Central Coast Mariners and Sydney FC are back in AFC Champions League action this week in a pair of group-stage games across the two tiers of the continental competition.
The Mariners are in the ACL Elite in 2024-25 but the reigning Isuzu UTE A-League champions suffered defeat on matchday one, falling to Chinese Super League outfit Shandong Taishan 3-1 in a fiery affair.
Sydney FC, meanwhile, are flying in the ACL Two after a comprehensive 5-0 triumph over Hong Kong’s Eastern SC, in which star signing Douglas Costa impressed on his competitive debut for the club.
Click here to secure your Unite Round tickets TODAY!
On Matchday Two of the ACL Elite, Central Coast host Thai powerhouse Buriram United on Tuesday, October 1 while Sydney FC travel to the Philippines to take on Kaya FC on Thursday, October 3.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Central Coast and Sydney FC’s matchday two fixtures in the 2024-25 ACL Elite and ACL Two campaigns.
Mariners’ positive omen after tough start to ACL Elite
This season, Central Coast Mariners have returned to the AFC Champions League proper for the first time in 10 years but their long-awaited return began with a 3-1 defeat on the road to 2023-24 quarter-finalists Shandong Taishan.
Instead of a group phase, the ACL Elite has been split into two 12-team “leagues” – the West and East. Each team plays eight games against teams in their respective leagues, with the top eight teams from the West and East progressing to the Round of 16.
After one matchday, the Mariners sit 10th out of 12 clubs in the East league. Mark Jackson’s side welcome Buriram United to Gosford on Tuesday after the Thai champions drew 0-0 with 2023 J1 League winners Vissel Kobe on matchday one; Buriram sit seventh on the 12-team table with one point on the board.
The Thai champions have two Aussies on their books in former Melbourne City star Curtis Good and versatile Socceroo midfielder Kenny Dougall. They also have former Premier League goalkeeper Neil Etheridge as their No. 1 goalkeeper.
“First and foremost, it’s great to be back home ground,” said Jackson ahead of kick-off.
“It feels like it’s been a long time, but it’s probably actually not. We’re very excited to be back here. Can’t wait to see the fans coming out as well be great. We can try and fill the stadium as much as possible and see the fans again. But yeah, we just looking forward to the competition.
“We’re excited about the possibility of playing in such an elite competition against an extremely good opponent as well, and more importantly, in front of our whole fans at our stadium.”
The Mariners have started the campaign slowly but that will not dishearten Jackson or his playing group; last season, Central Coast lost their first AFC Cup fixture away to Malaysian side Terengganu, before going unbeaten through the 12 games that followed to win the continental cup and qualify for the ACL Elite.
But to put on a good showing against Buriram on Tuesday night, the Mariners must tighten up defensively. Following their 3-1 defeat to Shandong, Central Coast faced Sydney FC in a pre-season friendly and were dealt a hefty 6-3 defeat by their A-Leagues rivals.
The Mariners lost captain and trusted goalkeeper Danny Vukovic in the off-season after the veteran’s retirement; head coach Jackson has since recruited Australia Under-23 international Adam Pavlesic to join fellow Olyroo Jack Warshawsky in a youthful goalkeeping brigade that also features 16-year-old Jai Ajanovic and 18-year-old Dylan Peraic-Cullen.
Pavlesic was given the start in Asia and Warshawsky donned the gloves for last week’s loss to Sydney FC – but Jackson says conceding goals is a concern for the team as a whole, not the goalkeepers, as an intriguing battle to become the club’s number one unfolds.
“We’ve got three fantastic goalkeepers here,” Jackson said.
“Let’s be clear: We’ve got three really exciting young Australian goalkeepers who are really fighting out for that starting position, who are fighting every day to earn that number one spot.
“Whoever starts again tomorrow, there’s no definite number one for me yet, I expect that to develop over the season as we go along – but not yet.
“In regards to conceding goals: when the goal goes in, defenders and goalkeepers get looked at straight away. But there’s a bigger picture than that… it’s how we control situations, to not put ourselves in those situations is really, really important.
“Like I said, over the (days after) the Shandong game, we’ve learned a lot (in) regards to embedding our principles, what we do with the ball to maybe stop those situations developing again.
“That level of learning, with the players has been really, really good over the days since that last game.”
How to buy tickets/watch all the action?
Buriram travel to Gosford to take on the Mariners on Tuesday night, with kick-off scheduled for 6pm AEST at Industree Group Stadium. Click here to buy your tickets to the ACL Elite clash, or watch all the action LIVE on Paramount+.
Match details
Central Coast Mariners v Buriram United
Matchday Two – AFC Champions League Elite
Tuesday, October 1 2024
Venue: Industree Group Stadium
Kick-off: 6pm AEST
Broadcast: Paramount+
WONDERKIDS, SOCCEROO’S BRO & BMX CHAMP: Your Isuzu UTE A-League side’s young player to watch
Big-name recruits catching attention as Sydney’s ACL Two campaign rolls on
Through a mixture of pre-season friendlies and continental commitments Sydney FC have shown bright signs of things to come in the 2024-25 campaign, with several star signings taking little time to acclimatise to life at the Sky Blues.
Sydney qualified for ACL Two by winning the 2023 Australia Cup; unlike the ACL Elite, the second tier of Asian continental football utilises the traditional group stage format. Sydney sit on top of Group E after a 5-0 win over Eastern on matchday one. Kaya FC Iloilo lost 3-0 to Japan’s Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the other Group E clash on the opening week of ACL Two action.
Next up is a trip to the Philippines for Sydney FC where Kaya FC await Ufuk Talay’s side – and the Sky Blues coach will hope his big-name signings continue showing the encouraging signs they’ve put on display since joining the club.
On matchday one of the ACL Two campaign, Brazilian superstar Douglas Costa made an impressive competitive debut while fellow Brazilian Leo Sena impressed in midfield. Anas Ouahim scored two goals and looked the brightest of all Sydney newcomers while Polish striker Patryk Klimala impressed in bursts, yet ended the evening with a second-half penalty miss against Eastern.
Klimala backed up that outing with a hat-trick in Sydney’s pre-season friendly against Central Coast last week; Talay’s men defeated the Mariners 6-3 as Costa, Corey Hollman and Adrian Segecic also scored for the Sky Blues.
Alexandar Popovic was the last player signed by Sydney in the transfer window and the exciting young Australian defender, who arrived on loan from K League 1 outfit Gwangju FC, made his first start at the club against Central Coast and will be pushing for more minutes on the road against Kaya FC.
How to watch?
Kick-off to Sydney’s second ACL Two fixture is 8pm AEST on Thursday, October 3 at Rizal Memorial Stadium, Philippines. You can catch all the action from Kaya FC Iloilo v Sydney FC LIVE and FREE on 10 Play.
Match details
Kaya FC Iloilo v Sydney FC
Matchday Two – AFC Champions League 2
Thursday, October 3 2024
Venue: Rizal Memorial Stadium
Kick Off: 8pm AEST
Broadcast: 10 Play
ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE MEN 2024-25 FIXTURE DETAILS
FULL FIXTURE: Every match here
DERBY DATES: The matches to circle in your calendar now
TALKING POINTS: What you need to know about the 24-25 draw, inc new TV schedule
