Mulvey: We need to bounce back and show character

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Round 4 of the Hyundai A-League is #RemembranceRound, where all 10 teams will proudly don the poppy to pay tribute to the service men and women who sacrificed their lives during times of conflict. For this round, we travel to AAMI Park to face Melbourne Victory.

In one of the tightest starts to a Hyundai A-League season, the Mariners have opened their campaign with two draws and a loss, whilst Melbourne Victory have two losses and a win to their name.

However, leading into round four Melbourne Victory are hot off the back of a win against the Newcastle Jets whilst the Mariners will be hoping to turn their fortunes around after their disappointing outing against Adelaide United.

CLICK HERE to watch Mike Mulvey’s preview press conference 

Mulvey in the Media

Putting last week’s game behind us…
“First of all, it’s about bouncing back from last week,” Mulvey said. “We know amongst the playing group and staff that last week’s result wasn’t good enough so we need to rectify that.

“It’s about character. We’re going to be measured by the way we bounce back from adversity, a 3-0 loss is adversity, so we need to bounce back and show our character.

“We’re really looking forward to the game and what better place to do it, than against the Champions at their home ground.

What went wrong last week?
“To be honest, there were multiple things and we’ve tried to rectify that this week. The speed of the ball was not quick enough, there was no urgency and we didn’t mount enough pressure on them.

“At the end of the day, we can dissect the three goals they scored down to our mistakes, it was self-inflicted. So, we need to cut out our mistakes and have a higher tempo to the game.

Hard work on the training track…
“You can only sort it out on the training track, you have to get back to work, you have to roll your sleeves up and accept responsibility. You need to look in the mirror and that’s what I did first of all and I expect the players to do that.

“We played quite well in the first two games but those standards dropped in the third game. We’re all on notice to show that we have improved and we understand that.

Kye Rowles at right-back…
“It’s a very difficult situation for Kye because we’re playing a left footer on the right hand side. He’s adapted fantastically well and I’ve got great faith in him. I’ve told him that he’s taking one for the team by playing on that side of the field and in the first three games he has really stood up for us.

The Honda effect…
“He’s got a great touch, he’s got great vision and he’s at the fulcrum of everything they do. He’s class shines through but at the end of the day football’s not about one person, it’s about the team, and we will go there to see if we can stretch them a bit and put our stamp onto the game,” Mulvey said.

What’s been said?
Kosta Barbarouses, Melbourne Victory attacker
“It’s always a tough one because they’re always a dangerous side to play,” he added. Everyone lifts when they come to Melbourne, to AAMI Park and to Marvel as well so we’ve got to be wary of them. They’ve got some really dangerous players,” Barbarouses said.

Opta Stat Attack

  • Each of Melbourne last five games has been won by the away team on the day
  • The Mariners have won just one of their past 19 away games
  • Melbourne Victory have already scored two goals from outside the box this season, the only other side to do that is Adelaide United
  • Perth Glory (4) are the only team to score more goals than the Mariners this season in the first 30 minutes of play
  • Keisuke Honda is one of only two players to assisted three goals this season (Ninkovic)
  • Kye Rowles and Keisuke Honda have both made 13 tackles this season, more than any other player in the A-League

Squad lists

Central Coast Mariners squad: 1.Ben KENNEDY (gk), 3.Jack CLISBY, 4.Jake McGING, 5.Antony GOLEC, 6.Tom HIARIEJ, 7.Andrew HOOLE, 8.Michael McGLINCHEY, 10.Tommy OAR, 11.Connor PAIN, 12.Adam PEARCE (gk), 13.Aiden O’NEILL, 15.Kye ROWLES, 18.Matt MILLAR, 19.Matt SIMON (c), 20.Kalifa CISSE, 22.Jacob MELLING, 25.Jordan MURRAY, 44.Ross McCORMACK
**two to be omitted**                                          

Ins: 4.Jake McGING (promoted), 25.Jordan MURRAY (promoted)

Outs: nil

Unavailable: 2.Jonathan ASPROPOTAMITIS (ACL)

Melbourne Victory squad: 1.Matt ACTON (gk), 2.Storm ROUX, 3. Corey BROWN, 4.Keisuke HONDA, 5.Georg NIEDERMEIER, 6.Leigh BROXHAM, 8.Terry ANTONIS, 9.Kosta BARBAROUSES, 10.James TROISI, 13.Birkan KIRDAR, 14.Thomas DENG, 15.Raul BAENA, 16.Josh HOPE, 19. Rahmat AKBARI, 20.Lawrence THOMAS (gk), 21.Carl VALERI (c), 22.Nick ANSELL, 23.Jai INGHAM
**two to be omitted**

Ins: 13.Birkan KIRDAR (promoted), 15. Raul BAENA (promoted)

Outs: Nil

Unavailable: Kenny ATHIU (hamstring – TBC)

Match Details
Sunday, 11 November 2018
Hyundai A-League Round 4
Match:
Melbourne Victory vs. Central Coast Mariners
Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne 
Kick-off:
7:00pm (AEDT)
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA
Hash-tag: Join the match conversation using #MVCvCCM & #CCMFC