Mariners head coach Nick Montgomery is ready for a massive Mudgee clash this weekend, looking to bring an important three points back to the Central Coast.
The side coming off the back of a 2-0 defeat last weekend to Western Sydney, keen to turn the momentum around against Macarthur.
“Obviously I was disappointed with the result but not too disappointed with the performance. When you look back on the game it is just one moment in the first half away at Western Sydney,” he said
“They’re going to throw everything at you early on and bar a couple of corners where we probably didn’t defend well, I don’t think that they really threatened. It was just a bit of a mistake for the goal.
“In the second half I thought that they sat off the whole game. It was only a matter of time before we got back into the game, and they were just looking to counterattack. We had sixty percent possession, double the number of corners and double the amount of passes in their half but if you don’t put the ball in the back of the net it is all irrelevant.
“So all credit to them, three points at home. It’s one game gone and now we look forward to going to Mudgee.”
Our head coach full of praise for Saturday’s young substitutes, who brought a spark to the second forty five minutes. Montgomery especially pleased with the progress of new signing Christian Theoharous, with the forward in contention to start this weekend.
“Yeah, Christian has been outstanding. He’s getting himself fit and has put himself in contention now for a start on the weekend,” he said.
“We knew it was going to take a while to get him fit, but every time he comes on, he has a positive impact.”
It wasn’t just Theoharous who caught the eye of Montgomery, with the coach pleased with the contribution of all of the youngsters who received minutes off the bench.
“Nico Duarte came on and did well, all of the subs that came on and obviously we have been decimated a bit in terms of the squad with boys out injured, suspended or away with the national team,”
“I see it as an opportunity for some of the boys to come in and put their hand up.”
Montgomery confident that they can do a job again this weekend, as we await the return of numerous key first team players.
“I am more than confident in the young boys, but obviously we need players back. We have Brian returning after one more game, Moresche as well. I think Nectar is two more games and Dylan Wenzel-Halls we thought that he would be right for this week,” he said.
“He had a little hiccup in his rehab, but we are hoping that he will be okay for this weekend. So, we are talking about four or five first choice players coming back in over the next couple of weeks. Until then, there’s a good opportunity for some of the young boys.”
The Mariners head out to Mudgee this weekend, set to play our third game at Glen Willow Stadium. The head coach excited to return to the region, which has so far resulted in two victories.
“We all really enjoy Mudgee, the people from the area are absolutely fantastic. They always really welcome us there, accommodate us. We are really looking forward to it, hopefully we can get a really good crowd,” he said.
“The weather sounds like it is going to be nice as well and many of our fans will be traveling there. It is a great atmosphere and somewhere we can go and get a positive result and kick on for the rest of the season.”
