Tonight the Central Coast Mariners will take on Guangzhou R&F at Central Coast Stadium and our boys need your support in their quest to take on Asia’s best. Kick-off is 7:30pm and tickets are just $10
Central Coast Mariners Goalkeeper Liam Reddy called upon the fans, members and wider community to show up in numbers at The Fortress.
“As players nothing beats playing at home but obviously when you’ve got a big support at home it does help us and gives us a twelfth man” Reddy said.
“So hopefully the community will get behind the game tonight and get out and support us, it’s fantastic to play and represent Australia in this competition and we want to do that this year,” Reddy said.
The Mariners are hoping to become the first Hyundai A-League team to qualify for the AFC Champions League Group Stage five times, but first they must overcome a quality Guangzhou R&F squad.
Their playing roster includes new recruit Michel, who recently joined R&F from Spanish side Valencia; Moroccan international striker Abderazak Hamdallah; as well as China’s Jiang Zhepeng and South Korean Jang Hyun-Soo, who both featured for their countries in the recent AFC Asian Cup.
There was significant interest generated around this year’s AFC Asian Cup and with Central Coast Mariners, Brisbane Roar and Western Sydney Wanderers all competing in Asia’s premier club competition, this is the next chance for football fans to get their Asian football fix.
Mariners’ trivia buffs should also recognise the connection between the Central Coast based club and Guangzhou R&F through current defender, Eddy Bosnar who had a stint with the “blue lions” in 2013, whilst former Mariner Rostyn Griffiths transferred from Gosford for Guangzhou in 2012.
Central Coast Mariners Head coach Phil Moss believes the Mariners have what it takes to get past the Chinese outfit and highlighted the importance of playing in front of a home crowd.
“We’ve got to make the most of that advantage, this is our home ground and we have to take the initiative tomorrow night” Moss said.
“Games like this bring the best out of our players, we like the big games,” Moss said.
Moss noted the Socceroos’ recent success in the AFC Asian cup as well as Western Sydney Wanderers’ Asian triumph in the competition’s last instalment have created a different vibe around the competition, which will drive the interest of fans who are hungry for high quality football.
“I think Western Sydney winning the ACL certainly has widened everyone’s eyes to the potential of the ACL. There is a buzz around the ACL and obviously the Asian Cup has helped with that as well” Moss said,” Moss said.
Victory will ensure the Mariners a spot in Group F of the club competition, alongside 2008 AFC Champions League winners Gamba Osaka (Japan), Seongnam FC (South Korea) and Buriram United (Thailand).
Tuesday 17 February 2015
Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
- Kick-off: 7.30pm
- Gates open: 6.30pm
- Tickets: Please CLICK HERE to purchase tickets to the match
- Twitter: Join the match conversation on Twitter with @CCMariners
- Watch: Live on FOX SPORTS 4
