Travelling to Japan is never an easy assignment and the Mariners are certainly going to find it difficult to come away from the clash with a win.
Travelling to Japan is never an easy assignment and the Mariners are certainly going to find it difficult to come away from the clash with a win.
Date: Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Kickoff: 9pm AEDT
Venue: Hitachi Kashiwa Soccer Stadium, Kashiwa
Form:
Past five matches (all competitions):
Kashiwa Reysol: WWL
Central Coast Mariners: LWDLL
The Game
Both sides head into this undefeated in Group H.
Kashiwa got their ACL campaign off to a perfect start with a 1-0 victory over Chinese outfit Guizhou Renhe and sit on top of the group.
The Mariners, meanwhile, had to settle for a 0-0 draw with Korean team Suwon Samsung Bluewings in their campaign opener after Nick Montgomery failed to convert a late penalty.
A victory for either team in this clash will deliver top spot of the group a third of the way into the group stage of the tournament, so motivation in both camps won’t be low.
Both sides are coming off disappointing losses in their domestic leagues with Central Coast succumbing to Sydney FC 2-0 and Kashiwa Reysol copping a 3-0 thumping from FC Tokyo and will be desperate to turn it around on Wednesday.
For most of the A-League season, the Mariners have been a well-organised and hard-working side and Kashiwa will have to be wary of their preference to attack from out wide and their propensity for starting attacking moves from defence.
The Big Issue
Central Coast: Can the Mariners recapture that winning feeling? The defending A-League premiers have failed to win any of their last three matches in all competitions – including consecutive domestic losses.
Graham Arnold’s men enjoyed a seven-match undefeated run prior to their current slump which has cost them top spot in the A-League and delivered a huge blow to their aspirations of back-to-back Pemiers’ Plates. But the Mariners are a quality side and there are few better stages to get back in the winners’ circle on than in the ACL.
Kashiwa Reysol: The Japanese side got off to a flyer in the ACL with a vital away win against Guizhou Renhe but the challenge for them now is to capitalise on that performance by banking another three points in front of their home fans against Central Coast.
Kashiwa has done all the hard work early by travelling to China and claiming a victory but a lot of that good work will be undone if they fail back that up with another triumph on Wednesday.
The Gamebreaker
Central Coast: Daniel McBreen remains the leading scorer of the A-League with 15 goals but, like his team, the veteran has been out of form recently and has failed to find the back of the net in his last three outings.
The 35-year-old has shown on many occasions this season how dangerous he can be with a hat-trick and three doubles to his credit and the Mariners will greatly benefit from a fired-up McBreen in Japan.
Kashiwa Reysol: Newly signed Cleo hasn’t taken long to prove his worth to the side since crossing from Guangzhou Evergrande, scoring three goals from his first three games with the club including the winner against Guizhou Renhe and a brace in their J.League victory over Kawasaki Frontale. The Brazilian is in hot form and will need to be contained otherwise he could decide yet another match.
Prediction: Kashiwa Reysol 1-1 Central Coast
Travelling to Japan is never an easy assignment and the Mariners are certainly going to find it difficult to come away from the clash with a win. Central Coast will be greeted by brisk conditions with the expected temperature to be in the low teens come kick off.
A draw would be appear to be the best result they could hope for and if they play to the best of their ability are more than capable of achieving it.
