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Central Coast coach Lawrie McKinna will find out if his side really has turned the corner when its Asian Champions League campaign continues against Tianjin Teda in China on Wednesday night.
McKinna was upbeat after the Mariners kept their first clean sheet of 2009 in last week’s 0-0 home draw to Korea’s Pohang Steelers, a result which ended a seven-game losing streak for the Gosford side.
They lost their last six A-League matches and two friendlies against Chinese sides prior to their Asian Champions League opener, but McKinna was adamant they had put that form slump behind them.
And while acknowledging even another draw would be a good result in China, McKinna was confident his side could return from China’s third-largest city with a crucial three points.
“If we get a draw away from home we’d be happy, but we’ve come here expecting and thinking that we can win,” McKinna said.
“We have to believe that we can come here and get a result.
“We think we can come away with a win but, realistically, if we came away with a draw it’s still a good result and we’ve done a good job.”
Tianjin, who recently signed Australian striker Mark Bridge on loan from Sydney FC, are also embarking on their maiden Asian Champions League campaign after finishing fourth in last year’s Chinese Super League.
They went down 1-0 in their opening match away to J-League runners up Kawasaki Frontale last week but will be buoyed by an expected sell-out crowd at the 37,500-capacity Tianjin Teda Stadium on Wednesday (kick-off 11pm AEDT).
“Coming here is a different world – a city of 11 million people and a world-class stadium like this with a huge crowd, it’s certainly going to be a bit different from the sunny Central Coast,” McKinna said.
“The stadium will provide a great backdrop and great atmosphere here and we’re looking forward to it.”
The Mariners have had to contend with a daunting travelling schedule ahead of the match, with Gosford to Tianjin taking 23 hours with a stopover in Hong Kong and a three-hour bus ride from Beijing.
But they are boosted by the return of striker Dylan Macallister, who missed the draw against the Steelers due to illness.
His return is a timely one for the Mariners, who desperately need goals having scored just two from their last seven matches.
As well as boasting international defensive duo Wang Xiao and Cao Yang, Tianjin also have plenty of strikepower up front in the form of Brazilian Eber Luis, who finished top scorer in China last season with 14 goals in 20 matches.
Their midfield includes former Italian international and AS Roma veteran Damiano Tommasi.
Bridge is again expected to start for Tianjin in what will be their last match before the new Chinese Super League season starts on Saturday.
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