There are all sorts of different ingredients that go into setting a platform from which to build a season in professional sport.
There are all sorts of different ingredients that go into setting a platform from which to build a season in professional sport.
Depending on the philosophy of the coach some are more important than others but at the Mariners a good old fashioned fighting spirit and never-say-die attitude holds a place in the front pages of our “cook book”.
We never seem to get the credit we are due for playing the attractive and winning style of football coach Graham Arnold brought to the club when he arrived and I guess that is why a lot of pundits believe we “fly under the radar”.
But one thing that is never questioned is our fighting spirit and from four games so far this campaign we have come back twice from two goal deficits to grab a share of the spoils against Melbourne Heart and now Newcastle – both, it must be said, away from home which adds to the feat!
Are we happy with giving away two goal leads on both occasions – absolutely not!
But the confidence to know we can fight our way back into a contest that may appear all but lost to a lesser group of players, breeds a confidence that is hard to put into words.
The impact of Matty Simon and Mile Sterjovski off the bench in the F3 Derby last weekend coupled with the tactical change of coach Graham Arnold were major factors in turning the result around but it wouldn-t have been possible without the mental toughness and resilience of the other nine players out there either, or the encouragement of the players on the bench who didn-t take the field, or the noisy contingent of traveling Mariners fans!
There are always numerous ingredients as I said and with a little luck we could have grabbed a late winner.
But certainly we have come away from Hunter Stadium with a shot of confidence heading into Sunday night-s clash with traditional foes Brisbane Roar at “Fortress Bluetongue”.
The battles down the years have produced some very special moments in A-League history and Sunday night promises to be no different.
They have started the season on fire while we are building into ours at an encouraging rate.
The “start” of the season is now over as we head into Round 5 and its time to put our best foot forward. The Roar clash is another chance to take a big step in the right direction! Kick-off at Bluetongue Stadium on Sunday is 5pm.
*****
The Central Coast Mariners Academy (CCMA) coaching staff for 2014 is going from strength to strength with the addition this week of some crucial appointments. Former Matilda Shelley Youman will head up the women-s program while renowned youth development coach and FNSW Coach Education Manager Oscar Gonzalez will take the under-13s.
Another top quality youth development coach Lucas Gonzalez (no relation to Oscar) will head up the under-15s.
The full staff (men-s/boy-s program) is: Jason Van Blerk (1st grade), Kai Lammert (20s), Mark Pratt (18s), Dan Shepherd (16s), Lucas Gonzalez (15s), Will Piriz (14s), Oscar Gonzalez (13s), Tony Gerasimou (12s) and Steve Eagleton (SAP head coach).
Central Coast Mariners vs. Brisbane Roar – Hyundai A-League 2013/14 Round 5
Sunday 10 November, 2013
Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
Kick-off: 5:00pm
Gates open: 4:00pm
Tickets: Please CLICK HERE to purchase tickets to the match.
Twitter: Join the match conversation on Twitter! The official match hash-tag is #CCMvBRI
Watch: Live on Fox Sports 1 & 1HD
Listen: Live on ABC Grandstand and Coast FM
