catch up with family and friends is always good, but more importantly there are three points on the go for us,” said Tobin.
“We-ve had a great month in terms of performance, we haven-t always got the points that we perhaps thought we deserved, but we played really well against Perth, particularly an outstanding first half.
“Last week we said to the boys that we were really happy with the way that things have been going for the last four weeks but we needed to win and get the points as well as play well – we did that against Perth and obviously we-re looking to do that against Adelaide.”
Friday-s clash at Hindmarsh Stadium will mark the fourteenth occasion the Mariners have met Adelaide in a competitive fixture.
The history between the two sides would suggest that Friday-s match will be a tight encounter, with both the Mariners and Adelaide having recorded five wins a piece in addition to three draws up to this point.
The Mariners- first ever goal in an official fixture was against Adelaide United, that being Nik Mrdja-s strike from the penalty spot in the 20th minute of the Club World Championship qualifying series semi final between the two sides in May 2005.
Equally as memorably, the Mariners secured their place in the inaugural Hyundai A-League Grand Final after defeating the Reds at the venue for Friday-s match, Hindmarsh Stadium, 1-0 in the 2006 Preliminary Final.
“It-s always a difficult game against Adelaide, they-re in a comfortable spot in the top four, they-ve had some very good results and we-re not expecting anything easy by any means,” said Tobin.
“We-ve played most of the teams in the competition either in the Hyundai A-League or in pre-season and I think we-ve had the measure of any team in the competition.
“The points haven-t always gone our way, we lost a couple against Newcastle, we lost a couple against Melbourne and we could have picked up other points along the way but we-re sitting reasonably and a good win against Adelaide would put us two points above them and cement our spot in the top four.
“After the first round of matches if we-re perhaps sitting second in the Hyundai A-League we-ll be very happy.”
Adelaide United vs. Central Coast Mariners
Hindmarsh Stadium – Friday, 3 October 2008, Kick off 8pm AEST
Position Goalkeeper
DOB 3 Apr, 1981
Height 183cm
Weight 78kg
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 Midfielder
DOB 10 Jan, 1982
Height 178cm
Weight 84kg
Position Striker
DOB 17 May, 1982
Height 191cm
Weight 92kg
Position Defender
DOB 6 Nov, 1978
Height 193cm
Weight 92kg
Position Defender
DOB 24 Aug, 1974
Height 180cm
Weight 74kg
Position Defender
DOB 14 Aug, 1986
Height 188cm
Weight 88kg
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 Striker
DOB 5 Mar, 1975
Height 180cm
Weight 80kg
Position Midfielder
DOB 3 Aug, 1984
Height 189cm
Weight 88kg
Position Goalkeeper
DOB 13 Jan, 1989
Height 194cm
Weight 84kg
The Mariners- Hyundai A-League 2008/09 campaign continues at the Hindmarsh Stadium home of AFC Champions League semi finalists Adelaide United on Friday, 3 October. Kick off is at 8pm AEST.
The Mariners are next at Bluetongue Stadium on Sunday, 19 October, when they host the Wellington Phoenix in Round 8. Kick off is at 3pm.
Tickets for this match are on sale from Ticketek outlets, from the Ticketek website – www.ticketek.com.au, or via phone on 132 849.
Mariners Memberships for the Hyundai A-League 2008/09 season are now on sale at www.ccmariners.com.au.
