Redemption is on the minds of two clubs as February’s Football Frenzy continues in the A-Leagues on Tuesday.
In the Liberty A-League, defending champions Melbourne Victory visit lowly Canberra United on the back of their loss to Perth Glory.
Meanwhile, Central Coast Mariners are back at AAMI Park to face high-flying Melbourne City, having suffered a last-gasp defeat to Victory at the same venue over the weekend.
Read on for individual match previews of the two A-Leagues fixtures:
- Canberra United v Melbourne Victory
Liberty A-League, Viking Park. Kick-off: 5.25pm AEDT - Melbourne City v Central Coast Mariners
Isuzu UTE A-League, AAMI Park. Kick-off: 7.55pm AEDT
Mariners up for ALM ‘benchmark’ team Melb City
Anna Harrington, AAP
Central Coast Mariners will welcome a tough clash with Isuzu UTE A-League “benchmark” Melbourne City as they attempt to make the most of an extended stint on the road.
The Mariners have stayed in Melbourne as they handle a tight turnaround from Saturday’s last-minute 1-0 loss to Melbourne Victory, to facing City at AAMI Park on Tuesday.
“It’s given us a bit of an opportunity to debrief here, obviously recover and go through the review of the game as well as starting to prepare against Melbourne City tomorrow night,” Mariners head coach Nick Montgomery said.
“It’s been good for the boys to be together and a little bit of time together, which we’ve not had because we’ve not had many away trips up until now.
“So yeah, it’s been a good opportunity for the boys to really bond.
Montgomery played down concerns over Central Coast conceding beyond the 90-minute mark in three consecutive games, and was wary of second-placed City.
“They’re the form team in the comp, they’re the benchmark team of the competition. For me they’re the best team in the competition,” Montgomery said.
“Probably the strongest squad, they’ve got some top players especially in that final third and off the bench as well, they’ve got quality.
“That’s why you expect from a club like Melbourne City.”
The Mariners lost to City 3-1 just under a month ago, but Montgomery noted their squad had just been hit by COVID-19, while this time around, he expected to field his strongest team of the season.
“We’re aware of them, we know they’re a quality team and we know they’re aggressive and they’ve got a strong squad,” he said.
“But we go into every game full of confidence and looking forward to getting a result, so that will stay the same.”
After Tuesday night’s match, the Mariners are likely to further extend their road trip by travelling directly from Melbourne to Adelaide to prepare for Saturday’s clash with United, rather than heading home.
“Originally, we’d look to move the game a couple of days later, but because there’s a special Pride weekend and game this weekend, that obviously can’t happen,” Montgomery said.
“So we’re just looking at the logistics now and we’ll probably make a decision on that today.
“So I’m probably confident that we will fly straight from here to Adelaide and prepare as well as we can for that game on Saturday.”
Melbourne City v Central Coast Mariners
Isuzu UTE A-League
Tuesday, February 22 2022
AAMI PARK
Kick-off: 7.55pm AEDT
MATCH CENTRE | HOW TO WATCH
Victory eye ALW bounce-back in Canberra
Anna Harrington, AAP
Jeff Hopkins is confident Melbourne Victory can bounce back from fatigue and kick-start their Liberty A-League finals push.
Victory meet Canberra United following their loss to top-four rivals Perth Glory.
Fourth-placed Victory are just one point clear of Perth and two points behind third-place Adelaide United after losing 2-0 to the Glory on Saturday, three days after their gutsy 2-2 draw with league-leading Sydney FC.
Victory’s gruelling schedule now involves facing Canberra away at Viking Park on Tuesday then Adelaide on the road on Saturday.
“Adelaide are becoming strong and obviously City beating Sydney on the weekend, it’s thrown the cat amongst the pigeons, (along with) the result with Perth and ourselves,” Victory head coach Hopkins told AAP.
“We’ve mentioned this in training, that it’s easy to come in and be happy and even get through these tough sets of games when you’re winning every week.
“But now it’s going to show the teams that have got real character and real resolve are the ones that can, after a defeat on the weekend, bounce back and come out and put in a really, really strong performance.
“I expect our team to do that for sure.”
Victory will be without Claudia Bunge (international duties), Alanna Murphy (ankle) and Amy Jackson (calf) but otherwise Hopkins believed the reigning champions were in good shape and spirits.
“Losing the game has kind of shaken them up a little bit and just got that resolve and that determination to not let it happen again,” he said.
“We understand that we’ve got to dig deep like we did in the second half of the Sydney game.
“The really pleasing thing is that we showed that even in a game where we’re pretty tired that we could find another level.
“We just need to find that again and again, not wait for someone to spark us but be the person that actually sparks the rest of the team.”
Canberra finally broke through for their first win of the season with a 5-0 thumping of Western Sydney Wanderers last Tuesday and have enjoyed a seven-day break.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for for that team, especially their ability to score goals,” Hopkins said.
“Any team with Michelle (Heyman) and ‘Sykesy’ (Ashleigh Sykes) is going to be a pretty formidable team in terms of their attacking prowess and obviously we know the quality of Grace Maher as well, after having her with us for a couple of seasons.
“It’s a game that we’re definitely not taking for granted.”
Canberra United v Melbourne Victory
Liberty A-League
Tuesday, February 22 2022
VIKING PARK
Kick-off: 5.25pm AEDT
MATCH CENTRE | HOW TO WATCH
