By the Palm Trees – Perth Glory vs Central Coast Mariners
Well the Central Coast Mariners certainly made the statement I spoke of in my last blog and the statement was – “we’re not done yet, we’re hunting second place”. It seems like only a few weeks since I wondered whether, given our hectic schedule, we would even make the A-League finals. How quickly things can change. Now we’re on a roll and looking like a dark horse at the right time of the season.
When Western Sydney visited Central Coast Stadium last weekend it was certainly about the result but the biggest thing was the performance. After a tight and even first half ended with the scores at one all, in the second half it was vintage Mariners with local’s legendary character firmly on display. Josh Rose returning to his best finishing form and the excellent work of “Super Sub” Bernie Ibini were two of the most notable features of the match. It was a brilliant atmosphere and an appropriate send off for retiring hero Mile Sterjovski whose own performance was excellent on the day. It’s been an amazing turnaround for the fans in Gosford where the atmosphere has been building week by week this season and now bears little resemblance to those of recent years. Fans from all around the stadium have become involved in our own brand of loud support and to some extent we can thank the WSW RBB for inspiring the yellow fans to make possibly their best performance ever.
Following on from an excellent performance against the Wanderers, the Mariner’s took on Beijing Guoan on Tuesday, looking for revenge, after going down in a sometimes controversial previous match in China. What a night this was with another excellent performance from both the team and the fans. There was nothing underserved about this result as the Mariners again took their opportunity when it came and combined with some inspired goalkeeping, took the points. While they have been sometimes maligned by Mariners fans earlier in the season, the two eye catching performances came from Liam Reddy and Marcel Seip. Liam Reddy’s penalty save turned the game and Marcel Seip’s finish on the volley was simply superb.
The Mariners now have their A-League destiny in their own hands and a winning performance in Perth could see them take a strangle hold on a home final. The same applies to the AFC Champions League where another home win would likely seal a spot in the knock-out phase for the second consecutive year. With our home record returning to fortress like proportions, who would want to take on the Mariners at Central Coast Stadium in either competition?
Perth have not been at their best in recent days but were fortunate to make the Newcastle Jets visit to NIB stadium an unhappy one last weekend. With little but pride to play for it’s hard to know what can be expected from the Glory, but the Mariners have an excellent record against them and will arrive in Perth confident of getting the result they need. With the regular rotation of team members through each recent match, regardless of who is selected, Mossy will be confident of his team’s ability to do the job.
The team is on a roll at the moment and confidence counts for plenty in football. I think the Mariners can make the long journey home from the west coast with three points in their bag and with plenty of confidence as the finals approach.
Mariners by at least 1
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