The Central Coast Mariners will be looking to bounce back tonight against Perth Glory at nib Stadium, Perth. Kick-off is scheduled for 9.40pm AEDT (AEDT).
Having accounted for the Glory 3-2 two months ago in Round 1, the Mariners will fancy their chances in the west and will be desperate for a result to keep in touch with the finals race.
The Mariners are a massive chance to not only grab their second win, but also claim their first win on the road for more than 600 days. Can they do it? Let’s look at all the key details.
The Run IN
It’s fair to say both sides have made slow starts to Hyundai A-League 2015/16 with the Mariners sitting ninth while Perth sit last with a game in hand.
Both sides have also been at the mercy of 5-1 losses to Melbourne City in the last two weeks, with the Mariners the more recent victim last Thursday night.
Despite the result, some positives emerged such as Mitch Austin’s solid night on the wing as well as Harry Ascroft’s disciplined performance taming Aaron Mooy.
Meanwhile, the Glory have had an OK home record (1W, 1D, 1L) offset by a shocking away record (5L).
Their last hit-out was a 1-0 loss to Adelaide in which they were overrun in possession by Adelaide’s almost Barcelona approach and conceded 21 shots on goal, a stat that will be music to the ears of Tony Walmsley.
Who to watch?
Captain Nick Montgomery has been in evergreen form this season and will return from suspension to slot straight back into the midfield.
His task will be likely to keep an eye on Perth’s Spanish attacking midfielder Diego Castro, who looked lively in moments during our Round 1 encounter.
However as a group, Perth’s attackers have disappointed, scoring a league low seven goals this season and only one in their last six matches across the Hyundai A-League and Westfield FFA Cup.
The outs of Sidnei and Guyon Fernandez will compound those woes, with Chris Harold likely to take on a more prominent role in their attack.
Meanwhile, after his stand out performance and dashing pace last weekend, Mitch Austin will be looking for more of the same tonight and Roy O’Donovan will be keen to benefit after a few unlucky chances over the last few weeks.
The Key Questions
- Does Perth have the firepower to score multiple goals if the Mariners go up?
- How will the Mariners respond after last weekend’s 5-1 loss to Melbourne City?
- Can O’Donovan get back onto the scoring charts after his fantastic start to Hyundai A-League 2015/16 Season.
Stats
- Perth Glory average four shots on goal per game less than the Mariners.
- The Mariners have never lost a game in Perth when scoring more than one goal in the match.
- The Mariners have made more interceptions (236) than any side in the league this season.
- Anthony Caceres has won 20 more fouls than he’s conceded, the second best differential of any player so far this season (Thomas Broich has 22).
INsider View – Anthony Caceres
“The loss hit us where it hurts, a defeat like that at home is never easy but lucky we’ve got a good group of boys who always stick together and we’re looking to rectify our mistakes and improve on last weeks’ performance,” Caceres said.
“You get time during the week to reflect on your performance, the good and the bad, you’ve got the week to work on what you need to work on, we’ve done that and we’re looking to go to Perth with a positive frame of mind and put on a good performance.
“We need to start the game with the mentality that we’re going to win, we’re fit enough to do so and we’re looking to do that right from the beginning this time around.
“We have a very young team but we’ve got a good group of senior players who bring the young boys through, keep their heads up and keep driving standards at training.
“The young boys here are switched on, they’re here to improve and they know what we need to do to get better.”
“I like to take leadership when it comes to creating play and in tough times trying to create a chance so we can get back into the game.”
Last Time We Met – Hyundai A-League Round 1 2015/16, CCM 3 PER 2, Central Coast Stadium
The perfect start to the season saw the Mariners win a high tempo game over the Glory after a penalty brace to Fabio Ferreira and fortuitous goal to Roy O’Donovan.
Ferreira, Austin and & Caceres menaced Ante Covic and the Perth defence with a volley of shots and crosses which built up pressure.
Perth were able to respond to the first through a bullet header to Richard Garcia before Gyorgy Sandor scored a late consolation to leave it 3-2.
Saturday, 12 December 2015
Perth Glory v Central Coast Mariners
nib Stadium, Perth
Kick-Off: 6:40 PM (Local) (9:40 PM (AEDT))
Referee: Ben Williams
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on FOX SPORTS 505 from 9.30pm (AEDT)
Radio Broadcast: 96.3 Coast FM
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #PERvCCM
Perth Glory FC squad: 1.Ante COVIC (gk), 2.Alex GRANT, 3.Marc WARREN, 5.Antony GOLEC, 7, Gyorgy SANDOR, 10.Nebojsa MARINKOVIC, 11.Richard GARCIA (c), 12.Jerrad TYSON (gk), 13.Diogo FERREIRA, 14.Chris HAROLD, 15.Hagi GLIGOR, 17.Diego CASTRO, 18.Mitch OXBORROW, 19.Josh RISDON, 23.Michael THWAITE, 24.Jamal REINERS, 29.Aryn WILLIAMS
**one to be omitted**
Central Coast Mariners squad: 1.Paul IZZO (GK), 2.Storm ROUX, 3.Josh ROSE, 4.Jacob POSCOLIERO, 5.Harry ASCROFT, 6.Mitch AUSTIN, 8.Nick MONTGOMERY (c), 9.Roy O’DONOVAN, 10.Anthony CACERES, 11.Nick FITZGERALD,15.Matthew SIM, 16.Liam ROSE, 19.Josh BINGHAM, 20.Anthony KALIK, 22.Jake McGING, 23.Tomislav USKOK, 24.Jake ADELSON, 40.Tom HEWARD-BELLE
**two to omitted**
