Mariners Head Coach Alen Stajcic said on Monday that Friday’s loss to Adelaide United is firmly behind the team as they now begin preparations to face Perth on the road next Tuesday.
The Mariners will take on Perth at HBF Park in the first of five March A-League fixtures, including three at home, and Stajcic insisted there is no point in being hung up on the decisions that went against his side in the controversial clash.
“You’re always angry on the night, but by the time the clock strikes midnight you’ve got to focus on the next game,” he said on Monday.
We're excited to announce that our annual Pink Round will return for it's 9th year, when we take on Macarthur in our next @ALeague home game. #CCMFC #WontBackDown #PinkRound
Details ??— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners) February 22, 2021
“Obviously we’ll review the game but you can’t focus on the emotion in a post-match, you’ve got to focus on what you can do to get some improvements in the team for the next game, and not worry about the controversy and all that kind of stuff.”
“[We’ve] really got to focus on ourselves and what we can improve with or without the ball.”
Danny DeSilva and Alou Kuol scored on the evening with their third and sixth goals of the season respectively, but the boss said the attacking output was far from the Mariners best on a below par night.
“To be honest looking at ourselves and things we should have done better, the game should have been buried before any controversial decisions could have had an impact in the game,” he said.
“It probably wasn’t our best football or more fluent football we played all year and probably wasn’t our best defensive structure as well.
“We didn’t give them many opportunities, but we allowed them to control the game, but there were certainly a lot more finishes where I thought we should have done better and finished the game off.”
“That part is in our control and that’s the part we have to do better in for the game against Perth.”
The Glory will play Brisbane on Friday night as they return to action having not played since the 5th of February and having played only five games, they have more in hand than anyone in the league.
Their blistering array of attacking weapons has them averaging three goals a game so far, and Staj was quick to point out their plethora of talent will make them a tough side to beat, particularly away from home.
“[They are] such a solid team,” he said.
“I think they’ve just got another experienced overseas defender who has come in as well, so they’re a good team, probably the most potent attacking force in the league, and [they have] depth off the bench.”
“When you look at D’Agostino, Keogh, Castro, Fornaroli, still got Ikonimidis to come back in at some stage, so they’re four or five players that any club would love to have at their disposal.”
“Those five along with Kilkenny who is one of the true leaders in the league, they’ve got a really good foundation to be a force in the league this year for sure.”
