The Central Coast Mariners are looking to get their season back on course as they welcome Sydney FC to Gosford on Saturday.
Tony Walmsley’s side started the new season with an impressive 3-2 win over Perth Glory, but subsequent defeats against Brisbane Roar and Melbourne City have raised concerns over the club’s new attacking philosophy.
The Mariners were thoroughly outplayed by the Roar in round two and were put away by a more clinical Melbourne City, often finding themselves left undermanned in defence and vulnerable on the counter.
Sydney FC will enter the fixture in good spirits after a late victory in the Sydney derby thanks to new signing Milos Ninkovic. The result has moved the Sky Blues to the top of the table, but there is still clearly room for improvement. The Wanderers enjoyed the majority of chances, but a lack of quality finishing allowed Graham Arnold’s side to snatch the points.
Last season’s clashes had the added spice of being Graham Arnold’s first games against his former club, and although that particular enmity has softened, this game will mark the return of both Zac Anderson and Matt Simon to Central Coast Stadium for the very first time.
Key Battle – Brandon O’Neill vs Anthony Caceres
O’Neill has certainly been the surprise package of the opening rounds for Sydney FC after joining from Perth Glory last season. The 21-year-old has offered a dynamic presence in central midfield and produced a perfectly weighted pass over the defence to set up Milos Ninkovic for the winner in last weekend’s Sydney derby. Last season’s grand final saw Mickael Tavares and Milos Dimitrijevic get overrun by the more mobile Victory midfield, and O’Neill’s arrival has helped address that shortcoming.
Anthony Caceres has shown flashes of brilliance this season, but thus far hasn’t produced the game-changing performances someone of his ability is capable of. The 23-year-old has moved into a slightly more different role this season than last, but each week has shown further adjustment to the new system of play. The biggest part missing from Caceres’ game is goals – three in the past two seasons is not the best return for an attacking midfielder – but with the club’s new gung-ho style of football that drought will be over sooner rather than later.
Team News
Tony Walmsley will have his defensive options boosted by the return of both Jacob Poscoliero and Eddy Bosnar from injury. Bosnar has not played any minutes in the league this season, but could be used as an experienced presence beside the likes of Jake McGing, Jacob Poscoliero and Harry Ascroft to stem the tide of goals conceded. Walmsley will likely keep his faith in the same midfield and forward line from the first three rounds of the season.
Graham Arnold also has essentially a full complement of players to pick from, with only Ali Abbas unavailable. Youngsters Chris Naumoff and George Blackwood were added to this week’s squad, giving the Sky Blues some added options in attack after only producing four shots on goal in last weekend’s Sydney derby. Arnold will likely continue with Shane Smeltz as lead striker, but could shake things up from the bench if necessary.
Head-to-head
The record between these sides is remarkably close, but Sydney slightly edge it with 13 wins to the Mariners’ 11. However, that record only moved in the Sky Blues’ favour after completing a clean sweep of wins last season, the first time they had ever done so. From the 31 matches between these sides, seven have ended in draws.
Previous Meeting
Sydney FC 4 Central Coast Mariners 2, Allianz Stadium, February 21, 2015.
In one of the first matches under Tony Walmsley, a proactive approach from the Mariners saw them take a 2-1 lead after Fabio Ferreira’s brace eclipsed an early goal from Marc Janko. However the Central Coast defence wilted in the closing stages, conceding three goals in the final 22 minutes.
[interaction id=”563212e5afdd55437ce3f388″]Prediction
Like every Mariners game so far this season, this will no doubt be a high-scoring fixture. Although Sydney FC struggled to threaten the Wanderers goal regularly last week, the defensive vulnerabilities of the home side should see them find the back of the net more than once. However, the home side have scored in every match this season and should be able to match it with Arnold’s men.
Central Coast Mariners 2 Sydney FC 2
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