Mariners within a point of A-League premiership
Central Coast coach Mark Jackson admits having the club’s awards night 48 hours before the Mariners’ biggest game of the season to date was far from “ideal”.
The Mariners – who are currently a point adrift of A-League leaders Wellington Phoenix – only need a draw against Adelaide United on Wednesday night in Gosford to clinch the premiership as they have already won more games than the New Zealand outfit.
The game was due to be played in the penultimate round of the regular season but was shifted after the Mariners’ departure from Kyrgyzstan, where they had been on AFC Cup duty, was delayed.
With the match being moved to Wednesday, it is take place two nights after the club’s already organised awards ceremony, where midfielder Max Balard was awarded the Mariners Medal after being judged the club’s player of the year.
While happy for Balard, Jackson wasn’t pleased with the timing of the awards.
“It’s not ideal having an awards night (on Monday),” Jackson said on Tuesday.
“But it’s really important for us as a club that we show gratitude to our sponsors and supporters on these occasions.
“The boys were there for an hour last night and they’re all raring to go on the training pitch now.
“I’m sure they’re excited about the game. At the start of the season if you said you’re going to go into the last game with a chance of winning the league, you’d have snatched someone’s hand off for that.”
The Mariners also have Sunday’s AFC Cup final in Oman against Lebanese club Al-Ahed on the horizon.
However, Jackson said the Mariners were focused on getting “over the line” against Adelaide.
“That (AFC Cup final) is in the back of our mind at the moment,” he said.
“The most important game now is Adelaide, and dealing with a really dangerous and strong opponent.”
“They’ll be coming here wanting to disrupt what we want to achieve, and that’s normal, and that’s how I would expect them to be as well.
“We have to be on our toes for what they’re going to bring but we have to go out there and play with a calmness, and play our game like we’ve done all season.”
The Reds, who can’t make the finals but have also avoided having to playoff for a spot in the Australia Cup by finishing above the bottom four, are playing for nothing but pride.
Adelaide coach Carl Veart promised the Reds, who will farewell Bayern Munich-bound Nestory Irankunda, would attack the Mariners.
“They might sit back a little bit because they only need a draw but we’re going to go there and try to get the three points,” Veart said.
“I know they’ve got a lot on the line so it should be an entertaining game.”
