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Adelaide United defender Nigel Boogaard knows better than most what to expect in Saturday’s A-League elimination final against Central Coast.
Boogaard played for the Mariners for five seasons until joining Adelaide four years ago.
And the central defender says Central Coast’s midweek Asian Champions League disappointment will spur the Mariners in their A-League finals campaign.
The Mariners lost their Asian fixture because of an injury-time own goal by captain John Hutchinson.
“Hutch is a strong character and they have a lot of strong characters around the club,” said Boogaard on Friday after signing a one-year contract extension with Adelaide.
“If anything it will fire Hutch up personally. I know him quite well and that will spark him, you probably see the best of him on the weekend.
“And they have been around finals for a long time now, they know what they need to do to get things done.”
While respectful of his former club, Boogaard believed Adelaide had the weapons to win Saturday’s knockout final in Gosford.
“There’s a lot of older boys in this group … we’ll drag all the younger boys with us and make sure they know how much it means to win something in this league,” he said.
“You don’t make finals every year and we have got a special opportunity to make something happen.
“We don’t fear anyone.”
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