Central Coast coach Lawrie McKinna is confident the Mariners can hit back against Newcastle on Friday night after a shock defeat against Wellington at Gosford on Sunday.
A first half header from Karl Dodd fired the Phoenix to a 1-0 victory at Bluetongue Stadium in Gosford.
But McKinna is adamant his team has the ability to respond with a better performance against their greatest rivals.
He described Sunday’s effort as ‘shocking’.
“It was very disappointing,” he said.
“To turn in a performance like that at home in front of our fans is not good enough. They were very hard to break down but a lot of our passing was poor.”
“When they got the goal they defended well. The week off hasn’t done us any favours.”
It was the Mariners’ first loss in five matches, while Wellington is now on the brink of breaking into the top four after a series of impressive results in the past month.
McKinna will have selection issues this week with defenders Andrew Clark and Nigel Boogaard both taken to hospital after Sunday’s defeat.
Boogaard suffered a mild concussion in the first half, while Clark suffered a dislocated shoulder in the second half.
“We’ll have to see what the doctors say before making any decision on those two for Friday night,” McKinna said.
“I think taking on the Jets after a performance like Sunday will be good for us. We haven’t got any time to dwell on it.”
