It’s a match those who were involved in – including Steve Corica – are never likely to forget, the round 10 encounter when Sydney FC led 3-0 but had to settle for a 3-3 draw against Central Coast.
It was past the hour mark in the round 10 encounter between fierce rivals Sydney and Central Coast earlier this season and the sky blues held a commanding 3-0 lead at home.
The three points were surely in the bag for John Kosmina’s men.
Even when Matt Simon pulled a goal back for the Mariners on 62 minutes, there was no reason to believe we were about to witness one of the great Hyundai A-League comebacks.
But late goals to Nik Mrdja and a second to Simon gave Central Coast a scarcely believable 3-3 draw – a result which still has Sydney captain Steve Corica shaking his head.
“That’s still fresh in our minds,” Corica admitted as the teams prepare for the rematch at Bluetongue Stadium on Saturday.
“We were winning 3-0 and they came back to 3-all – that hurts a lot still and we’ve got to put that right for this weekend.”
“They’re the kind of team that never gives up.”
“If we go in front they fight back and then we fight back again, so I think there’s a lot of attacking football, end-to-end stuff, which is obviously good for the fans to watch.”
“It’s going to be a big game, we need to get the three points.”
“We’ve got a lot of games coming up away from home so we need to pick up points.”
Last weekend’s victory over Newcastle catapulted Sydney back into the top four while the fifth-placed Mariners are on the outside looking in.
The hosts badly need maximum points against their greatest rivals.
“We need to beat Sydney so it’s a big game for us and a big game for Sydney,” Mariners coach Lawrie McKinna said.
“It should be another entertaining clash.”
McKinna is still undecided whether to start with returning left back Dean Heffernan or ease him into the fray off the bench.
Heffernan has not made a first-team appearance since breaking his leg against FC almost a year to the day.
