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They have the best defensive record in the A-League but Central Coast’s backline will be put to the ultimate test against the competition’s most destructive striker on Saturday night.
The Mariners will have their hands full when they host competition leaders Gold Coast with star frontman Shane Smeltz heading to Bluetongue Stadium in an unprecedented vein of form.
The New Zealander’s late equaliser against Perth Glory last week was his ninth goal in just six games this season and 30th goal in 45 A-League games.
Smeltz’s career strike rate of two goals in every three A-League matches is streets ahead of any of his rivals, and Mariners coach Lawrie McKinna acknowledged it was not a good time to be coming up against the reigning Johnny Warren Medallist.
“He’s on fire,” McKinna said of the All Whites star.
“He proved last year he’s a good player and playing with better players now he’s relishing it.
“His movement is great, he’s not just an 18 yard player who is tapping things in, he works hard all over and he’s a constant thorn for defenders.”
Despite Smeltz’s imposing record, McKinna still had plenty of reasons to be positive heading into Saturday’s clash.
The Mariners have conceded just four goals in their six games this season, one less than Gold Coast and Sydney, while Smeltz has not been quite at his best against the Gosford side in the past.
In six matches against the Mariners with former team Wellington Phoenix, Smeltz found the net just once.
“We won’t be changing anything different to mark him, we’ll just need to defend well as a team as we’ve been doing,” McKinna said.
“Defensively we’ve been doing really well this season, we just need to create more chances.”
Both sides will be bolstered by the return of key players for the first-versus-fourth clash, with the Mariners welcoming back defender Chris Doig from a hamstring injury and midfielder Michael McGlinchey from international duty with New Zealand.
Gold Coast will have captain Jason Culina back on deck from Socceroos duty to further boost a side McKinna believes has firmly established itself as the competition’s benchmark.
“They talked the talk at the beginning and they’ve delivered,” McKinna said.
“They’ve done really well and they deserve to be top of the league so it’s a great chance for our boys to step up and show that they can match it.”
SHARP SHOOTERS: A-League’s most potent goal scorers
Player Goals Games Strike Rate
Shane Smeltz 30 45 66%
Archie Thompson 41 82 50%
Joel Griffiths 28 60 46%
Danny Allsopp 36 89 40%
Sasho Petrovski 28 92 30%
Alex Brosque 25 87 29%
Kevin Muscat 22 79 28%
Jamie Harnwell 21 78 27%
Travis Dodd 21 96 22%
* Players with more than 20 goals only
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