After a disappointing result away to Melbourne Victory, Nick Montgomery discusses what learnings the Mariners can take before their next Hyundai A-League encounter – away to Perth Glory on Sunday, 25 November.
Heading into the international break with no games across the Hyundai A-League this weekend – the Mariners will need to wait two weeks to source their redemption.
Assistant Coach Montgomery says there are some simple tweaks that can be made to ensure the Yellow & Navy turn their fortunes around.
.@MarioShabow10 wore his shooting boots to training today ? #CCMFC pic.twitter.com/OMFNKO3h3Q
— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners) November 14, 2018
“Away to Melbourne we made some poor decisions that cost us goals,” Montgomery said. “We own that as a group, we learn from it and we need to cut out those mistakes because there’s some real positives we can take from that game.
“The Gaffer said we’re the architects of our own downfall. That’s two weeks in a row now and it’s something that needs to be addressed. We will address it.
“What we have is a fantastic group of players who are all working for each other and will all own up to their mistakes. It’s not an individual – it’s a collective as a team, including the coaching staff. We will work hard to eradicate those errors.
“After the first goal, we dropped our heads for a bit. That was disappointing. There were also some defensive lapses. We got them in at half time and had a chat and I thought in the second half we were the better team and we showed some good character to keep driving forward.
This Saturday our players will be visiting selected @maccas restaurants across the Coast in support of @RMHCAustralia who help put smiles on the faces of seriously ill children and their families.
Meet the Mariners this McHappy Day ? https://t.co/heN2tb4VJ0#CCMFC #ALeague pic.twitter.com/dtVzbVi0o5
— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners) November 13, 2018
“Even at 3-1 we had a couple of chances to make it 3-2 and get back into it – plenty of things we can take from it,” Montgomery said.
Matt Simon missed the clash with Victory due to a minor calf complaint but Montgomery said the decision was precautionary to ensure the skipper is ready to make the trip to Perth – as well as praising the squad’s depth.
“With injuries, we’re not going to take risks,” Montgomery said. “We’ve got competition for places so there will need to be decisions made every week. We’ve got players chomping at the bit, we’ve got a bit of a break before Perth now which will be a tough game.
“Only four games in, it’s very early. We need to move on and learn from our mistakes. We’ve shown plenty of good stuff this season – it’s time to get back on the horse and charge forward as they say,” Montgomery said.
