It’s #F3Derby time on Saturday as the Mariners head up the motorway to face the Jets in the 52nd edition of the A-League’s original derby.
The Mariners will be aiming to take back second place after Macarthur’s win on Friday moved them back up and will be on a short turnaround following Wednesday’s goalless draw in Brisbane.
The last meeting between the teams was in the first week of the season, as the Mariners got the campaign off to a strong start with a 1-0 win in Gosford.
Marco Urena is welcomed back to the Mariners squad this weekend having missed games against Melbourne Victory and Brisbane Roar through suspension, and will importantly be a fresh set of legs for the team as they kick off just 72 hours after doing so in Redcliffe.
The visitors will however be without Daniel DeSilva as he battles a toe ailment that kept him out of Wednesday’s game as well.
Newcastle have added both John Koutroumbis and Ramy Najjarine into the fold after they missed time but will still be without Ben Kantarovski, Tete Yengi and Syahrian Abimanyu.
The Jets have struggled and are winless since February but speaking post-match in Brisbane Alen Stajcic refused to be drawn into writing them off.
“I’m just confident that we’ll put in a good performance, after that the rest will take care of itself,” he said.
He loves an #F3Derby. #CCMFC #WontBackDown pic.twitter.com/XkZfj8xQu1
— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners) May 14, 2021
“Victory, Newcastle, they might be down the bottom but they’re not easy games. Newcastle could have snatched the winner against Sydney last week in the last couple of minutes.”
“I don’t go there underestimating anyone, we know how hard this league is, it’s so tough.
“We’ve only won one in the last whatever but if you have a look through the whole league, most of the league has done that.”
“Most of the middle teams have had one or two wins in the last seven or eight games because it’s just so tight, so tough and every three points is precious.”
“I am confident we can win but the thing I’m most confident about is that we’ll see 100% effort from the team.”
With the race for the top six almost tighter than ever, points are too valuable for the Mariners as they enter the final five games of the season, and midfielder Josh Nisbet said despite pressure the team are enjoying being a part of it.
“The boys are loving it, they sort of like the pressure that comes with it and the performances you need to provide in order to keep in the finals,” he said.
“With it being so tight we know that we need to perform, and it’s good watching the other games too because everyone is on edge.”
Squads |
Newcastle Jets squad: 1.Lewis ITALIANO (gk), 2.Johnny KOUTROUMBIS, 3.Jason HOFFMAN, 4.Nigel BOOGAARD, 7 Jordan O’DOHERTY, 8.Liridon KRASNIQI, 9.Roy O’DONOVAN, 11.Ramy NAJJARINE, 14.Ali ABBAS, 16.Matt MILLAR, 17.Valentino YUEL, 19.Kosta PETRATOS, 21.Luka PRŠO, 22.Lachlan JACKSON, 23.Jack DUNCAN (gk), 24.Connor O’TOOLE, 27.Lucas MAURAGIS, 32.Angus THURGATE, 33.Apostolos STAMATELOPOULOS, 44.Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY (c)
**2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 2.Johnny KOUTROUMBIS (returns from back injury), 11.Ramy NAJJARINE (returns from ankle injury)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 5.Ben KANTAROVKSI (calf – season), 15.Tete YENGI (Foot – 2-3 weeks), 20. Syahrian ABIMANYU (National duty)
Central Coast Mariners squad: 1.Mark BIRIGHITTI (gk), 3.Lewis MILLER, 4.Joshua NISBET, 5.Stefan NIGRO, 6.Gianni STENSNESS, 7.Stefan JANKOVIC, 8.Oliver BOZANIC (c), 11.Jack CLISBY, 12.Marco UREÑA,14.Daniel BOUMAN, 15.Kye ROWLES, 19.Matt SIMON, 20.Adam PEARCE (gk), 21.Ruon TONGYIK, 22.Michal JANOTA, 23.Dan HALL, 25.Matthew HATCH, 26.Jaden CASELLA, 29.Alou KUOL, 30.Jordan SMYLIE
**2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 7.Stefan Jankovic (Promoted), 12.Marco UREÑA (Return from Suspension)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: Nil
Game Details |
Saturday, 15 May 2021
Newcastle Jets v Central Coast Mariners
McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
Kick-Off: 7:10pm (Local)(7:10pm (AEST))
Referee: Jonathan Barreiro
Assistant Referee 1: Lance Greenshields
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Powers
Fourth Official: Stephen Lucas
VAR: Chris Beath
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on FOX SPORTS 505 from 7:00pm (AEST), Sky Sport 7 (New Zealand), Kayo Sports (www.kayosports.com.au) and MyFootball Live App, Live Fast and Data Free for Telstra mobile customers
Radio Broadcast: COAST FM 96.3
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #NEWvCCM
To purchase tickets visit www.a-league.com.au/tickets
