By the Palm Trees – Olympic FC v Central Coast Mariners
Having managed victory by the single goal I predicted in my preview of the Mariners / SC Wolves FFA Cup match, the team have progressed to the round of 16 where they take on Olympic FC at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre on Tuesday night.
It wasn’t a pretty performance from Central Coast in Wollongong, with the team showing quality in the first half before the superior match fitness of the opposition evened out the contest in the second. Glen Trifiro’s 12th minute score was enough for the Mariners on the night but they could easily have netted two or three in a rampant thirty minute first half display which included a ball cleared off the goal line and a Mitchell Duke shot being stopped by the post.
For the home fans, after benefiting from an ounce of luck in keeping the Mariner’s initial onslaught to a single goal, it was a much more even contest in the second half. To be fair, the Wolves best opportunity probably came from a Mariners clearance, which flew over Liam Reddy’s bar after hitting one of his defenders, but in the end South Coast Wolves played their part and made sure it wasn’t easy for the Mariners, who closed out a one nil win relatively comfortably.
The night itself was a brilliant advertisement for football and the FFA Cup concept with more than 6000 fans watching as the local team put in a brave but ultimately fruitless performance. Encouraging for Navy and Yellow fans was the large contingent who made the trek down to Wollongong to support their team on a weeknight. For the fans who didn’t travel, the availability of a high quality internet stream covering the game was brilliant, and I enjoyed replaying the game at home afterwards. Such streams have recently been banned by the FFA (even if the matches aren’t covered by Fox Sports) and given the obvious demand for coverage this can only be described as a bewildering decision. While I understand streams should not overlap with the broadcaster’s rights, when matches are not covered on TV, taking the other options away from fans is just straight out short sighted. A TV executive’s decision to cover the Melbourne Victory match tomorrow night instead of the Mariners ensures I will not see the match I am previewing, and that is just downright poor.
Olympic FC made their way into the round of 16 via a 3-1 victory over Melbourne Knights and will be looking at this as an opportunity to take on the ‘Giant Killer’ role and knock over one of the most historically successful teams in the top flight. Watching highlights and reading descriptions of that match suggested it was closer than the score line suggested, however their form, match fitness and the home ground advantage, will ensure Olympic FC are a massive challenge for the Mariner’s.
Central Coast Mariners are in the middle of a demanding pre-season period but have remained unbeaten despite showing only glimpses of their best. With a win over the local academy and one all draws against both Melbourne City and Brisbane Roar since their last FFA Cup match, the Mariners have the chance to show they’re beginning to ‘gel’ as a team and their fitness is improving. As you might expect changes have been the ‘norm’ for the Mariner’s pre-season hit out’s so it’s been difficult to measure their overall progress. At times they have shown real quality and at other times looked lack lustre at best.
I think the Mariners are starting to improve and I’m optimistic Mossy will select the team ensuring we include our best players in this important match. Despite (or perhaps because of) the tough pre-season Kim Seung Yong seems to be the only significant injury concern hobbling off with an apparent hamstring complaint during Friday’s friendly against Brisbane Roar.
My prediction:- Mariners by 1
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