Hyundai A-League preview: Central Coast v Perth Glory

Two sides that missed out on finals football last season have a chance to make amends and get the new season off to the best possible start.

MATCH DETAILS

Saturday, 10 October 2015

Central Coast Mariners v Perth Glory

Central Coast Stadium, Gosford

Kick-Off: 5:15 PM (Local) (5:15 PM (AEDT))

Referee: Strebre Delovski

Assistant Referee 1: Lance Greenshields

Assistant Referee 2: Andrej Giev

Fourth Official: Luke Withell

TV Broadcast: Live coverage on FOX SPORTS 505 from 5.00pm (AEDT) and Sky Sport 2 (New Zealand)

Radio Broadcast: 92.5 ABC Central Coast, 720 ABC Perth & ABC Local Radio WA, Grandstand Digital Perth & Online & via the ABC Radio Mobile App – A-league Live. Coast FM 96.3 (Gosford)

Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #CCMvPER

To purchase tickets visit www.aleague.com.au/tickets

Central Coast Mariners: 2.Storm ROUX, 3.Josh ROSE, 4.Jacob POSCOLIERO, 5.Harry ASCROFT, 6.Mitch AUSTIN, 7.Fabio FERREIRA, 8.Nick MONTGOMERY (c), 9.Roy O’DONOVAN, 10.Anthony CACERES, 11.Nick FITZGERALD, 12.Liam REDDY (gk), 18.Glen TRIFIRO, 19.Josh BINGHAM, 20.Anthony KALIK, 21.Michael NEILL, 22.Jake McGING, 23.Eddy BOSNAR, 30.Adam PEARCE (gk)

**two to be omitted**

Ins: nil

Outs: nil

Unavailable: 1.Paul IZZO (gk) (international duty), 16.Liam ROSE (international duty)

Perth Glory squad: 1.Ante COVIC (gk), 3.Marc WARREN, 4.Jacob COLLARD, 5.Antony GOLEC, 6.Dino DJULBIC, 7.Gyorgy SANDOR, 10.Nebojsa MARINKOVIC, 11.Richard GARCIA (c), 12.Jerrad TYSON (gk), 13.Diogo FERREIRA, 14.Chris HAROLD, 15.Hagi GLIGOR, 16.Sidnei SCIOLA, 17.Diego CASTRO, 18.Mitch OXBORROW, 19.Josh RISDON, 20.Guyon FERNANDEZ, 23.Michael THWAITE

**two to be omitted**

Ins: nil

Outs: nil

Unavailable: 2.Alex GRANT (knee – 4 weeks), 8.Ruben ZADKOVICH (knee -4 weeks)

BLUFFER’S GUIDE

Kenny’s Cup specialists on the Coast against Walmsley’s warriors. The alliteration works but who’ll win this battle between two sides that missed out on finals football last season.

No doubt the Glory have enjoyed a stronger off-season thanks in the main to their good run in the FFA Cup – a run which sees them in the semis – while the Mariners haven’t got the results in the off-season.

But that won’t matter once they kick off. And sometimes, off-season form can mean absolutely nothng.

OPTA DATA

• The Mariners have lost only one of their previous 16 home Hyundai A-League games against Perth Glory (W12 D3 L1).
• Central Coast picked up only four points in their final seven Hyundai A-League games of 2014-15 (W1 D1 L5).

ROUTE TO GOAL

For the home side, Roy O’Donovan will want to banish memories of his last big game at Gosford – an FFA Cup clash which saw him miss a late penalty.

The Irishman will be the main outlet up front though the smart money is on the clever Fabio Ferreira and Anthony Caceres to get in behind and cause Glory problems.

And don’t forget the thunderbolts off the boot of Eddy Bosnar, if given the chance from set pieces anywhere in the Glory half.

Similarly, Perth’s set-piece specialist is Nebo Marinkovic – the man is on fire from free kicks. And Glory scored a league high 11 headed goals last season so expect big Dino Djulbic, Michael Thwaite and Antony Golec to ask questions from corners and set pieces.

 But all eyes will be on Diego Castro. Last season the striker was in La Liga – now’s he in La Liga Australiano.

What will the former Getafe striker offer on his A-League debut?

FORM LINES

Glory are on a three-game winning streak in the FFA Cup which has them into the semi finals after wins in the rounds of 32, 16 and last eight. Confidence is high.

The Mariners have been somewhat patchy in the off-season. The last friendly was a 3-1 loss in late September to Roar on the Sunshine Coast. They also lost to the Jets 1-0 in Orange a week earlier and were knocked out of the FFA Cup by Phoenix in the Round of 32 last August.

PREDICTION 

Central Coast 2 Perth Glory 2