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Central Coast captain Alex Wilkinson says the Mariners need to rediscover their trademark self-belief if they are to have any chance of overturning a 2-0 deficit in next Friday’s A-League minor semi-final second leg.
The Mariners head to Suncorp Stadium with a mountain to climb after Mitch Nichols and Sergio van Dijk gave the Roar two valuable away goals in the first leg at Bluetongue Stadium on Friday night.
The away goals rule means the Mariners are likely to need a three-goal win to advance to the preliminary final for a showdown with either Adelaide or Melbourne.
Wilkinson said the comeback was not beyond the Mariners but they would need to rediscover the belief and unity which has seen them make three out of four A-League finals series’ despite being the competition’s smallest club.
“We’re a team known for our self-belief and willingness to stick together and we’ve got to get that back if we’re any chance of turning this tie around,” Wilkinson said.
“We’re 2-0 down and it’s backs to the wall but that’s how we like it and it’s going to be tough but we’re going to have to improve tenfold if we want to turn this around next week.
“If we stick by each other 100 per cent then we’ve got a chance, but we used to be the team that if someone’s missed a tackle then someone’s right there recovering for them and (on Friday night) that just wasn’t the case.”
Mariners coach Lawrie McKinna said his side would go in search of an early goal in the second leg and admitted he would think about making changes.
But Central Coast won’t get the luxury of the Roar sitting back trying to protect their lead, with Queensland coach Frank Farina saying he wanted to kill the tie off quickly.
“I’ve never believed in sitting back and trying to defend a lead or whatever,” Farina said.
“We’ll play to try and score again.
“If we score up there it’s going to make it very difficult for them.”
The Roar are likely to be without Danny Tiatto – sent off in the win – and Josh McCloughan (groin) for the second leg, while the Mariners welcome back Dean Heffernan from suspension.
Friday night’s Bluetongue Stadium crowd of 9514 was the lowest finals crowd in the A-League history.
An FFA spokeswoman said the crowd was below expectations but the hot weather, smoke from nearby bushfires and the current economic situation may have been telling factors.
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