Central Coast Mariners forward Ross McCormack said his team-mates are “confident” they can produce an upset win against Melbourne City on Saturday evening.
The Mariners opened their Hyundai A-League 2018/19 Season with a battling 1-1 draw at Brisbane Roar on Sunday in McCormack’s first competitive match for the club.
The 32-year-old Scotsman was prolific in a loan stint at City last term, scoring 14 goals in 17 Hyundai A-League fixtures.
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And ahead of his first meeting against his old side, McCormack insisted the Mariners would “give it a go” against City.
“Sunday was backs against the wall at times but team spirit got us through, got a point,” he said.
“We move on to Saturday still confident. We know Melbourne City are a good team but they’re definitely beatable and we’ll be looking to try and do that.
“There are a lot of new players there but they’re still playing the same sort of way as we did last season.
“We’re under no illusion. We know they’ll be difficult to beat but as the manager keeps [saying], we’ll give it a go every single game.”
McCormack’s insider knowledge has come in handy during the week and the former Rangers, Leeds United and Fulham striker also took heart from City’s first-up effort – even though they won.
City looked shaky at times during their 2-1 Melbourne Derby win over Victory and that has encouraged the Mariners.
“Their two full-backs are pretty attack-minded, [Richie] De Laet and [Scott] Jamieson, so we need to be mindful of that,” McCormack added.
“Luke Brattan in the middle of the park is a good player, they’re strong defensively, they’re just an all-round good team.
“But I think Melbourne Victory showed at the weekend as well that you can get at them.”
McCormack also said he was still working on his match sharpness, given the fact he did not play a competitive match in almost nine months prior to Round 1’s clash.
“It was my first competitive game since I left Melbourne City on Sunday,” he said.
“[I] played 90 minutes, so it’s a good indication that things are coming along nicely.”
