Central Coast Mariners captain Alex Wilkinson admits the home dressing room was a subdued place after full time last night, despite a 1-nil win over North Queensland Fury helping the side into third place on the Hyundai A-League ladder.
Central Coast Mariners captain Alex Wilkinson admits the home dressing room was a subdued place after full time last night, despite a 1-nil win over North Queensland Fury helping the side into third place on the Hyundai A-League ladder.
The win means the Mariners could move to within a point of second place, and with two games in hand over Adelaide United, if they can prevail over the second placed Reds in a mammoth Boxing Day encounter.
Wilkinson has promised fans the Mariners are desperate to put on a more entertaining and free flowing style of Football in Sunday-s top-of-the-table clash.
“It-s a sign of a good team if you can not play well and still win games it-s a good thing. The boys came into the dressing rooms pretty disappointed last night. It shows how much we expect of each other that we still won but were still disappointed.
“It was important last night to get our first of five home games off to a good start and the main thing was that we came out of the game with three points.
“It probably wasn-t one of our more polished performances, but at the end of the day it-s three points and it sets us up nicely with Adelaide losing last night and us winning it-s a big game on Sunday for us,” said Wilkinson.
The Mariners face an Adelaide side coming off the back of a 4-2 loss to Perth Glory last night, and with Robert Cornthwaite suspended following his send off in that match, it opens the door for a familiar face to come into the starting lineup. Former Mariners defender Nigel Boogaard expected to start against his ex-club, after returning from injury off the bench.
“They had a bit of trouble last night with suspensions and obviously Boogs will be coming back in now so it will be good to see him getting some game time now because he-s had a couple of injuries this year so that-s great but hopefully there are a few frailties there at the back that we can exploit,” Wilkinson said.
The Mariners have lost just twice at Bluetongue Stadium so far this season, a ground Head Coach Graham Arnold has vowed to turn into a “fortress” in 2010/11, and Wilkinson is under no illusions as to just how important Sunday-s clash will be in the context of the season, as the Mariners chase a top two finish.
“It-s a massive game. It will set us up with another three home games in a row after that. If we can get a few more wins or results at home in a row it-s going to set ourselves up for a great run from the middle of January until the end of the season,” said Wilkinson.
While many of us may be feasting on Turkey and Christmas Pudding on Saturday, the Mariners will make a sacrifice in the name of performance, as they replace festive food with an intense training session late on Christmas afternoon.
“You have to train the day before a game and just because it-s Christmas Day you can-t change. Everyone from the outside thinks ‘wow, you train Christmas Day- but it-s part of the job and what can you do,” Wilkinson said.
Almost six-thousand fans were on hand to cheer the Mariners home to their first win of the “Feast of Festive Football” last night, and Wilkinson hopes to see that figure continue to grow over the next four home matches, beginning of course on Boxing Day.
“This time of year tends to be our most successful with crowds. Boxing Day is a day off for everyone so they can bring the families out and then follow that up with New Year which is a great family event so looking to get a great crowd for those two games,” said Wilkinson.
The Central Coast Mariners next match of the Hyundai A-League 2010/11 season will be against Adelaide United this Sunday, 26 December at Bluetongue Stadium. Kick-off is at 5:00pm AEDT and tickets are available by CLICKING HERE or by phoning 132 849.
Mariners five match Memberships are a great way to save and catch every minute of the Mariners- feast of Festive Football this summer. To purchase CLICK HERE or call 1300 767 442.
