After plying his trade on the world stage with the New Zealand national team, Central Coast Mariners’ defender Storm Roux is back on the coast and raring to go for Saturday’s clash with Western Sydney Wanderers at Central Coast Stadium. Kick-off is 7:30pm.
Roux played a full 90 minutes for New Zealand in their international friendly against South Korea in Seoul last Wednesday, where the youthful All Whites pushed the AFC Asian Cup runners-up for 86 minutes, before succumbing to a late Lee Jae-Sung winner to go down 1-0.
The All Whites had a mixture of luck in the clash, having a goal disallowed and keeping out a penalty, however Roux was pleased with his performance and believes the experience on the international scene will have a positive impact on his Hyundai A-League form.
“It helps so massively. You play at a quick pace against international players and top quality players, so it really benefits your game overall when you come back in the A-League,” Roux said.
It has been almost a month since we last saw Roux in the yellow and navy but the 22 year old is brimming with confidence after featuring in a full 90 minutes for the All Whites, which he believes will allow him to be fit and ready to go against the Wanderers on Saturday.
“I haven’t played for a few weeks cause obviously I’ve been coming off the bench and I got suspended, so it was good to get 90 minutes under the belt. I was happy with my performance and hopefully I can back it up if I get selected this weekend,” Roux said.
For now Roux is back on the coast, however later in the year he will be back in white as New Zealand kick off their campaign to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup to be held in Russia.
Also returning from international duty is Mariners’ goalkeeping coach/video analyst John Crawley, who travelled to Chinese Taipei with the Olyroos U-23 side as they took one step closer to qualification for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Crawley’s keepers only conceded one goal in three matches, as the Olyroos secured qualification for the 2016 U-23 AFC Championship with big wins over Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong and Myanmar.
Round 25 Saturday 11 April 2015
Match: Central Coast Mariners vs. Western Sydney Wanderers
Venue: Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
Kick-off: 7:30pm (AEST)
Television: Live on FOX SPORTS 505
Tickets: Click here to purchase tickets
Radio: Live on 96.3 Coast FM & ABC Grandstand
Twitter: Join the match conversation using #CCMvWSW #CCMFC
