Following a tough 3-2 loss away to Sydney FC, the Central Coast Mariners travel north to take on Brisbane Roar at Kayo Stadium on Friday night.
The Mariners have had an eventful trip already to Brisbane, with Thursday’s storms over New South Wales causing the sides evening flight to be cancelled.
After finding accommodation late and leaving on a plane as the sun rose over Sydney Friday morning, the team landed in Brisbane ready for a massive match.
Dropping to third after last weekend’s result, a victory over the Roar will likely boost Nick Montgomery’s side back into second on the Isuzu UTE A-League Men’s competition.
Team News
Nick Montgomery has named three changes to his 20-man squad to tackle Brisbane.
Brian Kaltak is sidelined after his suspension was upheld despite appeal, with Thomas Aquilina and Michael Ruhs dropping out of the squad after departing the club during the week.
James Bayliss and recent NPL debutant Olayinka Sunmola enter the 20-man squad, both keen to hopefully have an impact on the proceedings tonight.
New recruit James McGarry will also make his first trip with the Central Coast Mariners, being named after signing late Tuesday night.
For Brisbane, Robbie Kruse drops out of the side due to the birth of his second child, while Connor Chapman will not feature after departing the Queensland club.
Serbian international Stefan Scepovic could possibly make his club debut after being signed during the week, while former Mariner Noah Smith could also make his club debut.
Recent Form
The Central Coast Mariners have been on a mixed run of form of late, playing well for the majority of our last three matches despite picking up one point.
One goal losses to Wellington and Sydney FC have seen us drop to third, still only one point from second placed Western Sydney Wanderers.
A win against the Roar and a Wanderers draw or loss to Sydney FC will put the side back into second.
Brisbane have had a tough first half of their campaign, winning just three of their 15 matches. This is the lowest of any club this season, picking up one win in their last five outings.
Despite these tough run of results the team have conceded the third lowest amount of goals this season. Unfortunately for them they have also scored the least, four behind second last Victory.
The Roar currently sit in 10th place, two points from last, while also just four points away from the top six.
Previous Meetings
The Central Coast Mariners and the Brisbane Roar have had a tense rivalry over the years, with both clubs eyeing the match up off as soon as the league fixture list is released.
The most recent affairs have been low scoring, with neither side often able to play expansive football. Only 12 goals have been tallied in the past six meetings.
Regardless of Brisbane’s seasonal form, they have the head-to-head over Mariners, recording 26 wins from the 43 matchups between the pair.
Central Coast have seven wins against Roar in the competition’s history, though have won the last two. When matches have been played at Kayo Stadium the Mariners are undefeated, winning one and drawing the other.
They will be looking to go three-in-a-row against Brisbane tonight for the first time in clubs’ history.
Squads
Brisbane Roar squad
1.Macklin FREKE (gk), 2.Scott NEVILLE, 3.Jordan COURTNEY-PERKINS, 5.Thomas ALDRED ©, 7.Rahmat AKBARI, 10.Nikola MILEUSNIC, 12.Taras GOMULKA, 13.Henry HORE, 15.Noah SMITH, 16.Joshua BRINDELL-SOUTH, 17.Carlo ARMIENTO, 19 Jack HINGERT, 21.Marcel CANADI, 22.Stefan SCEPOVIC, 23.Jordan HOLMES (gk), 26.James O’SHEA, 27.Kai TREWIN, 28.Joseph KNOWLES, 35.Louis ZABALA, 99.Ayom MAJOK
(three to be omitted)
Ins: 15.Noah Smith (new signing), 22.Stefan Scepovic (new signing)
Outs: 6.Connor Chapman (departed Club), 14.Robbie Kruse (second childbirth)
Central Coast Mariners squad
4. Joshua NISBET, 5. James MCGARRY, 6. Maximilien BALARD, 7 Samuel SILVERA, 9. Jason CUMMINGS, 11. Beni NKOLOLO, 13. Harry STEELE, 14. Dylan WENZEL-HALLS, 15. Storm ROUX, 18. Jacob FARRELL, 20 Danny VUKOVIC ©, 22. Cameron WINDUST, 23. Daniel HALL, 24. Yaren SOZER, 25 Nectarios TRIANTIS, 27. Sasha KUZEVSKI, 28. James BAYLISS, 31. Christian THEOHAROUS, 47. Olayinka Sunmola 98. Marco TULIO
Ins: 5. James MCGARRY, 28. James BAYLISS, 47. Olayinka Sunmola
Outs: 2. Thomas AQUILINA, 3. Brian KALTAK, 21. Michael RUHS
Unavailable: 3. Brian Kaltak (suspension), 10. Matheus MORESCHE (injured), 26. Bradley TAPP (injured)
MATCH DETAILS
Brisbane Roar vs Central Coast Mariners
Friday, February 10th
Kick-off: 7:45pm AEDT
Kayo Stadium, Brisbane
Broadcast: The match will be broadcast live on Paramount+
