Central Coast coach Tony Walmsley is looking to his youth ahead of this weekend’s encounter with Melbourne City.
Indicating to the media that star import Luis Garcia will be starting the game on the bench, 17-year-old Trent Buhagiar may be given an opportunity to complete the Mariners’ attacking setup.
“We are tempted to sort of throw [Mitch] Austin, Buhagiar and Fab [Fabio Ferreira] into a three-pronged pacey forward line…and see how they cope with that onslaught,” said Walmsley.
There was no worry from the coach about the age and experience of the Gosford native, who has starred for the Central Coast youth team since being officially signed at the beginning of January.
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“He’s definitely up for it,” claimed Walmsley.
“You don’t know how ready they are until they are thrown out there into the cauldron.
“Trent’s not the loudest kid…he wins the silence contest at the moment within the group, but underneath that quiet, shy exterior is a hungry player.”
The Mariners will also come up against one of their former club heroes in the form of Alex Wilkinson, who is likely to continue his starting role at new home Melbourne City.
With the centre-backs reputation and price tag growing since his 170+ games at Central Coast, Walmsley’s men will look to deny Wilkinson a first win back in the A-League.
“He made his debut last week and was a bit rusty…at least we are playing Wilko when he’s not in 100% peak form.
“We want to put him under a lot of pressure.”
City host the Mariners on Sunday with kick-off at 4:30pm
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