Pride is on the line when the Central Coast Mariners battle to win for the first time this year and finish their first Asian Champions League campaign on a high on Tuesday night.
After a frustrating run of results, the Mariners tackle Chinese club Tianjin Teda at Bluetongue Stadium.
Both clubs are no chance of reaching the competition’s knockout stages but will be focused on picking up a confidence-boosting win.
Mariners coach Lawrie McKinna said a positive performance on Tuesday night would give his club a boost leading up to the next A-League season.
“The boys are desperate to win, we’re not treating this match as a dead rubber,” McKinna said.
“We haven’t won for a while, we’ve been so close several times so Tuesday night means a lot to the club.”
“I think it’s a bit of a mental thing for us but our goal is to finish on a positive note and repay the fans who have stuck with us.”
Scoring goals has not been a drama for the Mariners but the team has paid the price for several defensive blunders.
Set pieces have been a major problem with the team conceding several goals from dead ball situations.
Despite playing without three strikers the Mariners will still have an attacking mindset on Tuesday night.
McKinna will also welcome back consistent performers Matthew Osman and Nigel Boogaard, who were both suspended for the team’s last-start defeat against the Pohang Steelers.
