holicman
10-13-2006, 02:10 AM
Central Coast Mariners coach Lawrie McKinna has turned to three of his most experienced campaigners to boost the club's fortunes ahead of Friday's crunch match with Sydney FC.
Wayne O'Sullivan, Stewart Petrie and now-retired Socceroo Tony Vidmar will return to the Mariners' line-up after missing last week's embarrassing 3-1 defeat at the hands of an understrength Adelaide side.
The seasoned trio - with a combined total of 47 years professional experience behind them - will give the Mariners much-needed injection of maturity as they seek to resurrect their finals hopes.
"I said after the match against Adelaide that we lacked a bit of leadership on the pitch in the second half over there, and O'Sullivan, Petrie and Vidmar are three of the most vocal leaders in our squad," McKinna said.
"Importantly, we've not lost anyone from last week, so we've increased the competition for places in the squad, which is something, due to injuries, that we haven't had too often this season."
Despite netting just the one win from seven starts in 2006-07, McKinna believes Friday night marks a perfect opportunity for the Mariners to grab their second win of the year.
"Sydney FC are always a huge test, and, although they've played well the last two times we've met, I feel we've been unlucky not to win both times," he said.
"We need three points tomorrow and the players know this, what better way to get our season on track with a win over our local rivals in front of our home fans?"
For Sydney, they regain two of their younger stars with Alex Brosque and Mark Milligan returning to the club after performing Socceroos duties throughout the past week.
"I want to get straight back into it - I don't like missing games and I was hoping to be able to play in the Queensland game (last week), but it wasn't to be," Brosque said.
"It is an important game for us against the Mariners because we can't let Melbourne get too far away in front."
"Next weekend we play Melbourne at Aussie Stadium, so it is a very important time for Sydney FC."
Coach Terry Butcher said while Milligan was not certain to start after suffering a hamstring injury in the Socceroos' 2-0 win over Bahrain, he was expecting Brosque to make a big impact.
"We certainly missed the international class of Alex Brosque and Mark Milligan and they will both give us a boost," Butcher said.
"Alex has that extra pace, is dangerous on the ball and will give us an extra dimension against the Mariners."
Wayne O'Sullivan, Stewart Petrie and now-retired Socceroo Tony Vidmar will return to the Mariners' line-up after missing last week's embarrassing 3-1 defeat at the hands of an understrength Adelaide side.
The seasoned trio - with a combined total of 47 years professional experience behind them - will give the Mariners much-needed injection of maturity as they seek to resurrect their finals hopes.
"I said after the match against Adelaide that we lacked a bit of leadership on the pitch in the second half over there, and O'Sullivan, Petrie and Vidmar are three of the most vocal leaders in our squad," McKinna said.
"Importantly, we've not lost anyone from last week, so we've increased the competition for places in the squad, which is something, due to injuries, that we haven't had too often this season."
Despite netting just the one win from seven starts in 2006-07, McKinna believes Friday night marks a perfect opportunity for the Mariners to grab their second win of the year.
"Sydney FC are always a huge test, and, although they've played well the last two times we've met, I feel we've been unlucky not to win both times," he said.
"We need three points tomorrow and the players know this, what better way to get our season on track with a win over our local rivals in front of our home fans?"
For Sydney, they regain two of their younger stars with Alex Brosque and Mark Milligan returning to the club after performing Socceroos duties throughout the past week.
"I want to get straight back into it - I don't like missing games and I was hoping to be able to play in the Queensland game (last week), but it wasn't to be," Brosque said.
"It is an important game for us against the Mariners because we can't let Melbourne get too far away in front."
"Next weekend we play Melbourne at Aussie Stadium, so it is a very important time for Sydney FC."
Coach Terry Butcher said while Milligan was not certain to start after suffering a hamstring injury in the Socceroos' 2-0 win over Bahrain, he was expecting Brosque to make a big impact.
"We certainly missed the international class of Alex Brosque and Mark Milligan and they will both give us a boost," Butcher said.
"Alex has that extra pace, is dangerous on the ball and will give us an extra dimension against the Mariners."