Ahead of the senior Central Coast Mariners Academy match ups this weekend, we caught up with Dan Barrett and Will Vazquez to preview an action-packed weekend of NPL football.
If anyone is looking for their football fix on the Coast this Sunday, the Mariners Women will be doing battle with the Western NSW Mariners FC Women at Tuggerah! First Grade kick-off at 3pm at the Central Coast Mariners Centre of Excellence and entry is FREE.
The men will be looking to continue their undefeated run when they travel away to face Gladesville Spirit at Christie Park.
Central Coast Mariners Academy Women vs. Western NSW Mariners FC Women
In their toughest battle of the season the Mariners Academy Women will be looking to bounce back to winning ways against their Western NSW counterparts.
Mariners fans are encouraged to make the trip to Tuggerah to watch our girls in action and Head Coach Dan Barrett is confident that the girls will put on an attacking display.
“We learnt so much more about our team from the weekend’s performance than we did in the previous two weeks,” Barrett said. “The signs are very positive. We played against a very good side and we were easily good enough for a point, at some stages maybe even a win.
“The girls continued to play the way we want them to play, we never looked like we were out of our depth and we take plenty of positives from that performance and believe that we can definitely challenge for the finals.
“It was the first time this season we’ve gone a goal down and at no stage was there any panic from our girls. We stuck to the things we’ve been working on, we got a nice goal back and possibly could have grabbed the lead but at the end of the day it just wasn’t our day but we took confidence that we have what it takes to contend for the finals.
“This week is all about winning and we know that if we perform the way we know we can, we can get the three points.
“For young aspiring female footballers on the Coast it’s a great opportunity for them to watch what the senior representative football on the Coast looks like so you can see what you need to do to get there,” Barrett said.
Match Details
Sunday, 8 April 2018
PS4 NPL 2 Round 5
Match: Central Coast Mariners Academy Women vs. Western NSW Mariners FC Women
Venue: Central Coast Mariners Centre of Excellence, Tuggerah
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Central Coast Mariners Academy vs. Gladesville Spirit
Vazquez says that the battle against Macarthur was a tough one and they are expecting another challenging hit out against Gladesville this weekend. In the absence of A-League debutant striker Jordan Smylie, Matias Paz got his chance up front and delivered with a goal.
“Macarthur were a tough side physically as we expected,” Vazquez said. “They proposed some difficult situations in the way they set up which we were disciplined with. We were a bit disappointed that we weren’t able to break them down and win the game. The game gives us a good reference point for things we need to work on early in the season.
“We expect Gladesville to be a bit more aggressive in terms of taking the game to us.
“There’s been a great battle between Smylie & Paz – we’ve got two quality attackers which is great for the club. Overall, our stocks in the front third are quite promising so I’m happy for Paz but also really enjoying the competition for places in that front third,” Vazquez said.
Match Details
Saturday, 7 April 2018
PS4 NPL 2 Round 6
Match: Gladesville Spirit vs. Central Coast Mariners Academy
Venue: Christie Park
Kick-off: 7:00pm
