Central Coast coach Nick Montgomery won’t rely on the results of others, challenging his players to get the job done and secure their Isuzu UTE A-League finals berth by beating Brisbane Roar on Tuesday.
The Mariners travel to face the Roar at Moreton Daily Stadium knowing a win will lock up a spot in the top six.
Montgomery’s Mariners sit fifth on the ladder with two games to play on 36 points.
Newcastle Jets’ big win over Macarthur FC on Sunday means only eighth-placed Sydney FC (31 points, 24 games) can bump the Mariners out of the six.
Given the Mariners have a plus-10 goal difference to Sydney’s plus-two, even a point against the second-last Roar would most likely be enough to secure finals in the Englishman’s first season as an A-League Men coach.
“We haven’t relied on anyone all season to help us out whether that’s other teams, officials, that’s not the way we are,” Montgomery said.
“We approach every game with one thing in mind and that’s to try and win the game. Nothing changes with two games to go.
“We don’t expect anything different and 100 per cent we don’t rely on anybody else.
“We’ll make sure we focus on ourselves and try to win every game that we play.”
The Mariners head to Queensland on a three-game winning run but haven’t scored or won on any of their past three visits to Brisbane.
The odds of another blank appear unlikely, however, this time around with the Mariners’ forward line of Brazilian Moresche and Scottish-born Socceroos hopeful Jason Cummings forging an increasingly potent partnership in recent weeks.
There’s also wonderkid Garang Kuol at the disposal of Montgomery, with the 17-year-old having scored three goals in his past six appearances including the winner in a 1-0 triumph over Western United last Saturday.
“We’ve got good players fighting for that front four and we’ve got a couple of games to go, hopefully finals, and everybody’s fighting for positions,” Montgomery said.
“Moresche has been outstanding the last couple of weeks and him and Jason and Marco (Urena) work really well together so it’s nice to see.”
Brisbane, meanwhile, are aiming to end a five-game winless run as they try to end their disappointing campaign on a high in their remaining two fixtures.
Brisbane Roar v Central Coast Mariners
Isuzu UTE A-League
Tuesday, May 3 2022
Moreton Daily Stadium
Kick-off: 7.05pm AEST
MATCH CENTRE | HOW TO WATCH
