It’s derby time. The Mariners and Jets will meet in the 50th F3 Derby on Friday night at Central Coast Stadium in a clash that both sets of fans will be eagerly anticipating.
The Mariners will be looking to rebound from a loss to Perth last Saturday in their return to the pitch, while for the Jets they continue their late push for the finals after a win against Sydney FC on Tuesday night at Kogarah.
Alen Stajcic’s side will be without Jordan Murray after he dislocated his shoulder in the loss to Perth and was stretchered from the pitch, however Lewis Miller now comes back into the extended squad after a short injury layoff.
The Derby will be back at Central Coast for the second time this season after the 1-1 draw in round two, while the Jets got on top 4-3 in the round 18 meeting at McDonald Jones Stadium back in February.
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Stajcic’s side will work off a six day turnaround while the Jets will have just three after Tuesday’s game, but Staj said he was wary of the depth the opposition possess that will help them overcome minimal rest.
“It’s always tough, it’s tough for everyone including us considering we haven’t played for a long time, six days is still a tight turnaround,” he said.
“It will be for them as well, but one of their strengths is their depth. They had Dimi Petrratos on the bench last game who is probably their marquee player and he didn’t even start the game.”
“Both teams have good depth off the bench… when our five subs came on [last game] they really changed the game in our favour, they turned the tide of the game for us to start dominating in territory and possession.”
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A strong return to training has seen changes to the team since before the break, with Jacob Melling and Dylan Fox both returning as starters in the loss to Perth, and Staj said it was just reward for the way that players have returned from the break.
“Training has been really good, obviously we know we have the derby coming up and that adds a bit of spice to everything,” he said.
“But training has been great and like I said last week the players deserve a lot of credit for the way they have come in, particularly with the uncertainty we’ve had over the last four or five months.”
Regardless of the squads that take the field, he said the derby always means that little bit more and that there is still plenty to play for.
“There’s a lot on the line,” he said.
“I don’t know what words you use to describe this match but it’s obviously an important game for them and it’s an important game for us in terms of restoring a little bit of pride in our season and in the way we’ve been going so it’s extremely important for both.”
“For Newcastle it’s really big if they have to win every game to get in the finals, we would take no greater pleasure than trying to knock them out of the finals race so it’s going to be a great contest.”
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Match Details |
Friday, 24 July 2020
Central Coast Mariners v Newcastle Jets
Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
Kick-Off: 7:30PM (Local) (7:30PM (AEST))
Referee: Ben Abraham
Assistant Referee 1: Lance Greenshields
Assistant Referee 2: Brad Wright
Fourth Official: Chris Beath
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on FOX SPORTS 507 from 7:30pm (AEST) and Sky Sport 7 (New Zealand), Kayo Sports (www.kayosports.com.au) and MyFootball Live App, Live Fast and Data Free for Telstra mobile customers
Squads |
Central Coast Mariners squad: 1.Mark BIRIGHITTI (gk), 2.Ian Zygmunt GORDON, 3.Jack CLISBY, 7.Milan ÐURIĆ, 8.Michael MCGLINCHEY, 10.Tommy OAR, 11.Daniel DESILVA, 12.Adam PEARCE (gk), 15.Kye ROWLES, 16.Dylan FOX, 17.Sam SILVERA, 18.Gianni STENSNESS, 19.Matt SIMON, 21.Ruon TONGYIK, 22.Jacob MELLING, 26.Joshua NISBET, 27.Lewis MILLER, 29.Jair BRITTO, 30.Dylan RUIZ-DIAZ, 44.Alou KUOL
**2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 8.Michael MCGLINCHEY (promoted), 27.Lewis MILLER (Return from Injury), 29.Jair BRITTO (promoted),
Outs: 9.Jordan MURRAY (Injured – Shoulder)
Unavailable: nil
Newcastle Jets squad: 3.Jason HOFFMAN, 4.Nigel BOOGAARD (c), 6.Steven UGARKOVIC, 7.Roy O’DONOVAN, 9.Abdiel ARROYO, 10.Dimi PETRATOS, 11.Nick FITZGERALD, 12.Lucas MAURAGIS, 16.Matt MILLAR, 17.Joe LEDLEY, 18.Johnny KOUTROUMBIS, 19.Kosta PETRATOS, 20.Lewis ITALIANO (gk), 21.Bernie IBINI, 29.Connor O’TOOLE, 31.Maki PETRATOS, 32.Angus THURGATE, 40.Noah JAMES (gk), 44.Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY
**2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 12.Lucas MAURAGIS (promoted), 28.Pat LANGLOIS (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 22.Lachlan JACKSON (knee – indefinite)
