Central Coast Mariners can seal their first Premiers Plate in 12 years on Wednesday night when they face Adelaide United. aleagues.com.au previews the regular season’s dramatic conclusion as Mark Jackson’s Mariners look to get their hands on another piece of silverware…
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The equation is simple for Central Coast Mariners heading into the final game of the regular season: get a point or more, and win the Premiership.
But the travelling Reds won’t make it easy for the Gosford side; their finals hopes are gone, but with Nestory Irankunda set to play his very last game in the Isuzu UTE A-League, the Bayern Munich-bound winger is capable of producing one final masterclass to stop the Mariners from sealing top spot.
WHO WINS THE PREMIERSHIP?
If Mariners win, then … Central Coast will be crowned Isuzu UTE A-League Premiers.
If Mariners draw, then … Central Coast will be crowned Isuzu UTE A-League Premiers based on total number of wins despite finishing level on points with the Wellington Phoenix, as outlined in this season’s ladder sorting rules.
If Mariners lose, then… Wellington Phoenix will be crowned Isuzu UTE A-League Premiers.
Irankunda’s farewell, coupled with the ferocious form of Adelaide striker Hiroshi Ibusuki, gives the visitors hope and provides ample cause for Mariners concern as the regular season finishes with a bang in Gosford.
Currently sat second on the ladder and a point behind league leaders Wellington Phoenix, the Mariners face Adelaide United in a re-arranged fixture at Industree Group Stadium on Wednesday night.
Initially slated for Round 25, the Mariners were subsequently forced to postpone this mouthwatering fixture due to a travel issue that arose following the first-leg of their AFC Cup semi-final in Kyrgyzstan – a tie they eventually went on to win 3-0 and as as result, book their spot in the AFC Cup final.
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Last weekend’s F3 Derby against a resurgent Newcastle Jets took on even more importance for the Mariners given Wellington already held a one point lead at the top and a win for the ‘Nix coupled with a loss to the Jets would see the New Zealanders claim the Premier’s Plate.
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However, an impressive 3-1 win over their arch rivals saw Mark Jackson’s side match Wellington’s win over Macarthur and therefore ensures a draw or a win against Adelaide on Wednesday night will be enough to secure them the Premier’s Plate.
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Despite losing 3-0 to the Reds in the opening game of the Isuzu UTE A-League season the Mariners have an exceptional recent record against Carl Veart’s side.
In fact, the Central Coast Mariners have won five of their last six league games against Adelaide United including a 4-0 win in their most recent encounter.
Furthermore, the Mariners have won their last FIVE consecutive league games against Adelaide United at Industree Group Stadium, keeping a clean sheet in each of their last three encounters there.
So there’s plenty on the line for Central Coast Mariners, but what about Adelaide United?
They may well have missed out on a spot in the Finals Series this year but Adelaide United have still enjoyed a strong end to the regular season and will therefore prove to be a tricky test for the Mariners to pass on Wednesday night.
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With three wins in their last five matches the Reds have certainly found some late-season form and crucially, they’ve also been finding the back of the net for fun.
With 16 goals scored in five matches Veart’s side are certainly going to ask questions of the Mariners backline and central to their end of season form has been Japanese forward Hiroshi Ibusuki.
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Now sitting outright fourth on the Golden Boot chart with 15 goals Ibusuki has put plenty of clubs on notice ahead of next season given his current deal with Adelaide United expires at the end of the season.
One player likely to be involved in everything good Adelaide create on Wednesday night is teenage sensation Irankunda, who prepares to lace up the boots for one last time in the Isuzu UTE A-League before jetting off to Germany to join Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.
The Reds head into the contest having secured an impressive 4-3 win over Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium last weekend and that result at least gave them something to build on heading into next season given the win meant they automatically claimed a spot in the Round of 32 of next season’s Australia Cup.
INS & OUTS
Central Coast Mariners squad: 2. Mikael DOKA, 3. Brian KALTAK, 4. Josh NISBET, 6. Max BALARD, 7. Christian THEOHAROUS, 9. Alou KUOL, 14. Dylan WENZEL-HALLS, 15. Storm ROUX, 16. Harry STEELE, 17. Jing REEC, 18. Jacob FARRELL, 20. Danny VUKOVIC (c), 22. Ronald BARCELLOS, 23. Dan HALL, 26. Brad TAPP, 28. Will WILSON, 30. Jack WARSHAWSKY, 33. Nathan PAULL, 39. Miguel DI PIZIO, 99. Ryan EDMONDSON
Ins: Nil
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 5. Noah SMITH (injured), 27. Sasha KUZEVSKI (injured)
Adelaide United squad: 1.James DELIANOV, 2.Harry VAN DER SAAG, 3.Ben WARLAND, 4.Nick ANSELL, 6.Stefan MAUK, 7.Ryan KITTO, 8.ISAIAS, 9.Hiroshi IBUSUKI, 10.Zach CLOUGH, 17.Luka JOVANOVIĆ, 19. Yaya DUKULY, 21.Javi LÓPEZ, 22.Ryan TUNNICLIFFE, 23.Luke DUZEL, 36.Panashe MADANHA, 37.Jonny YULL, 40.Ethan COX, 42.Austin AYOUBI, 55.Ethan ALAGICH, 66.Nestory IRANKUNDA
Ins: 37.Jonny YULL, 42.Austin AYOUBI
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 27.Josh CAVALLO (quad), 51.Panagiotis KIKIANIS (hamstring)
FORM LINE (LAST FIVE GAMES)
- Central Coast Mariners: L – W – W – W – W
- Adelaide United: W – W – L – D – W
POSITION
- Central Coast Mariners: 2nd
- Adelaide United: 8th
OPTA STATS
- Central Coast Mariners will be searching for a club-record breaking 17th win of the 2023-24 A-League Men regular season, having reached 16 wins in a regular season three times previously (16 wins in 2010-11, 16 wins in 2012-13).
- Adelaide United are unbeaten in their last four A-League Men games outside South Australia (W3 D1), despite conceding two or more goals in three of those four games; they had lost six of their previous even games outside their home state.
- Mikael Doka (Central Coast Mariners) has been directly involved in one goal in each of his last three appearances in the A-League Men (1 goal, 2 assists) as well as making one assist in his last game against Adelaide United (3 February 2024).
- Hiroshi Ibusuki (Adelaide United) has scored two goals in three of his last four A-League Men games including in each of his last two; only twice in the history of the competition has any player scored multiple goals in more than two consecutive games (4 games – Jamie Maclaren in October to November 2019, 3 games – Roy Krishna in January 2019).
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