The last time the Mariners faced Adelaide United Connor Pain lodged his submission for goal of the season as well as an assist to Roy O’Donovan in the club’s 2-1 win at Coopers Stadium.
Coming hot off the back of a 2-0 win over Perth Glory last weekend, Pain says that three points is the priority and the team’s talking will be done on the pitch.
In the form of his life, Pain credited the amount of minutes under his belt for the purple patch he has found himself in on the left wing.
“I didn’t play as much at Melbourne Victory as I would have liked but the chance to come here has been a refreshing one and one that I’ve enjoyed so far,” Pain said. “There’s confidence in the team every week, we’ve been playing a lot better football of late so now we will go down to Canberra and look to come home with another three points.
“Scotty [Galloway] and I have worked together for a long time now from the first day at Victory where I think we made our debut in the same match so through their and the Young Socceroos we’re very familiar with eachother.
“We’re good mates off the pitch as well which helps as well so you can see that on the pitch,” Pain said.
The Hong Kong born attacker praised the efforts of Jake McGing and Jacob Poscoliero who played their role in the club’s cleansheet against Perth.
“Jake McGing loves playing in the midfield so he was happy to push forward so Posco coming back in was big for us,” Pain said. “He’s a great player, a great ballplayer and that’s what we need from our centre backs.
“Selection headaches are a great thing to have, we need competition for spots and we have that right now. Noone is pencilled in on the team sheet prior to a day before the game, everyone needs to work hard to put themselves in the mix,” Pain said.
Adelaide currently sit last on the ladder but Pain said that the Reds won’t be underestimated and their position on the table only highlights the strength of the competition.
“We all know that Adelaide are a quality side on their day and play some good stuff under a very capable manager,” Pain said. “Last season they won just about everything – it’s a credit to how competitive the league is this season that a team like Adelaide are sitting bottom.
“They’ve got quality players across the board like Carrusca, Isais and up top they’ve got some young boys like Marino who came in last week to do a good job and Ben Garrucio has been flying getting forward so they have a lot of threats,” Pain said.
When asked if the Mariners were still a shot of playing finals football, Pain said the talking must be done on the pitch.
“Talk is cheap, we need to go out on the weekend and put on another good performance because we need to start picking up points,” Pain said. “We’re still a bit off the pace of the top six but when you go on a run you never know what might happen
“We feel like we can beat any team on our day and that’s a testament to the boys, to Paolo and to Ivan Jolic. We’ve got the speedy wingers who make space in behind – Fab’s been playing in the 10 role and is doing really well,” Pain said.
Another standout performer this season is Captain, Nick Montgomery who Pain said is an inspiration to everyone at the club.
“Monty is absolutely everywhere, he’s a legend on the pitch and off the pitch,” Pain said. “He looks after all the young boys really well and on the pitch he just runs tirelessly, he runs all day and it’s a joke really,” Pain said.
In the Yellow & Navy’s last meeting with Adelaide Connor Pain scored a superb goal, a strike that Mariners fans will remember fondly.
“It was nice to score a goal like that,” Pain said. “Obviously I would have liked to have a couple more in between but if I’m trying to make chances for people I’m doing my job. To chip in with a couple more would be nice.
“It was one of those goals where you cut in instinctively, leathered it, some of them you miss by a long way and others go in the top bin – lucky that one went in the top bin so hopefully I can do something like that again,” Pain said.
Central Coast Mariners Squad: 1.Ivan NECEVSKI (gk), 2.Storm ROUX, 3.Scott GALLOWAY, 4.Jacob POSCOLIERO, 5.Harry ASCROFT, 6.Blake POWELL, 7.Fabio FERREIRA, 8.Nick MONTGOMERY (c), 9.Roy O’DONOVAN, 11.Connor PAIN, 12.Trent BUHAGIAR, 13.Kwabena APPIAH, 14.Adam BERRY, 16.Liam ROSE, 17.Josh BINGHAM, 20.Paul IZZO (gk), 22.Jake McGING
**Two to be omitted**
Ins: 5.Harry ASCROFT (promoted), 9.Roy O’DONOVAN (return from suspension), 21.Michael NEILL (promoted)
Outs: 26.Steve WHYTE (not selected)
Unavailable: 10.Mickael TAVARES (ankle injury – indefinite), 19.Jacques FATY (hamstring – 1 week), 23.Jake ADELSON (ACL – indefinite)
Adelaide United squad: 1.Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk) (c), 2.Michael MARRONE, 3.Iacopo LA ROCCA, 4.Dylan McGOWAN, 5.Taylor REGAN, 8.ISAÍAS, 10.Marcelo CARRUSCA, 11.Sergio CIRIO, 12.Mark OCHIENG, 13.Marc MARINO, 14.George MELLS, 16.Jesse MAKAROUNAS, 17.Nikola MILEUSNIC, 18.Riley McGREE, 19.Ben GARUCCIO, 20.John HALL (gk), 21.Tarek ELRICH, 24.Jordan O’DOHERTY
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 10.Marcelo CARRUSCA (returns from injury), 12.Mark OCHIENG (promoted), 16.Jesse MAKAROUNAS (promoted), 24.Jordan O’DOHERTY (promoted)
Outs: 7.HENRIQUE (not selected), 22.Ryan KITTO (hamstring – 6-7 weeks)
Unavailable: 23.Jordan ELSEY (knee – season)
Match Details
Hyundai A-League 2016/17 – Round 18
Sunday 5 February 2017
Central Coast Mariners vs. Adelaide United
Venue: GIO Stadium, Canberra
Tickets: CLICK HERE
kick-off: 5:00pm (AEDT)
Official hash-tags: #CCMvADL & #CCMFC
TV Broadcast: Fox Sports 505
Radio Broadcast: 96.3 Coast FM & 92.5 ABC Central Coast
The Westfield W-League Semi-Final will be played after the Hyundai A-League action at GIO Stadium. Details are as follows:
Match Details
Westfield W-League Semi Final 2016/17
Sunday 5 February 2017
Canberra United vs. Melbourne City Women
Venue: GIO Stadium, Canberra
Tickets: CLICK HERE
kick-off: 8:00pm (AEDT)
Official hash-tags: #CBRvMCY
TV Broadcast: Fox Sports 505
