The Central Coast Mariners’ quest for a sound defensive performance in their return to the Hyundai A-League at Bluetongue Stadium on Saturday will be spearheaded by a player that has been as impressive as any so far in season four.
The Central Coast Mariners- quest for a sound defensive performance in their return to the Hyundai A-League at Bluetongue Stadium on Saturday will be spearheaded by a player that has been as impressive as any so far in season four.
Pedj Bojic, one of several new faces introduced to the Mariners- Hyundai A-League 2008/09 line up, has been immensely influential to date throughout his rookie season in the Hyundai A-League.
Utilised in virtually every position across the Mariners backline, Bojic-s versatility coupled with his unquestioned commitment and sprinkling of football quality has made the 24-year-old former Australian youth international a serious asset to the Mariners- Premiership defence.
Having played through what looked to be a serious head clash away to Sydney FC a fortnight ago, the Mariners- one-week Hyundai A-League hiatus came at a good time for Bojic, who having since fully recovered has now set his sights on AFC Champions League finalists Adelaide United on Saturday night.
“It-s been good, I think the difference between this break and the last break is that we-ve trained better and we-re more switched on – we-re ready to go on Saturday,” said Bojic.
“It-s a psychological thing for Adelaide, if they win against Gamba Osaka, they-ll be good coming into the weekend, if they lose they-ll be feeling down, it-s not going to bother us either way, we-re just going to play our normal game and try to get three points.”
Bojic is one of only thee players to have started each of the Mariners- Hyundai A-League fixtures in 2008/09, along with former youth international team-mate Alex Wilkinson and striker Sasho Petrovski.
Despite being an overwhelmingly positive contributor to the Mariners- defensive steel – the yellow and navy and Bojic-s defensive record has somewhat failed to match the clubs outstanding return in front of goal.
The Mariners have recorded clean sheets on only two occasions this season – a statistic that Bojic and his fellow defenders are determined to remedy on Saturday.
“I think it-s the simple errors that we need to clean up a bit and also, if we finish our chances early, you can-t see the teams scoring the goals that they have against us,” said Bojic.
“Games change when goals go in so I think that we-ve got to capitalise on the chances that we have and at the same time, not concede and switch on for the whole game.”
The Mariners will resume their Hyundai A-League 2008/09 campaign at their Bluetongue Stadium home on Saturday, 15 November, when they host AFC Champions League finalists Adelaide United. Kick off is at 7.30pm.
Prior to the main game, the Mariners- National Youth League 2008/09 campaign will continue with a fixture against Adelaide United. Kick off is at 4.45pm, gates open at 4.30pm.
Tickets for this match are on sale from Ticketek outlets, from the Ticketek website – www.ticketek.com.au, or via phone on 132 849.
