2019 is drawing to a close, and that means it’s time for some Hyundai A-League action on New Year’s Eve as the Central Coast Mariners host Perth Glory at Central Coast Stadium on Tuesday night.
The round four win over Perth snapped a four-game losing streak against the Glory for Central Coast, but need to buck the trend in Gosford with the Glory winning the last two Mariners home matchups by a margin of 7-1.
These sides are both different to the ones who met in that round four clash though, with Tony Popovic’s men now flying up in fourth spot having gone through something of a resurgence after that match.
Alen Stajcic’s side remain in ninth spot but only five points behind Tuesday’s opponent, and if they can pick up back-to-back wins for the first time since December 2017 it will bring them right up towards the edge of the top six at the start of the New Year.
Gianni spoke this morning about facing a Perth side in different shape to our round four encounter, and on the impact of a home crowd @CCStadium. #CCMFC #CCMvPER tix ?? https://t.co/MN3TeMFcSj pic.twitter.com/J1EpFRWEf9
— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners) December 30, 2019
“We’re really confident at the moment,” Stajcic said ahead of training on Monday.
“We’ve put in a couple of good performances in a row now, [against] Sydney and Adelaide, they’re both in the top few in the league, so it gives us a lot of confidence to know that we can perform against anyone in the league, and I’ve been saying that for a number of weeks.”
“But we know that Perth are in great form, they are last year’s minor premiers, and they’ve really hit their stride in the last three or four weeks, so we definitely know it’s going to be a tough game for us.”
Stajcic named a full-strength squad on Monday as the Mariners get ready for the clash, and said the team was looking forward to the local support at Central Coast Stadium, and reinforced how valuable it can be for the team.
“It’s critical that we get the support here,” he said.
“I know that the mood on the Central Coast has changed around the team, and it’s the green shoots for the team in trying to turn the tide in terms of confidence and momentum, not in the playing group but in fans and the supporters, and that they can believe in the team again.”
“The more support we get, it’s going to bolster the boys even more, so hopefully we can get a big crowd out here.”
KIDS GO FREE TONIGHT, SO MAKE SURE YOU GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!
Squads |
Central Coast Mariners squad: 1.Mark BIRIGHITTI (gk), 2.Ian Zygmunt GORDON, 3.Jack CLISBY, 4. Eunsun KIM, 6.Giancarlo GALLIFUOCO, 7. Milan ÐURIĆ, 9. Jordan MURRAY, 10. Tommy OAR, 11. Daniel DESILVA, 12. Adam PEARCE (gk), 15. Kye ROWLES, 16. Dylan FOX, 17.Samuel SILVERA, 18. Gianni STENSNESS, 19. Matthew SIMON, 21. Ruon TONGYIK, 26.Joshua NISBET, 27. Lewis MILLER, 29. Jair BRITTO, 30. Dylan RUIZ-DIAZ
**2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 21. Ruon TONGYIK (Promoted), 26. Joshua NISBET (Promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: Nil
Perth Glory squad: 1.Tando VELAPHI (gk), 2.Alex GRANT, 3.Jacob TRATT, 4.Gregory WUTHRICH, 5.Ivan FRANJIC, 7.Joel CHIANESE, 8.James MEREDITH, 9.Bruno FORNAROLI, 12.Kim SOO-BEOM, 14.Chris HAROLD, 16.Tomislav MRCELA, 17.Diego CASTRO (c), 18.Nicholas D’AGOSTINO, 19.Chris IKONOMIDIS, 20.Jake BRIMMER, 27.JUANDE, 28.Gabriel POPOVIC, 33.Liam REDDY (gk), 88.Neil KILKENNY
**2-3 to be omitted**
Ins: 14.Chris HAROLD (promoted)
Outs: None
Unavailable: 6.Dino DJULBIC (ankle – indefinite), 13.Osama MALIK (hamstring – 1 week), 29.Kristian POPOVIC (thigh – 1 week)
Match Details |
Tuesday, 31st December 2019
Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
Kick-off: 6:00pm (AEDT)
Referee: Ben Abraham
Assistant Referee 1: Lance Greenshields
Assistant Referee 2: Brad Wright
Fourth Official: Katie Patterson
VAR: Kris Griffiths-Jones
Watch: Fox Sports 505, Kayo Sports and MyFootball Live App
Listen: myfootballnation.com (SWR & Coast FM Gosford)
