Despite narrowly missing out on getting a result on Tuesday night against ten-time defending Malaysian Champions Johor Darul Ta’zim, Central Coast Mariners Head Coach Mark Jackson is ‘immensely proud’ of his team.
Losing three players throughout the night due to injury, while also playing the entire second half with 10-men, the Mariners fought right until the end, with our efforts to find an equaliser in the final seconds of stoppage time falling just short.
Speaking post-match on Tuesday night, Jackson praised his squad for their efforts shown throughout the entire 90 minutes, facing adversity head on against some of the best footballers in Asia.
“I’m immensely proud of the team tonight. We fought through a lot of challenges and adversity in ninety-plus minutes of football against Johor and apart from the result, we ticked a lot of boxes in my mind,” Jackson said.
“Togetherness, desire, willingness to work, sticking to our game plan which we had to have in the second half, our substitutes coming on and impacting the game. Taking the result away from it, I’m extremely proud of the team.”
Speaking on our participation in the competition so far this season, Jackson discussed how valuable the experience has been for his young squad, giving young Australian talent the opportunity to test themselves against Asia’s finest.
These include the likes of Haine Eames, Arthur De Lima, Dylan Peraic-Cullen, Miguel Di Pizio, Abdul Faisal and Bailey Brandtman, all of whom have not yet had their 20th bitrhday.
“It is a real privilege to compete in this competition, we earned the right to be here, but we are coming up against some fantastic teams and players, Johor themselves have a number of fantastic players,” said our Head Coach.
“For our boys, 16, 18, 17, 19 years old, young players pushing a team like that all the way, I’m immensely proud. They will take a lot from it, as they have with every game so far.
“There were a few games where we were out of it, but most of them we have been right in the mix with strong passages in the match. With that it is going to help our young players grow and get better, young Australian players, which is really good for the country.
“These young players, playing well, against high level competition in the Champions League, I’m very proud of them.”
Unfortunately last night Jackson was required to make substitutions on three separate occasions due to injuries, including twice in the first half. Our Head Coach had initial information on each of the injuries, while still waiting on full assessments to be conducted.
Ryan Edmondson was the first replaced, coming off in the 34th minute due to a suspected collarbone injury.
“We think that it was his collarbone, I believe that it might be a fracture, but we won’t know until we get the final scan done on it,” Jackson said.
“I am always optimistic with these things, but the pain that he was in was not good, he knew straight away.”
The belief is that it is likely better news for our Captain, Trent Sainsbury, with Jackson labelling his substitution as ‘more of a precautionary one’.
“I don’t think it is too bad for Trent, I don’t think it will be an issue, more just a precautionary one,” he said.
“I fully expect him to be back and ready for the Wanderers game.”
Mikael Doka was helped from the field in the 89th minute after falling to the ground off the ball moments after being hit in the back of the head from a wayward pass, however the Brazilian is okay and will be assessed fully in the coming days.
“Doka is okay, he was signing autographs following the game, going around the field. He will be assessed by the doctor and when things like that happen, you need to be governed by the medical staff.”
The Central Coast Mariners will now prepare for our final match in the 2024/25 AFC Champions League Elite competition, an away trip to take on Japanese side Kawasaki Frontale.
Kick off for that match is at 9pm AEDT on Tuesday night, with our men having the bye this weekend in the Isuzu UTE A-League. Catch all of the action live on Paramount+.
