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The A-League resumes this weekend with one of its headline fixtures, when Central Coast Mariners host Sydney FC, with both sides fighting to revive their flagging finals hopes. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7:15pm AEDT.
Most, if not all sides in the A-League have used this unprecedented month-long adjournment to the season to work on combinations and structures that can propel them to challenging at season’s end.
Read this as especially true for both the Mariners and Sydney FC.
While the Gosford club and Phil Moss can point to only 2 wins from 14 as sufficient reason to go hammer and tong in the training ground, Sydney FC fared little better prior to the break.
Having last won on November 22 away at Melbourne City, the Sky Blues have accumulated only four points from their last seven games. Despite this, Sydney FC still remain in fifth spot and in finals contention. The good news for both sides is that the form line now counts for little, as it can feel like a new campaign – starting from Saturday evening.
For the Mariners, the advantage lies clearly at home, where Sydney FC have only won once at Bluetongue Stadium. Further than this lies in the presence of Nick Montgomery – fresh from signing a new two-year deal – who returns from injury alongside striker Matt Simon. The Mariners have dearly missed their talisman up front, as they’ve had to make do with the promising but unfulfilled potential in Mitchell Duke. Simon’s return may yet inspire the best from the Mariners’ number 9.
Another interesting prospect is to see how Phil Moss shapes his team, as well as the personnel. While conceding 21 goals is a concern, the bigger test will be to improve the goal-to-games ratio. The return of Simon should assist this.
For Graham Arnold, the challenge during the January break would have been to console and assure his team the season does not need to slide further. After a very bright start to the season, the Sky Blues have themselves had their own worries in attack, with the last two games finishing as scoreless draws. The early momentum generated by Marc Janko dissipated largely at the back end of December, and is desperately required to regain momentum.
A NSW derby never lacks interest, and both teams can feel optimistic at the opportunity that lies ahead. Yet in the cauldron that is Bluetongue, it would be brave to tip against the Mariners from notching a third win this season.
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