After narrowly missing Hyundai A-League round one with back tightness, Mariners’ right-back Storm Roux is pumped and ready to make his return on Saturday against the Wanderers.
The Mariners face a tough away trip to Spotless Stadium in their second match of the campaign and could be bolstered by the return of Roux from injury and attacker Andrew Hoole from suspension.
Last season, the Mariners were undefeated against Western Sydney at Spotless Stadium across their two matches where the Yellow & Navy defeated the Wanderers on their home turf 2-0 and drew 1-1.
?? @Storm_Roux ??
1️⃣ Returns from injury ??
2️⃣ Plays 90 minutes ?
3️⃣ Returns to @CCStadium ?
4️⃣ Named skipper & MOTM ?#CCMFC pic.twitter.com/UxjJeOtleE— #CCMFC (@CCMariners) October 30, 2016
In the round four encounter last season, Roux wore the captain’s armband in absence of Nick Montgomery and earned man of the match honours for his outstanding performance at right-back.
The 24-year-old is putting his hand up for selection and is hopeful that he can feature against the Wanderers on Saturday evening.
“I’m buzzing,” Roux said. “It’s been a long pre-season and I’m just itching to play my first game of the season – this is my round one so I am very excited. Against Western Sydney we always seem to play good against them, the boys are excited and we have all the confidence in the world that we can go down there and get a result.
“The new boys have settled in really well. Hooley is on my side and we have some chemistry there down that right wing. All the new boys are fitting in well, we’ve got a lot of new faces in the team but they have brought a lot this season and will show a lot of people what they can do.
“I had a bit of tightness in the back,” Roux said. “I was gutted to miss round one so hopefully I can work my way back into the team this weekend and get a game against the Wanderers,” Roux said.
We're on the road again ? Our travel packages include food and beverages! Who's in? Info & booking: https://t.co/gU5PKFp8B6 #WSWvCCM pic.twitter.com/mio1iM2KUo
— #CCMFC (@CCMariners) October 9, 2017
Watching from the stands last Saturday, Roux said there were many positives to be taken from his side’s performance and the resolution is simple. Stick to the game plan.
“Against Newcastle we started really well but I think the penalty really rocked us. The positive we can take from it is that we didn’t play how we should be playing – it was a tough result to take but we know what we did wrong and we know how to fix it so we are just looking forward to this weekend where we can hopefully get a result against the Wanderers.
“Paolo re-enforced the fact that we need to stick to our game plan. On the weekend, we weren’t doing that and we were punished for it. He re-enforced that we need to stick to what we know which we did all pre-season and for some reason we strayed away from that on Saturday,” Roux said.
With Roux & Hoole both eligible for selection heading into round one, the New Zealand international says that the competition for places is lifting the performance of everyone.
“You need competition all over the pitch,” Roux said. “If you’re not doing well in games or at training you know you could lose your spot and no one wants that. In the wide positions, there is a lot of competition and the boys are pushing each other every day in training.
“When there is competition for places it just drives you to play and train better. Hopefully for myself I get picked this weekend and I can show what I can do,” Roux said.
@asdrupadron ?️ "It was a difficult day for the team & the fans, we have to work hard and come back on Saturday.” #CCMFC #ALeague pic.twitter.com/dy2zIZ4BWw
— #CCMFC (@CCMariners) October 8, 2017
Match Details
Saturday, 14 October 2017
Hyundai A-League Round 2
Match: Western Sydney Wanderers vs. Central Coast Mariners
Venue: Spotless Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park
Kick-off: 5:35pm
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA 501
Hash-tag: Join the match conversation using #WSWvCCM & #CCMFC
