Ellie Taylor

FFA Cup Preview: Adelaide vs. Mariners

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The Central Coast Mariners are set to face Adelaide United away in the FFA Cup Round of 32 on Wednesday night. Here’s all the info you need to stay on top of the Mariners’ 2018 FFA Cup hit out .

The match will be played at Marden Sports Complex in Adelaide. Kick-off is 7:30pm AEST and you can tune in via the live stream by clicking here.

Ahead of the Mariners’ first match of the pre-season, we caught up with Head Coach Mike Mulvey.  

Giving youth a chance

Mulvey is looking at Wednesday night’s clash as a chance to evaluate the Mariners’ pre-season progress. Numerous unavailabilities due to injury will provide invaluable opportunities for young players to test themselves against an A-League opposition.

Mulvey has named academy prospects: Lewis Miller (17), Josh Nisbet (19), Charles M’Mombwa (William) (20) and Alec Vinci (18) in the Mariners’ provisional squad of players who are eligible to take part in Wednesday night’s match.

Blooding youngsters will be a big focus of Wednesday night’s outing and Mulvey backed the ability of the academy players.

“They’ve certainly been training quite well with us,” Mulvey said. “Everyone looks for opportunity. The future is bright, and it is a great opportunity for the young lads to have a go.”

“The thing about young players is that they all need an opportunity on a stage, and this is it,” Mulvey said. “It might be that this is the only ever time that they get the opportunity to play in the first team, so they’ve got to take it with both hands. I’ve got absolutely no qualms putting them in the mix, because that’s how you find out if people can sink or swim.

“We’re going down there with our eyes wide open, we’re going to give it a go, and that’s got to be the mantra for the whole season. We’ve got to have a go all the time, we’ve got to go for 90 minutes,” Mulvey said.

The Squads

There are some new faces and familiar favourites in the Mariners FFA Cup squad, and Wednesday night will be an exciting opportunity to see the likes of Jack Clisby and Kalifa Cisse in a Mariners’ kit for the first time. Not to mention returning favourites Matt Simon and Michael McGlinchey who are both set to mark their Mariners’ returns.

Whilst Antony Golec, Jonathan Aspropotamitis and Tom Hiariej continue their road to recovery, Corey Gameiro and Mario Shabow are unavailable due to minor hamstring complaints along with Andrew Hoole who injured his foot last week at training. Joe Gauci is also ineligible to take part as he featured for West Torrens Birkalla in the 2018 FFA Cup before joining the Mariners.

When it comes to injured bodies, Mulvey’s playing it safe on Wednesday night.

“We’re not going to take anyone that is underdone, if they’re still in rehab,” Mulvey said. “Antony Golec had an injury toward the end of last season, and he is still not ready, he’s not far away but we won’t be risking him, Tom Hiariej is the same, he had an operation so we won’t be using him. Andrew Hoole picked up a little knock last week, so he’s going to out for a couple of weeks,” Mulvey said.

“We’re looking forward to this game, because it will give us a gauge of where we’re actually at right now, we’ve done a lot of very good training, in the gym and on the park, we’ve worked on some tactical stuff, and we’re ready to rock and roll, but we’ll be a little bit rusty to start with,”

“We’re not going to risk anybody if it could be detrimental to their recovery. So, what we’re going to do is take some young kids. We took four players out of our youth team on the weekend to bring them along, and it’s a great opportunity for them, and I welcome that opportunity,” Mike Mulvey said.

There’s also been some interesting movements within Adelaide United. The Reds have said farewell to eight members of their 2017/18 squad, Tarek Elrich, Johan Absalonsen, Ben Garuccio, Dzengis Cavusevic, Mark Ochieng, Daniel Adlung, Jordan O’Doherty and Ersan Gulum all departing the club.

Adelaide have also welcomed some new talent. Danish defender Michael Jakobsen joins the Reds from Melbourne City, and Adelaide-born Craig Goodwin has made a return to the A-League after a stint with Dutch side Sparta Rotterdam. Adelaide have also signed Dutch attacker Ken Ilsø and German midfielder Mirko Boland, who joins the club from 2. Bundesliga team Eintracht Braunschweig.

Whilst Wednesday night’s match will be the Mariner’s maiden pre-season hit out, Adelaide have already featured in three friendly fixtures, with wins against Adelaide Olympic (2-0), West Torrens Birkalla (2-1) and Para Hills (2-0).

“Adelaide is what is awaiting us in a couple of days, but its most important that we concentrate on ourselves.” Mulvey said. “This will be our first game of the season, and Adelaide have probably played a few games: that doesn’t matter. We’re going there, we’ve got some young kids that we’re going to take along with us, and we’ll see what they can do.”

FFA Cup form guide

This is the fifth FFA Cup since it began in 2014 and it’s been a lean couple of years for the Yellow & Navy.

Adelaide made it all the way to the final last year, where they were handed a 2-1 defeat by Sydney FC. The Reds most successful FFA Cup campaign was back 2014, where they took a 3-2 victory against the Central Coast Mariners in the semi-finals, and eventually went on to become the FFA Cup Champions in its inaugural year.

The 2014 semi-final match was the only previous time the Mariners have faced Adelaide in the FFA Cup. Matt Simon scored against the Reds in that clash four years ago; will the returning Yellow and Navy striker also make a return to the scoresheet?

How to Watch it

Get together with Mariners fans to watch the club’s FFA Cup Clash against Adelaide United at The Football Grounds, Erina. Kick-off is 7:30pm and entry is FREE to this family friendly event!

Kick back in a bean bag or inflatable chair on The Football Grounds pitch and enjoy the FFA Cup Live Stream* on the inflatable big screen. There will be 50 inflatable chairs provided on a first-in-best-dressed basis but you are more than welcome to bring your own picnic rug or bean bags*

Alternatively, you can watch the live stream from home by clicking here.

Match Details
Wednesday, 1 August 2018
FFA Cup 2018 Round of 32
Match: Adelaide United vs. Central Coast Mariners
Venue: Marden Sports Complex, Marden
Kick-off: 7:30pm (AEST)
TV Broadcast: The match will be live streamed via foxsports.com.au
Hash-tag: Join the match conversation using #ADLvCCM #FFACup #MagicOfTheCup & #CCMFC

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