CENTRAL Coast Mariners boss Graham Arnold has predicted a strong showing by his team as they search for their first ever win of the AFC Champions League in Gosford tonight.
CENTRAL Coast Mariners boss Graham Arnold has predicted a strong showing by his team as they search for their first ever win of the AFC Champions League in Gosford tonight.
The Mariners host Chinese Super League side Tianjin Teda at Central Coast Stadium (kick-off 7:30pm) this evening and Arnold believes that with a lengthy preparation leading into the important Group G fixture, his players are ready to deliver.
“I think our build up has been fantastic,” Arnold said at the team-s official pre-match press conference on Monday.
“The way that they-ve trained and freshened up over the last week has been fantastic and as I said, they-ve trained the house down the last few days.”
With the “power back in their legs” following their disappointing 5-0 defeat to K-League club Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma in Korea last matchday, Arnold said he has set a challenge for the Yellow and Navy to secure their first triumph in Asia-s premier club competition.
Indeed, a win would also ensure the Mariners are in contention to qualify for the knockout phase of the 2012 AFC Champions League when they challenge Nagoya Grampus in Japan in a fortnight.
“Everything-s still in our hands,” Arnold said. “It-s a matter of winning both games.”
“I-ve set the challenge of getting our first ever victory in the ACL … I-m expecting a fantastic performance.”
“We-ve got to go out there with a killer instinct mentality of taking it to them and getting in their face straight away and trying to dominate the contest,” he concluded.
Mariners Captain Alex Wilkinson added that his team-s effort in Korea two week-s ago was “no where good enough” and said the players would be seeking to produce a smart, attacking display tonight.
Tianjin Teda are currently eighth in the Chinese Super League.
Central Coast Mariners vs. Tianjin Teda
Tuesday 1 May – 7:30pm
Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
Tickets: Please CLICK HERE to purchase tickets to the match
Twitter: Join the match conversation on Twitter! The official match hash-tag is #ACLccmtt
Squads: Please CLICK HERE to view the squad lists for both teams.
