AFC Champions League football returns for matchday four this week, and with it two exciting fixtures involving a pair of Isuzu UTE A-League teams.
Two-time reigning A-Leagues champions Central Coast Mariners welcome Chinese Super League runners-up Shanghai Shenhua to Gosford in AFC Champions League Elite action on Tuesday night.
Mark Jackson’s Mariners are eyeing their first points of this season’s ACL Elite, while they have drawn three consecutive matches to start their Isuzu UTE A-League title defence.
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Then on Thursday, Sydney FC and Sanfrecce Hiroshima will lock horns again in the AFC Champions League Two, this time at Jubilee Stadium.
Sydney were edged out 2-1 by the J1 League title hopefuls in the reverse fixture last month.
The key area of improvement for Jackson’s Mariners
There is more ACL Elite football in Gosford; this week Central Coast Mariners welcome Chinese powerhouse Shanghai Shenhua to the coast.
Central Coast have lost their first three matches in the Champions League this season, while Shenhua have six points from a possible nine heading into matchweek four.
This will be the third match against Chinese opposition for the Mariners in 2024-25, having lost to Chinese Super League champions Shanghai Port and Shandong Taishan.
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Central Coast are also coming off a 0-0 draw with Perth Glory in the third round of the Isuzu UTE A-League – their third consecutive draw. As for Shenhua, they were pipped to the CSL title by Kevin Muscat’s Shanghai Port on Saturday.
Mariners boss Mark Jackson – who will be without Brad Tapp against Shenhua – knows the two-time reigning A-Leagues champions have to be more composed in front of goal.
“We’ve always built in the same way,” he told reporters. “We’ve always built in a 3-4-3, we just tweaked it out of possession in the last game against Perth, and we defended in that way.
“We know we’ve got adaptability in what we do. We know we’ve got profiling our players, particularly Lucas Mauragis. Sasha (Kuzevski) came in and Storm Roux, if they’re playing in them wing-back positions, we know we’ve got the capabilities to play that higher position as well.
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“We know we’ve got capabilities with our kind of 10 players to either be a threat in behind or or exist in the pocket. So we’ve got a lot of adaptability in what we can do within games but once we get to that final third, what we do need to do is show a little bit more composure, a little bit more quality, particularly against these kind of teams, in this competition where chances are few and far between.
“We have to show quality once when we get into those positions, but we’ll be pushing, like every game, to to dominate the ball as much as we can have the ball building our way and create those chances.”
How to watch?
Kick-off for Central Coast’s fourth ACL Elite fixture is 7:00pm AEDT on Tuesday, November 5 at Industree Group Stadium. You can catch all the action from Central Coast Mariners v Shanghai Shenhua LIVE on Paramount+.
Match details
Central Coast Mariners v Shanghai Shenhua
Matchday Four – AFC Champions League Elite
Tuesday, November 5 2024
Venue: Industree Group Stadium
Kick Off: 7:00pm AEDT
Broadcast: Paramount+
Another chance for Sky Blues to break Japanese duck
If the reverse fixture is anything to go by, Thursday night’s battle is set to be another memorable affair.
Adrian Segecic pulled a goal back at the death but it was too little too late as Sydney’s 100% record came to an end in this season’s ACL Two.
It also meant Sydney have never beaten Japanese opposition in 15 previous meetings in AFC competition, losing 10 games and drawing on five occasions.
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“Obviously disappointed we lost the game,” said Talay. “But overall, very proud of the performance the boys put out.
“I thought it was a good display of football and the brand we can play.
“Conceded the first goal from a sort of counter-attack, a cross and a good volley from the back post. The second one, okay, was a mistake which allowed them to score the second goal.
“With the ball we had some really good moments. We could’ve scored early in the first half… Like I said, disappointed the boys didn’t get something from the game.”
Douglas Costa was substituted in that defeat in Hiroshima and the Sydney FC superstar has not played since, having sat out A-Leagues games against Auckland FC and Brisbane Roar.
Sydney – who have been fuelled by Patryk Klimala’s four goals across all competitions – fell to Auckland in Round 2 but conquered the Roar 3-2 without Costa and Joe Lolley on Friday night.
Both Costa and Lolley could return against Sanfrecce.
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“Joe is actually not too bad at all,” Talay said before Sydney’s win over Brisbane. “Hopefully he’ll be available for the Hiroshima game, if not then the Macarthur game. So that’s good news on that end.
“With Douglas, we’re taking it week by week. There might be a possibility he might be available for either game as well in that sense.
“They’ll miss this game, that’s definite but moving forward I think we’re in a good place… the great thing is they’re not going to be out for a long period of time. I think it’s great for the group, it’s also great for them.”
How to watch?
Kick-off for Sydney’s fourth ACL Two clash is 7:00pm AEDT on Thursday, November 7 at Jubilee Stadium. You can catch all the action from Sydney FC v Sanfrecce Hiroshima LIVE and FREE on 10 Play.
Match details
Sydney FC v Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Matchday Four – AFC Champions League Two
Thursday, November 7 2024
Venue: Jubilee Stadium
Kick Off: 7:00pm AEDT
Broadcast: 10 Play
