A TRADEMARK of the Central Coast Mariners in recent seasons has been the teams’ ability to bounce back following a poor performance.
A TRADEMARK of the Central Coast Mariners in recent seasons has been the teams- ability to bounce back following a poor performance.
Head Coach Graham Arnold will be looking for the players to demonstrate that capacity once more on Tuesday evening when we host Chinese Super League side Tianjin Teda at Bluetongue Stadium in the AFC Champions League.
Our 5-0 defeat to Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma in Korea on matchday 4 of the competition was one of the lowlights of our season. Make no mistake, the players are not proud of that result and are champing at the bit to get back on the field and prove to the millions of football fans who follow Asia-s premier club competition what they truly are capable of.
Indeed, we are still very much alive in Asia-s equivalent to the UEFA Champions League. In fact, should we triumph against Josip Kuze-s Tianjin team on Tuesday – which we believe we can – we will travel to Japan for our final Group G match with our chance to progress to the knockout phase of the competition in our own hands.
Success against Teda on our home patch would also create a piece of history for our Club, and add another highlight to what has been a memorable season. In two participations in the AFC Champions League (2009 & 2012) we have yet to win a match, so it is a challenge but also an opportunity for the players to forever etch their names into the pages of Mariners history.
While we as the playing and coaching group have the opportunity to directly secure the win, you as the fans have the power to influence it. I-ve written many times in this very column about the boost the players receive when they are given the support they warrant at our home matches.
Naturally, we hope to see as many supporters clad in yellow and navy in the stands as possible on Tuesday evening (kick-off is 7:30pm).
Our season is not over yet!
