Central Coast defender Pedj Bojic is hoping his 100th Hyundai A-League appearance will be a good one as the Mariners look to defeat Perth Glory and book their place in the grand final.
Central Coast defender Pedj Bojic is hoping his 100th Hyundai A-League appearance will be a good one as the Mariners look to defeat Perth Glory and book their place in the grand final.
Bojic is know for his physical, commited football, but the fullback has flourished this season under Grahama Arnold, pushing forward in support of the attack more often with two goals and six assists from 26 matches and enjoying his best season yet in the yellow and navy.
Bringing up a ton of appearances is a special moment, but Bojic doesn-t believe reaching the milestone in such an important match will add any extra pressure this weekend.
“It can (add pressure) if you think about it now but come game day you-re not worried about it,” Bojic said. “You-re just out there trying to get the result to get to the grand final.
“A hundred games has come around quick for me. I have excellent memories here from the last four seasons … It-s been an amazing journey.”
An integral part of Graham Arnold-s backline, Bojic will be one of the men tasked with stopping an in form Shane Smeltz and the powerful Billy Mehmet in the grand final qualifier.
And while the 28-year-old former Northampton Town defender has the utmost respect for his opponents, he says he and his teammates are eager to consolidate their strong record over their opponents at Bluetongue Stadium.
In nine meetings with Perth Glory at Gosford-s idyllic bayside arena the Mariners have never lost to the purple-whites. Indeed, eight of the nine clashes have ended in favour of Central Coast, with Glory earning just a point from a possible 27 from their travels to Bluetongue.
“We know what they-re about,” he said. “Smeltzy-s a quality finisher, we know his history in front of goal and obviously we have to do our job defensively as a unit.
“Mehmet-s a strong guy (too) so we-ve got to make sure we win our one-on-one duels and nullify them.”
“[But] it-s a great record for the Mariners and we want to capitalise on that and build on that too so they don-t get a win,” he said.
