He scored five goals in a seven-match stint in the West, but now Central Coast Mariners striker Daniel McBreen is keen for a reversal of roles against his former club Perth Glory, in the second leg of Saturday’s historic Hyundai A-League double-header at the Sydney Football Stadium.
He scored five goals in a seven-match stint in the West, but now Central Coast Mariners striker Daniel McBreen is keen for a reversal of roles against his former club Perth Glory, in the second leg of Saturday-s historic Hyundai A-League double-header at the Sydney Football Stadium.
McBreen was handed a lifeline by the Glory after being cast aside by North Queensland Fury midway through last season, and he says while he appreciated his time in Perth, he would love nothing more than to help his current side return to the winners circle.
“I enjoyed my time over there and everyone knows that. Obviously I got a few goals but they-re having a bad run so hopefully we can continue that for them,” said McBreen.
The Glory have now gone six games without picking up a solitary point, their latest defeat a 3-nil loss at the hands of Sydney FC. Their captain, Jacob Burns will miss Saturday-s clash through suspension, but McBreen is expecting Ian Ferguson-s side to be desperate to restore some pride.
“They-ll be down a bit but you-re always wary when a team has a long losing streak because they-re more hungry to get that monkey off their back. I think they-ll come out fired up, and I know what Fergie is like, he-ll be on top of them to have a good result, so it should be a tough game.
“It-s catch 22, if they lose again are they down and can you keep them down, but if they won maybe they would have relaxed a little bit. I know they-ll be working hard over there, they-ll be pretty intense, and it will be a tough one,” said McBreen.
Ian Ferguson is just two games in to his reign as Perth Head Coach, and is a man familiar to McBreen, the pair working together at North Queensland, alongside a former English Premier League star who goes by the name of Robbie Fowler.
“Fowler-s overweight so he won-t be much trouble!” Laughed McBreen.
“No, he-s a great player so he-ll be a danger in any game he plays, his finishing is quality and he-s a good leader as well so he-ll be a danger on the field, while Fergie will want everyone to work hard, work as a team, and he-ll expect nothing less than 100% from them,” McBreen said.
The Mariners are of course coming off the back of a 2-nil loss to Brisbane Roar, their only match in a barren 28 day period punctuated by Hyundai A-League byes and a FIFA International break, and McBreen admits while there were some cobwebs last Wednesday night at Suncorp Stadium, the side is desperate to dust them off and produce a more polished performance this Saturday at the Sydney Football Stadium.
“I thought we were a little bit slow to get out of the blocks. Brisbane is a great team and they moved the ball around well, their midfield moved around well. We found it hard to get into the game, there was a bit of rustyness there and we didn-t keep the ball when we did have it, so it didn-t help but we-ve addressed the situation and hopefully we can improve on that.
“Arnie-s been into us this week since that game, and he-s been on top of us to get that out of our system and keep us pretty fresh so hopefully that won-t happen again,” said McBreen.
Mariners Members and supporters have a great opportunity to cheer their side to victory this Saturday at the SFS, where they can enjoy two Hyundai A-League clashes for the price of one, and are able to take advantage of exclusive Mariners supporter bays, located in bays 38 and 39, a prime position on the Eastern touchline.
“With the added bonus of being double header they get two games in there so hopefully they can come down and give us the support, and we can do the job,” said McBreen.
