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If A-League punters could pick a team most likely to trouble all-conquering Sydney FC, not many would have selected stragglers Central Coast.
» Click here to read the full match report
Final score
Sydney FC 1
Central Coast Mariners 1
Sydney FC will be out to avenge their only loss of the A-League season in Graham Arnold’s 200th match as manager when they host the inconsistent Central Coast Mariners. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 7:50pm (AEDT).
When the sides met in Gosford during Round 6, the Mariners pulled off a shock 2-0 win on the back of goals from Andrew Hoole and Jake McGing.
Since then though, it’s been all one-way traffic for Sydney. Arnold’s side have won eight of their last ten, having to settle for two draws in the last three weeks against the Newcastle Jets and Adelaide United last week.
While the draw against second-placed Newcastle wasn’t a huge surprise, the fact they couldn’t get a goal against Adelaide in a scoreless game was a surprise.
Of course, their defence has been impeccable, the side only letting in seven goals across their last ten games, but their attack didn’t quite get off the ground during those two games and they will look to make an example out of the Mariners here.
Brazilian striker Bobo has been their key man, sitting on 15 goals for the season, he has had plenty of support in a star-studded front line and it’s shown, the side racking up 38 goals in 16 games.
They are the stats which will worry the Central Coast ahead of this game. The Mariners best attribute has been their defence this season, but they have been leaky on a few occasions, like when they let five in against Newcastle or last week against Melbourne City in a 2-all draw.
If teams like City are able to run up, there’s little doubting the sort of scoreline the men in Sky Blue could paste on them tonight.
While their defence might be able to hold out Sydney for a period of time, the chance of them scoring any appears slim. They have the worst attacking record in the competition despite picking up two last week and more often than not their front line looks lost.
Creative players in the middle of the field like Asdrubal, Tom Hiariej and Kwabena Appiah just haven’t done their job well enough and opportunities up front have been few and far between.
Finding them against the sharp Sydney defence will be an even bigger ask, but one the Mariners undoubtedly need to answer. They sit in ninth, already four points out of the top six and with only ten rounds to go, more losses will not leave them in a good position.
Prediction
Sydney have already lost once to the Central Coast this year, but back at home they should run up plenty here. This could be over by halftime.
Sydney FC 4 – Central Coast Mariners 0.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this Round 17 A-League match from 7:50pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.