146 days on from our epic Grand Final celebrations, A-League football returns to Our Paradise on Friday evening, here is all you need to know ahead of our huge season opener.
Kick off is 7:35pm at Our Paradise and we couldn’t wish for a better way to kick off a special 20th season, starting right where we left off, against Melbourne Victory on home soil.
Squad News
Mark Jackson has confirmed the absence of skipper Trent Sainsbury until the New Year, with Brian Kaltak set to wear the armband.
Jacko’s 20-man squad contains eight potential Mariners A-League debuts including new signings Adam Pavlesic, Alfie McCalmont, Vitor Feijao, Lucas Mauragis, Sabit Ngor and Diesel Herrington as well as Australian youth internationals Haine Eames and Dylan Peraic-Cullen.
Mark Jackson has named his 20 player squad for our Isuzu UTE A-League season opener against Melbourne! 📋
— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners) October 17, 2024
🎟: https://t.co/71Ee9aZJdx#ReclaimTheGame #CCMFC #RideTheWave pic.twitter.com/27hDrn7UXb
There has also been plenty of change at Melbourne Victory since the Grand Final, with a new man in charge in Patrick Kisnorbo and an overhaul of the playing squad.
IN: Josh Rawlins, Alex Menelaou (academy graduate), Luka Kolić (academy graduate), Daniel Graskoski (academy graduate), Jing Reec, Reno Piscopo, Jack Duncan (Wellington Phoenix), Brendan Hamill, Mitch Langerak, Nikos Vergos, Clarismario Santos Rodrigues
OUT: Jake Brimmer, Chris Ikonomidis, Stefan Nigro, Eli Adams, Salim Khelifi, Ahmad Taleb, Damien Da Silva, Connor Chapman, Paul Izzo, Roly Bonevacia, Matt Bozinovski, Ben Folami
Their most notable movements include the return of experienced shot-stopper Mitch Langerak. After 14 years away, he returns to the club to replace last season’s influential stopper Paul Izzo as well as Greek striker Nikos Vergos. Big things are expected of the 28-year-old who was once on the books of Real Madrid and scored three goals in the Australia Cup.
However the main man for Victory right now is undoubtedly Nishan Velupillay. The 23-year-old won the Australia Cup top goalscorer award with five goals and netted his first Socceroos goal against China last week, so comes into Round One full of confidence.
Kisnorbo is hopeful Velupillay and Jason Geria, who was the Socceroos’ Player of the Match against Japan, will be available despite a tight turnaround following their arrival back in Australia.
Pre-season
Melbourne Victory enjoyed a largely successful pre-season, with a strong showing in the Australia Cup which saw them comfortably reach the final, scoring 12 goals and conceding just once. They fell short in the final however, as Macarthur were 1-0 winners and lifted their second Australia Cup trophy in three years.
Victory have been in action just once since then, losing 3-1 to Western United in their final pre-season friendly last week.
The Mariners’ friendly results may have been a little inconsistent, but confidence can be taken from an unbeaten home record in pre-season which includes a 2-2 draw with Auckland, a 2-0 win over Sydney and a 1-0 win over Wellington Phoenix.
The Mariners also have two testing AFC Champions League Elite games under our belt against Chinese giants Shandong Taishan and Thai League 1 leaders Buriram United.
23/24 clashes
We went unbeaten (2W, 2D) in our four clashes with Melbourne Victory last season. Victory will be seeking revenge from the Gand Final, which could add a little more spice to what is expected to be another fiery contest on a huge opening night in Gosford.
Victory started last season strongly and were the front runners in the A-League for some time, going unbeaten for 16-games last season before losing at home to Macarthur and ourselves in February.
Before our 1-0 win at AAMI Park, we met twice with Melbourne Victory with the score ending level on both occasions. A thrilling 2-2 draw at Our Paradise in December before Jing Reec scored a late equaliser against the side he has since signed for.
We came out on top when it mattered though, with that unforgettable late Grand Final turnaround in May, thanks to Ryan Edmondson’s late equaliser that sent the game to extra time before Miguel Di Pizio put us in front and Edmondson added the third to seal back-to-back Championships and our iconic treble.
Throwback to an unforgettable Grand Final night at Our Paradise against Melbourne, when we secured our historic treble! 🏆🏆🏆
— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners) October 17, 2024
It's time to run it back tomorrow night for round one of the 24/25 Isuzu UTE A-League season! ⚔️
🎟: https://t.co/71Ee9aZJdx#CCMFC #RideTheWave🌊 pic.twitter.com/O1YRiqeYBj
Tickets:
There is still time for you to get your tickets and join us at Our Paradise for what promises to be a huge opening night in the Isuzu UTE A-League. Simply click the banner below.
