Despite a respectable point away to Adelaide United on Saturday evening, Mark Jackson says he will ‘keep pushing’ the squad to be ‘much better’ in coming weeks.
Sabit Ngor’s second half equaliser earned the Mariners a hard-earned point at Coopers Stadium, but Jacko insists the overall performance was not up to the desired standards:
“It was a terrible first half from us and a slight improvement in the second half, but still not up to our standards.” Jacko said in his post-match press conference.
“We tweaked the formation and put some fresh legs on at half time, I think the change in our structure helped us get a foothold in the game. We improved, not enough for our standards, but enough to get a point which we will take, but we want to win football matches.
“We agreed in the dressing room that this is not where we want to be with our standards. We’ll be looking to get much better.” Jacko said.
As well as the goalscorer Ngor, Nathan Paull was introduced at half time, forming a back three with Bradley Tapp and Brian Kaltak. He made seven defensive actions and completed 93% of his passes in the second half.
New signing Vitor Feijao came on on the hour mark, with his first involvement playing a key role in our equaliser as he bravely threw himself at the ball which ended up falling to Ngor.
🔥 The long-range pass from Brian
— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners) October 26, 2024
💪 The strength from Edmo
🦁 The bravery from Vitor
⚽️ A first Isuzu UTE A-League goal for Sabit
Our equaliser today to secure a point in Adelaide! 🤝#CCMFC #RideTheWave🌊 pic.twitter.com/F4H5ok5x1U
“We felt Adelaide were playing through us, so we tweaked it to cut off the middle and force them outside, and win the ball in those areas. That helped us.” Jacko explained.
“We were outstanding defensively against Shanghai, we weren’t up to that standard today in the first half but it’s a work in progress. Adding that extra defender allowed us to sure up the middle of the pitch and put pressure on the opponent.”
“There were pleasing elements in the second half. We proved in the second half that we can adapt our shape and still be aggressive.” Jacko said.
Alfie McCalmont earned some plaudits after a battling performance in midfield. No Mariners player won more duels (6), whilst he almost made the most tackles (3, joined with Tapp and Sasha Kuzevski).
Jacko acknowledged McCalmont’s talent but says he has ‘levels to go’ and will continue to be pushed, along with the rest of our young squad.
“[Alfie] is a good player, I worked with him for a long time and know what talent he’s got. He’s still got levels to go as have the rest of the team, we’ll continue to work with these players.
“We will continue to push to develop them. I have a group of players that want to get better and learn.
“We are in a better position than where we were last year [after two games] but we want to win games.” Jacko said.
Jacko and the team now have a full week lead-in to next week’s Isuzu UTE A-League clash against Perth Glory (5pm), part of a huge Double Header at Our Paradise as our Ninja A-League team kick-off their season, taking on reigning Champions Sydney FC (2.15pm).
