The Central Coast Mariners are full of confidence after the side’s second consecutive win over Adelaide United and Paul Okon has named his provisional squad for Sunday’s clash with the Western Sydney Wanderers.
Tony Popovic’s Wanderers prove a tough proposition for any team in the Hyundai A-League especially with the red and black looking to carry on their momentum after a convincing win over Wellington Phoenix.
Spoilt for pace out wide, there seems to be tough decisions every week for Okon in the front third and Kwabena Appiah now makes that job even harder after scoring off the bench and having an immediate impact on the right wing, resulting in an eventual match winner.
With Fabio Ferreira now settling into his role as a ‘number 10’ Okon’s options on the flanks are between Appiah, Connor Pain & Trent Buhagiar who have all made headlines for themselves this season with a number of impressive performances.
Another two players who have been outstanding in their new positions are Liam Rose as a central defender and Jake McGing as a central midfielder who have more-or-less switched roles with great success. Match that with the return of a defensive workhorse in Jacob Poscoliero and you start to see how the Mariners have turned two top performances in their first back-to-back wins under Okon’s tenure
Central Coast Mariners Squad: 1.Ivan NECEVSKI (gk), 2.Storm ROUX, 3.Scott GALLOWAY, 4.Jacob POSCOLIERO, 5.Harry ASCROFT, 6.Blake POWELL, 7.Fabio FERREIRA, 8.Nick MONTGOMERY (c), 9.Roy O’DONOVAN, 11.Connor PAIN, 12.Trent BUHAGIAR, 13.Kwabena APPIAH, 14.Adam BERRY, 16.Liam ROSE, 17.Josh BINGHAM, 20.Paul IZZO (gk), 22.Jake McGING
***Two to be omitted***
Ins: 21.Michael NEILL (promoted) 6.Blake POWELL (return from injury)
Outs: nil
Unavailable: 10.Mickael TAVARES (ankle injury – indefinite), 19.Jacques FATY (hamstring – 1 week), 23.Jake ADELSON (ACL – indefinite)
Match Details
Hyundai A-League 2016/17 – Round 19
Sunday 12 February 2017
Western Sydney Wanderers vs. Central Coast Mariners
Venue: Spotless Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park
kick-off: 5:00pm (AEDT)
Official hash-tags: #WSWvCCM & #CCMFC
TV Broadcast: Fox Sports 505
Radio Broadcast: 96.3 Coast FM & 92.5 ABC Central Coast
