The Central Coast Mariners played out an evenly match nil-all draw with Josep Gombau’s Australian Under-23s at Valentine Sports Park on Friday morning.
Olyroos 0 Central Coast Mariners 0
It was a fast-paced first 45 minutes at Valentine with both sides looking to settle in and take control of possession.
Paul Okon used the fixture to get valuable minutes in the legs of his players, test a range of Mariners Academy boys and trialists against a crop of the best young players Australia has to offer.
In the opening stages, there was a great partnership building on the left between Antony Golec and Connor Pain in attack who broke down the flank on a number of occasions.
20 minutes in, the Olyroos had a half chance from a set piece before Adam Pearce confidently cleared his line to punch the ball to safety in what was otherwise a relatively quiet first half.
The second half saw wholesale changes to both teams – for the Olyroos it was time to pit Liam Rose and Trent Buhagair against the Mariners.
As he does so well, Buhagiar was creating chances with his pace on the right wing but Josh Rose also featured in the second half who tracked well to keep the young speedster at bay. Josh Rose also lurched forward on several occasions to offer an option in attack, linking up well with Kwabena Appiah & Peter Kekeris.
In the closing stages, there were shots from distance by the Olyroos with one even flying off the post but no one was able to break the deadlock.
Daniel De Silva played his first minutes in Yellow & Navy and almost stole the show with his first touch but the strike was denied by Danijel Nizic in goal.
Paul Okon’s Mariners now turn their attention to Next Wednesday night (19 July) where they will take on Hakoah at Pluim Park.
Central Coast Mariners First Half: Adam PEARCE (GK), Aleksander STOJANOVSKI (Trialist), Alan BARO, Kye ROWLES, Antony GOLEC, Tom HIARIEJ, Velis JOAQUIN (Trialist), Andrew HOOLE, Lachlan WALES (Academy), Connor PAIN, Josh BINGHAM
Central Coast Mariners Second Half: Adam PEARCE (GK) (Chris MARQUES (academy), Lachlan ROBERTS (trialist), Steve WHYTE (academy), Alan BARO (Josh ROSE), Antony GOLEC (Michael GLASSOCK – academy), Jake McGING, Adam BERRY, Kwabena APPIAH, Connor PAIN (Peter KEKERIS – academy), Daniel De SILVA (Brendan CHOLAKIAIN – trialist) Josh BINGHAM (Jordan FIGON – trialist)
Olyroos First Half: Paul IZZO (GK), Lachlan JACKSON, Jonatan ASPROPOTAMITIS, Stefan NIGRO, Joey CALLETI, Nicholas COWBURN, Jordan O’DOHERTY, Devante CLUT, Josh SOTIRIO, George BLACKWOOD, Bruce KAMAU
Olyroos Second Half: Danijel NIZIC (GK), Ruon TONGYIK, Thomas DENG, Kearyn BACCUS, Brandon WILSON, Scott GALLOWAY, Jordan O’DOHERTY, Liam ROSE, Daniel ARZANI, Lachlan SCOTT, Trent BUHAGIAR
Friday, 14 July 2017
Valentine Sports Park, Glenwood
Olyroos vs. Central Coast Mariners
