When Mariners midfielder Nick Montgomery stepped up to the penalty spot against Suwon Bluewings in midweek, he carried the hopes of not just the Central Coast but most football fans in Australia as well.
As the A-League’s sole representative in this season’s AFC Champions League, the Mariners are flying the flag not just for Gosford but for the whole of the A-League and last season’s premiership winners acquitted themselves admirably against the South Korean side.
Sadly, Englishman Montgomery saw his spot-kick well saved by the impressive Jung Sung-Ryong in the Suwon goal and the home side were forced to settle for a point in an otherwise entertaining 0-0 draw.
But the Central Coast showed enough to suggest that they can be a force in this year’s competition, particularly if they can avoid defeat at Kashiwa’s atmospheric Hitachi Stadium next time around.
It’s ironic that there was plenty of neutral interest in how the Mariners fared against Suwon because the Central Coast will find themselves in the odd position of virtually being the away team in their own stadium for Saturday night’s showdown against the Western Sydney Wanderers.
The number of away fans expected to travel to Bluetongue Stadium on Saturday night appears to be unprecedented, although we shouldn’t get too carried with the predicted turn-out before it actually occurs.
And of course it wouldn’t be a Mariners home game if the notoriously unhelpful Cityrail hadn’t scheduled track work for the evening, so there may at least be some fans put off by the prospect of travelling up the motorway from western Sydney to the picturesque boutique venue.
There’s another interesting subplot in what is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated games of the season, featuring the tactical ingenuity of coaches Graham Arnold and Tony Popovic.
The Mariners have been by far the most exciting attacking team in the league of late and their 6-2 destruction of Melbourne Victory last time out goes down as perhaps the most impressive performance of the season to date.
They’ll come up against a Wanderers side which based its decent early-season form on a stingy defence but which has played a more expansive brand of football in more times.
There’s no doubt the signing of Japanese playmaker Shinji Ono has proved a masterstroke for the Wanderers but in Aaron Mooy, Youssouf Hersi and a rejuvenated Mark Bridge, Western Sydney possess plenty other attacking weapons alongside the former Japan international.
The top-of-the-table Saturday night showdown virtually overshadows every other fixture this weekend, although there’s an important clash at AAMI Park on Sunday when an out-of-form Victory host the upwardly mobile Newcastle Jets.
The Jets may be somewhat fatigued having just beaten Wellington Phoenix on Wednesday night while sadly for the A-League, the mercurial Ryan Griffiths has departed for Chinese second division club Beijing Baxy.
But if the Jets can continue Victory’s recent run of poor form, they’ll take a major step towards shoring up a finals place, even if Newcastle coach Gary van Egmond has already suggested he’ll rest veteran strikers Emile Heskey and Michael Bridges.
There’s no denying though that all eyes will be on Gosford though, for what promises to be an exhilarating spectacle.
The A-League has been building momentum and is on a real roll as of late, but the big question is whether it will be the Mariners or the Wanderers who take advantage in front of a boisterous crowd on Saturday night.
So the Mariners enter the second leg of their A-League semi-final against the Sky Blues in the box seat and the Phoenix hold home-ground…
It will be a bumper occasion, there will not be a spare seat in the house and of course, Sydney FC could well produce a miracle with their backs against the wall.
The Sky Blues took the lead at home but couldn't hold on as the Mariners came back to claim a 2-1 win in the first leg of the semifinal.
Just four teams remain in the hunt for the 2023/24 A-League Championship and the action will be intense in the opening legs of the…
Cameron Burgess scored the winner to confirm Ipswich’s status as a Premier League club.
In a statement weekend, Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory made significant ones in advancing to the final four of the A-League finals. Now, most…
