Central Coast Mariners skipper John Hutchinson says the yellow and navy are hurting that their proud record at the Club’s idyllic bayside base has been punctured in the opening weeks of Hyundai A-League season 10.
Hutchinson – himself in his tenth campaign with the Club – says a united effort from dozens of committed players over the years helped earn the yellow and navy an enviable record at their Gosford ground, and even that opposition players in the past have been “scared” to play on the banks of the Brisbane Water.
Having lost their last two Hyundai A-League home games against Wellington Phoenix and Perth Glory respectively, Hutchinson says the Mariners are desperate to build on their strong record against the Reds in Australia’s top flight and restore their reputable home run – Central Coast have won 10 of their last 12 Hyundai A-League clashes (including playoffs) against Josep Gombau’s charges from the city of churches.
“It’s obviously a bit unusual for us to be losing at home, and I know the fans get frustrated like the players do,” Hutchinson explained. “But what we need is big numbers, we need the support.”
“We wish we could win every game and keep everyone happy, but that’s not football. But if we could get a massive crowd there [this Sunday] and strong support for the boys, hopefully we can get our record back and make Central Coast Stadium a fortress again.”
“It took many years to build that fortress up and many years to make sure that teams were scared to come to Central Coast Stadium so that’s what we want to get back,” he said.
Hutchinson added that although his men were satisfied to depart Parramatta’s Pirtek Stadium in mid-week with a draw, there was an air of disappointment in the sheds at full-time that Mariners would not travel back to the Coast will all three points to their credit.
According to the experienced midfield general, that feeling of disappointment augurs well for the season ahead.
“We created some wonderful chances [against Wanderers],” he said. “We were happy that we didn’t lose the game but also disappointed we didn’t win the game.”
“That’s a good sign going forward because if the boys are happy with a point you can’t have that, you need to be disappointed that you didn’t get all three, and I could see that in the boys.”
“We are just building now towards the Adelaide game and hopefully we can get our record back at Central Coast Stadium.”
Hutchinson said his team’s strong second stanza showing against the Reds at Coopers Stadium in the Westfield FFA Cup last week would help motivate the Mariners this Sunday.
“They [Adelaide United] are doing well but ‘Mossy’ [Head Coach, Phil Moss] and ‘Sully’ [Assistant Coach, Wayne O’Sullivan] will come up with the game plan like they always do, and it’s up to the players to execute the game plan.”
“I thought second half in our [Westfield] FFA Cup game against Adelaide we played very good. That was a momentum changer for the Mariners and for us as a team – we kind of turned it around second half and showed what we can do.”
“We need to build on that like we have the last couple of games,” he said.
Central Coast Mariners will give away $1 for every person in attendance at Sunday’s fixture, up to a maximum of $15,000.
So, if the official attendance at Sunday’s match is 10,000, one supporter will walk away $10,000 better off.
To enter, all fans need to do is attend the game and fill in a quick entry ticket at either the west or east of the Stadium. Then, one name will be drawn from the barrel at the half-time break. When the official attendance comes up on the big screen in the second half, the winner will know how much he or she has won.
“Hopefully we have a good, vocal crowd, the boys can get the three points and someone will go home happy with a bit of money in their pocket,” Hutchinson concluded.
Kick-off between Central Coast Mariners and Adelaide United at Gosford’s Central Coast Stadium this Sunday is at 5:00pm.
Central Coast Mariners vs. Adelaide United – Hyundai A-League 2014/15 Round 7
When: Sunday 23 November 2014
Where: Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
Kick-off: 5:00pm
Tickets: Pre-purchase here
Twitter: @CCMariners #CCMvADL
