After a positive performance that saw Andrew Hoole bag a goal and an assist against Adelaide United, the exciting attacker says it’s time to repay the faith of the fans on Friday night at Central Coast Stadium.
Addressing media after the team’s training session on Wednesday, Hoole spoke about the team’s hunger to climb up the Hyundai A-League ladder which starts with a win over Wellington at home on Friday night.
The man who earned himself a place in the Hyundai A-League team of the week says that the Mariners have been their own worst enemy this season.
“It was good to help the team with a couple of goals,” Hoole said. “We got off to a good start to the match and got the second goal just after half time but we sort of fell into a hole in the second half.
“They came at us and created a lot of chances, lots of corners and I think the goals were our own mistakes so we need to fix that and make sure on Friday we don’t make those errors.
“In key moments of the game we need to be better. We let them back into the game with two sloppy goals, there aren’t any problems within the team – we just seem to switch off in those key moments and if we do that, we get punished for it,” Hoole said.
The purrrfect partnership? ?
Antony Golec has signed on as an Adoption Advocate for @RSPCA & is spreading the word about their 'Clear the Shelters' initiative. You can adopt an animal this weekend for just !
? https://t.co/uOa81GlHnX#ALeague #CCMFC pic.twitter.com/u0mcppNw8l
— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners) February 20, 2018
Leading into Friday night’s critical match up against 10th placed Wellington Phoenix, Hoole said the team is focusing on one thing, that’s three points.
“We need to get three points this Friday – it’s as simple as that,” Hoole said. “We don’t want to look too far ahead but at this point in time we need to focus on winning every game because if that’s not our focus we will end up down the bottom of the table
“It’s a shorter week this week with the game being on Friday but we will make sure we work on things tactically, but we’re really looking forward to getting back home on Friday.
“It will be a hard game. They are coming off the back of a 2-1 win over Perth so we’re expecting a tough match. They are behind us, they definitely don’t want to lose the game but our focus is all on us and making sure we get those three points,” Hoole said.
Round up your team for Friday Night Football & WIN!
Team tickets are per person and you could kick-off your local season by winning 0 for the team kitty! ?
Team tickets: https://t.co/7n6GbIOQVD#CCMvWEL #ALeague pic.twitter.com/lKEoa31UYy
— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners) February 20, 2018
Friday is the Mariners’ first home game since February 4 and Hoole says one of the key motivators is repaying the fans’ unwavering support this season.
“It’s great to be back at home because owe the fans,” Hoole said. “We started off the season really well but results wise it hasn’t been easy going in recent times. This week we are fully focussed on three points and really giving our fans something to cheer about at Central Coast Stadium,” Hoole said.
Match Details
Friday, 23 February 2018
Hyundai A-League Round 21
Match: Central Coast Mariners vs. Wellington Phoenix
Venue: Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
Kick-off: 7:50pm (AEDT)
Team Tickets: CLICK HERE
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA 501
Hash-tag: Join the match conversation using #CCMvWEL & #CCMFC
