Central Coast Mariners midfielder Josh Nisbet is looking forward to a ‘fiery’ clash with Brisbane Roar on Thursday evening, as we make the trip north to the Suncorp Stadium for our third away game in just eight days.
Mark Jackson’s side are looking to avenge Roar’s 2-1 victory at Our Paradise on Matchday Four in the Isuzu UTE A-League, and end Brisbane’s unbeaten home record so far this campaign.
Last time out the Mariners shared the points with Melbourne City, a thrilling 3-3 draw in the Grand Final rematch, after a strong second half performance which included a stunning hat-trick from Angel Torres.
Torres might have stolen the headlines but Nisbet’s performance certainly didn’t go unnoticed as he received plenty of plaudits for his display, in which he grabbed an assist for Torres’ second of the night.
Josh Nisbet is a baller. Pass it on.
— Isuzu UTE A-League (@aleaguemen) December 19, 2023
The @CCMariners midfielder put on a masterclass in the Grand Final rematch!
What a player 🥰#CCMariners #ALM pic.twitter.com/lfQNKTe7HQ
“I don’t think we started too well and we went into half time 1-0 down.” Nisbet said.
“We adjusted a few things and the boys had belief in what we do and belief in each other, and in the second half our performance rose, we were just unfortunate not to get the result.”
One of those adjustments at half time saw Jackson move Nisbet forward into the number ten role, a little higher up the pitch than we are used to seeing him, but it worked a treat for the Mariners. Nisbet was a nuisance to City, picking the ball up in little pockets and appearing all over the pitch, and he had an influence on all three of Torres’ goals.
“I’m usually a bit deeper but I got the chance to play further forward, I enjoyed it but I should’ve scored one or two goals,” Nisbet said.
I’m just happy to do whatever is best for the team, whether that’s playing deeper or a bit higher, whatever I need to do I will just do.
“Angel is a quality player and he definitely showed that in the second half against City, when he’s performing like that it makes my job pretty easy to link up with him.”
Asked if he will take confidence from his previous performance into the Brisbane game, Nisbet said:
“I play each game as it is. I’m just going to go into the game with some self confidence and belief in the team around me.”
“We’re playing in a style that suits us and our performances have been increasing and our results are slowly getting there.”
High-flying Roar were four games unbeaten before Friday’s surprise defeat to Western United, but still boast an unbeaten home record this term. Nisbet acknowledges that this will be a tough outing but the Mariners are intent on breaking that record.
“Ross [Aloisi] has built a culture where they perform really well at home.” Nisbet said.
It may be tough but those things are there to be broken and we are planning on breaking it.
Roar headed back north with all three points from their visit to Gosford last month, after a 2-1 win. Florin Berenguer gave the visitors the lead after 19 minutes. Alou Kuol provided a response for the Mariners but Thomas Waddington restored Roar’s lead before the break.
The scoring was done there on the day, but the drama wasn’t as both sides were reduced to ten men in the second half. Joe Caletti was dismissed for a second bookable offence on 57 minutes, but eight minutes later it was 10v10 as Harry Steele saw red for a tackle in midfield.
“A few challenges flew in and unfortunately it didn’t go our way but football is a game where those things are going to happen.” Nisbet said.
It will be a fiery game like always but we are going there to compete and win.
This will be a third straight away game for the Mariners, with travel including flights to and from the Phillipines, to Melbourne and now to Queensland, but Nisbet is keen to look at the positives.
“All the boys enjoy the away trips, we all get along so you get to hang out with your mates a bit longer and play football so it’s nice,” he said.
It’s not a holiday, we go to get results and win but it’s nice to be able to enjoy it.
