Alen Stajcic and the Mariners will be looking to rebound from the NYE loss to Perth when they cross the ditch to face Wellington on Saturday evening.
A strong performance was not rewarded on the evening as wayward finishing and a lack of quality in key moments cost the Mariners, but they have a quick chance to turn things around as they take on the Phoenix just a few days after that result.
Hear from @giange94 as the boys prepared yesterday for their travel to take on the Phoenix. #CCMFC #WELvCCM
Full ?️?https://t.co/sKs4cS4id6 pic.twitter.com/hY8AgJbDsC— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners) January 3, 2020
Kye Rowles and Ruon Tongyik were both added in to the extended squad to give Alen Stajcic some extra versatility at the back, with Rowles missing Tuesday night as a precaution during the busy Summer period.
The Mariners will be up against an in-form Wellington side, with the Phoenix undefeated in their last seven outings and with a perfect record in the three most recent encounters between the two teams.
The challenge will be in the short turnaround from Tuesday, but midfielder Giancarlo Gallifuoco said it should not be a problem for his side.
“You have to do a bit of load management, and there were players like me and Kye who were rested for the NYE game,” he said.
“But the gaffer is really good at rotating and keeping us all fresh, so now hopefully we go can go into this Wellington game with the battery full and all guns blazing.”
“We’re confident in how we’re playing, we’re confident in the way we’re playing, and we know regardless of the score line that if we keep playing this way and with this level of confidence that the results will come our way and we’ll be alright.”
The Phoenix welcome Jaushua Sotirio, Alex Rufer, Walter Scott and Sam Scott to their extended squad, and aside from Louis Fenton will have a full-strength group to pick from.
Squads |
Wellington Phoenix squad: 1.Stefan MARINOVIC (gk), 2.Liam McGING, 3.Luke DEVERE, 4.Te Atawhai HUDSON-WIHONGI, 5.Matti STEINMANN, 6.Tim PAYNE, 7.Reno PISCOPO, 8.Cameron DEVLIN, 9.David BALL, 10.Ulises DAVILA, 11.Jaushua SOTIRIO, 13.Liberato CACACE, 14.Alex RUFER, 20.Oliver SAIL (gk), 21.Callum MCCOWATT, 23.Walter SCOTT, 27.Steven TAYLOR (c), 31.Ben WAINE, 32.Sam SUTTON, 88. Gary HOOPER
**2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 11.Jaushua SOTIRIO (return from illness), 14.Alex RUFER (return from injury), 23.Walter SCOTT (promoted), 32.Sam SUTTON
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 16.Louis FENTON (shoulder – season)
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: 15. Kye Rowles (Promoted), 21. Ruon TONGYIK (Promoted)
Outs: nil
Unavailable: nil
Match Details |
Saturday, 5th January 202
Sky Stadium, Wellington
Kick-off: 7pm (Local), 5pm (AEDT)
Referee: Jonathan Barreiro
Assistant Referee 1: Mark Rule
Assistant Referee 2: Sarah Jones
Fourth Official: Adam Bavcar
VAR: Nick Waldron
Watch: Fox Sports 505, ABC TV, Sky Sport 7 (NZ), Kayo Sports, MyFootball Live App
