Central Coast Mariners gloveman Liam Reddy will face his former Hyundai A-League side Sydney FC for the first time since he linked with the yellow and navy in tomorrow’s round 9 Hyundai A-League clash at Bluetongue Stadium.
Central Coast Mariners gloveman Liam Reddy will face his former Hyundai A-League side Sydney FC for the first time since he linked with the yellow and navy in tomorrow-s round 9 Hyundai A-League clash at Bluetongue Stadium.
Mariners Head Coach Phil Moss praised the 32-year-old shot stopper ahead of his team-s final training session on Friday morning, noting that he-s “sure ‘Rocket- has got a point to prove”.
“He-s been very good at training this week and he-s been great since he came into the team,” Moss said. “He gives us a real presence and he takes a lot of pride in keeping clean sheets so I know he-ll be looking to go back-to-back with that aspect.”
The hosts will be looking to end Sydney-s record winning streak tomorrow night following last Friday-s 0-0 stalemate with Kevin Muscat-s Melbourne Victory at Gosford-s idyllic bayside arena.
“Sydney are coming up here with plenty of confidence, they have got on a bit of a roll on but really what I-m looking for tomorrow night from our boys is a reaction,” he said.
“We-ve copped a lot of criticism for our performance last week (but) there-s a lot of pride in the dressing room. They will be very fired up to show what we are capable of. The last two weeks we-ve been below par, but we-ve got four points out of six. We-re travelling okay but certainly the criticism this week is going to spark a reaction.”
Tomorrow-s encounter will see the return of former Central Coast defender Pedj Bojic to Gosford-s Bluetongue Stadium, after the marauding right back shifted to the boys from the Harbour City in June.
“I-ve noticed this week that Pedj has said in the media that it-s going to be an emotional night, so we certainly don-t want to let him down. No doubt he-ll get a nice reception from our fans,” he said.
The Mariners boss says he-s likely to make a few changes for the clash with Frank Farina-s men with Zac Anderson and Nick Fitzgerald in the frame for a return to match action.
“They-ve obviously been disappointed not to be on the team sheet for the last few weeks and there-s been a real reaction from them. They-re pushing hard to be back involved and that-s what I want,” Moss explained.
“I saw a good reaction from them (in the Foxtel NYL) last week. The result wasn-t great for us going down to Newcastle but it was good to see them go out there with the right attitude and lead by example. They put themselves back in contention for their spot in the squad.”
In-form Serbian striker Ranko Despotovic is set to make his starting debut for the Sky Blues on Saturday with marquee man Alessandro Del Piero ruled out due to a hamstring injury.
“He (Despotovic) has scored two (goals) in two (games) and he certainly knows his way to goal. His work rate is not bad, but how long he-s got in his legs we-ll see tomorrow night because he hasn-t played a lot of football in the last 12 months. We-ll go through our tactical plan and nail that and then it-s up to the boys to carry out tomorrow night.”
Central Coast fans will have the opportunity to farewell Head of Sports Science and foundation Mariners player, Andrew Clark, in his last home match with the Club before moving to Graham Arnold-s Vegalta Sendai in the J.League.
“I-d like to wish Clarky all the best. This will be his last home game for the Club as he finishes up after the Adelaide game. I hope the crowd turns out as he-s a foundation Mariner – he-s been here since day one. He-s a very popular identity on the Coast and he deserves a rousing farewell tomorrow night at Bluetongue,” Moss concluded.
Central Coast Mariners vs. Sydney FC – Hyundai A-League 2013/14 Round 9
Saturday 7 December, 2013
Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
Kick-off: 7:45pm
Gates open: 6:30pm
Tickets: Please CLICK HERE to purchase tickets to the match
Twitter: Join the match conversation on Twitter! The official match hash-tag is #CCMvSYD
Watch: Live on FOX SPORTS 1 &1HD
Listen: Live on ABC Grandstand & Coast FM
