CENTRAL Coast Mariners Head Coach Graham Arnold says his squad is flush with confidence heading into Sunday’s Bluetongue Stadium showdown with Rado Vidosic’s Brisbane Roar.
CENTRAL Coast Mariners Head Coach Graham Arnold says his squad is flush with confidence heading into Sunday-s Bluetongue Stadium showdown with Rado Vidosic-s Brisbane Roar.
Arnold led his men through their final training run at Gosford-s idyllic bayside arena on Saturday morning, and prior to the session said that his team is raring to go having remained undefeated in Australia-s top flight for over a month.
The Mariners- four match unbeaten streak includes impressive, albeit narrow away wins over Melbourne Heart and Wellington Phoenix, as well as a 7-2 annihilation of Sydney FC at Bluetongue Stadium in early November.
And down to ten men for all but five minutes of the second half in last weekend-s classic 2-all encounter with Melbourne Victory at Etihad Stadium, Arnold-s team fought bravely to ensure they returned to the New South Wales Central Coast with their unbeaten run intact.
“We-re very confident at the moment,” Arnold said. “We-ve put in some good performances of late. Last week against Melbourne Victory was a fantastic effort.”
“The key is that we go out there with good strong belief and confidence in our own ability and our own structures. Brisbane are a very, very good side. They-ve shown that in the last two years so we have to be on our game tomorrow night.”
Indeed, Arnold believes all the ingredients exist for yet another Bluetongue Stadium belter when kick-off arrives on the banks of the Brisbane Water at 5pm on Sunday afternoon.
A healthy crowd is expected to turn out for the Hyundai A-League-s only round 8 Sunday fixture, while the rivalry that Mariners and Roar have developed over the past few seasons only serves to strengthen the anticipation and excitement attached to the match.
“I expect it to be a cracker of a game,” he said. “In the past two years since I-ve been here at the club our rivalry against Brisbane has been a good one.
“We-ve had some wonderful games in the last two years and the fact that we-re here at Bluetongue tomorrow and hopefully a good crowd will come along and see the game, we-re very confident of getting the right result.”
Arnold added that while he is cognisant of Roar-s strengths, his side would remain focussed on playing their own game as they attempt to secure their third win from as many games at Bluetongue Stadium this campaign.
“We-ll make sure that we try to nullify them, but in possession we-ll have our own confidence and belief to do what we want to do.”
“Our strength is the team ethic rather than the individual,” he said.
Central Coast Mariners Squad: 1. Mathew Ryan (Gk), 2. Daniel McBreen, 3. Joshua Rose, 4. Pedj Bojic, 5. Zachary Anderson, 7. John Hutchinson (c), 8. Adriano Pellegrino, 9. Bernie Ibini, 10. Tomas Rogic, 11. Oliver Bozanic, 13. Brent Griffiths, 14. Michael McGlinchey, 15. Brad McDonald, 16. Trent Sainsbury, 17. Anthony Caceres, 18. Nick Montgomery, 19. Mitchell Duke, 20. Justin Pasfield (Gk), 21. Mile Sterjovski, 23. Adam Kwasnik *Five to be omitted*
Ins: 11. Oliver Bozanic, 13. Brent Griffiths, 15. Brad McDonald, 17. Anthony Caceres, 19. Mitchell Duke, 23. Adam Kwasnik (all promoted)
Outs: 6. Patrick Zwaanswijk (suspended – 1 week)
Unavailable: 22. James Oates (ankle – 2 months)
Brisbane Roar Squad: 1. Michael Theo (Gk), 2. Matt Smith (c), 3. Shane Stefanutto, 4. Matt Jurman, 5. Ivan Franjic, 6. Erik Paartalu, 7. Besart Berisha, 8. Massimo Murdocca, 10. Henrique, 11. Ben Halloran, 13. Yuji Takahashi, 14. Rocky Visconte, 16. Do Dong-Hyun, 17. Mitch Nichols, 18. Luke Brattan, 19. Jack Hingert, 20. Matt Acton (Gk), 22. Thomas Broich, 24. Nick Fitzgerald *Four to be omitted*
Ins: 14. Rocky Visconte (promoted), 16. Do Dong-Hyun (promoted), 17. Mitch Nichols (returns from injury), 13. Yuji Takahashi (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: Nil
Central Coast Mariners vs. Brisbane Roar – 2012/13 Hyundai A-League Round 8
Sunday 25 November, 2012
Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
Kick-off: 5:00pm (local)
Tickets: Please CLICK HERE to purchase tickets to the match
Twitter: Join the match conversation on Twitter! The official match hash-tag for Sunday-s game is #CCMvROAR
Referee: Chris Beath
Television: LIVE on Fox Sports 1
Radio: LIVE on 96.3FM Coast FM; Updates on ABC Radio
