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| Mariners a 'sum of their parts' |
In this weekend’s mouth watering Hyundai A-league fixture the boys from the Central Coast will head to Suncorp to take on their fierce rivals and although they realise that their form has been top notch, complacency cannot take flight.
For a side that takes ownership of their underdog status and love to be the team to fly under the radar, the Central Coast Mariners are going about it in a strange fashion this season, sitting joint top of the table with a superior goal difference the only thing separating themselves and the record breaking Roar.
Coach Graham Arnold is impressed but not surprised by his boys' efforts so far this season but he knows there is plenty more to come if they expect to knock the Roar off the perch this weekend and more importantly to come out on top at the end of the season.
“I think at the moment we are sitting at about 75 percent and with plenty of competition for positions in the squad at the moment we all know that we will get better,” said Arnold.
Within the squad there is a dynamic that few would relate to success but the point is, many of the players are currently playing the best football of their careers and probably deserve more credit than they receive. Arnold is the first guy to put his hand up and vouch for the boys and he knows that his players would “die on the pitch for him”.
“It’s a bit of a shame that week in week out the boys are putting on these performances and all the critics focus on is how poorly our oppositions have played, more credit needs to go to my boys and they know what I think,” said Arnold.
There has been plenty of hype surrounding the young attacking powerhouses in the Borussia Dortmund loanee Mustafa Amini and nominee for NAB Young Footballer of the Year Bernie Ibini but their coach knows that his side relies on more than young blood.
“Musti (Amini) and Bernie (Ibini) have been doing a great job up front but at 18 and 19 they wouldn’t be having the success they are without a guy like Matty (Simon) up there directing traffic and putting in the hard yards that he does,” said Arnold.
Matt Simon, the clubs all time leading goal scorer, has seemed to turn from pup to mentor overnight whose workhorse attitude and absolute passion runs through his veins. It is a trait that cannot be taught and it is appreciated by everyone in the Mariners camp.
“When we are at training playing five on five first guy you want in your side is Matt Simon, his never say die attitude is credit to what the club is built upon and you can see that on the pitch,” said Mariners captain Alex Wilkinson.
Behind the forces up front there are many guys playing beyond their potential and the entire side could be named in reference to their significance to the squad but as a functioning whole, the Central Coast Mariners are a well drilled synergy that relies on the sum of all its parts.
It is now mid December and with ten rounds under the belt the Mariners are keen to continue their form through to March and roll every team on their 17 game journey to the finals.
Although this weekend is a spectacle for the fans and a crucial match for both teams’ seasons, Arnold knows that this Saturday night is not the be all and end all.
“We would love to go up and knock the Roar off this weekend, but no one wins a title in December and we really want to beat them in the last game of the season, in round one we were not ready and now I think we are ready,” said Arnold.
With Simon in arguably the best form of his career, Amini and Ibini fast becoming two of the best young footballers in the country, Patrick Zwaanswijk scoring goals as a 36 year old defender, Rostyn Griffiths “conducting the orchestra” in the midfield and not to mention veteran John Hutchinson keeping our Olyroos captain on the bench, the Central Coast Mariners will take more than enough firepower with them to Brisbane for this weekend’s Grand Final rematch.
Kickoff is scheduled for 6:45pm this Saturday night for what will determine a competition leader and a tell tale sign of how the Roar can cope without German superstar (and film star) Thomas Broich who looks doubtful.