SPORT is full of clichés! But there is no hiding from this one – tomorrow night’s clash with Sydney FC at Bluetongue Stadium is the sort of game you want to be involved in.
SPORT is full of clichés!
But there is no hiding from this one – tomorrow night-s clash with Sydney FC at Bluetongue Stadium is the sort of game you want to be involved in.
Italian World Cup winner Alessandro Del Piero comes to town with his Sky Blues team-mates to visit what many are predicting will be a sold out Bluetongue Stadium.
The last big crowd we had at a home game was just under 15,000 on New Year-s Eve last but the pre-sold tickets this week are more than double what they were before that one.
So how do you prepare for such a game?
Exactly the same way you do for every game – meticulously and thoroughly.
The one thing coach Graham Arnold can probably leave out this week is motivational speeches as anyone needing that this week shouldn-t be playing football.
What-s at stake tomorrow night?
Three points, just as there was last week against Melbourne Heart and just as there will be next week against Wellington.
So from our point of view, it-s business as usual (there-s another cliché for you).
We have come up against marquee players in the past and we will again no doubt and as always they should be treated like any other player on the field.
The difference with Del Piero is at the turnstiles and that is where he has already paid Sydney FC back for the fortune they coughed up to get him on a plane from Italy to the harbor city.
That is where a true marquee makes the difference to start with and then of course he must back it up on the field – which so far he has done it must be said.
It goes without saying that Sydney FC coach Ian Crook – a great friend of ‘Arnie- and mine – will send his troops out on to Bluetongue as favourites.
It-s a challenge we are relishing!
Among the biggest clubs in the land, they spend more on two players – Del Piero and fellow marquee Brett Emerton – than we do on our entire squad. And, let-s not forget they have a third marquee in Nicky Carle, who is on loan in the Middle East.
That said, we head into this Round 5 clash with plenty of confidence after securing a fantastic 1-0 victory over a stubborn Melbourne Heart last weekend and the players have trained the house down this week.
The return from injury of Ollie Bozanic and Adam Kwasnik is all but complete now with both starting to apply real pressure to the starting XI and that is also keeping everyone on their toes.
As always we will be looking to our defensive structure to lay the platform for another home win to keep “Fortress Bluetongue” intact for only our second home game of the season before yet another fortnight on the road (Wellington and Melbourne Victory).
It promises to be a special Saturday night in Gosford – don-t miss it!
Kick off is at 7.30pm.
Central Coast Mariners vs. Sydney FC
Saturday 3 November, 2012; Kick-off: 7:30pm (local)
Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
Tickets: Please CLICK HERE to purchase tickets to the match.
Twitter: Get involved with the match conversation on Twitter! The official match hash tag is #CCMvSYD
