Central Coast Mariners head coaches Mark Jackson and Emily Husband have claimed January Coach of the Month honours in the Isuzu UTE A-League Men and Liberty A-League Women respectively, after a fan vote.
It’s a clean sweep for the Mariners after a magnificent month on both fronts; Husband collects her first Coach of the Month award while Jackson earns the Isuzu UTE A-League Men honours for the second month running.
Nominees for the monthly award are selected as part of the A-Leagues’ partnership with Football Coaches Australia. Eligible coaches are nominated monthly by the FCA panel, consisting of:
- Catherine Cannuli
- Sarah West
- John Kosmina
- Ian Greener
- Gary Cole
Each member of the FCA panel votes for three coaches each month, granting three votes to their pick for Coach of the Month, two for their second-choice and one for their third choice.
In the Isuzu UTE A-League, Jackson’s Mariners took an unbeaten league run to 10 games by the end of January, registering three wins and one draw from four games throughout the month.
The Mariners kept clean sheets in wins over Western Sydney (1-0) and Brisbane Roar (2-0), while drawing 1-1 with Melbourne Victory and defeating Melbourne City 2-1.
Jackson was nominated alongside Wellington’s Giancarlo Italiano, Melbourne Victory head coach Tony Popovic and Sydney FC boss Ufuk Talay for the January award – and edged Italiano by a mere 13 votes in the polling across A-Leagues social media accounts.
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In the Liberty A-League, Emily Husband claimed her very first Coach of the Month award, winning three of five games and losing just once throughout the month.
Two consecutive wins in the middle of January included a 2-1 triumph over Sydney FC in which goalkeeper Sarah Langman was sent off, leading to defender Ashley Irwin putting on the gloves for the final stages of a game decided by Mariners striker Wurigumula’s last-gasp penalty.
Husband was nominated by the FCA panel alongside Western United’s Kat Smith, Melbourne City’s Dario Vidosic and Western Sydney Wanderers coach Robbie Hooker.
HUSBAND FEATURE: How to build an A-Leagues team in seven months: ‘I didn’t sleep… we only had one player!’
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