A-League Preview: Central Coast Mariners - North Queensland Fury

Posted Saturday, January 09, 2010 by Goal.com

Robbie Fowler prepares to lead out his North Queensland Fury side in Gosford on Saturday evening, where the embattled Central Coast Mariners await at Bluetongue Stadium.

Five consecutive defeats still haven’t taken the Mariners out of the running for a top six finish, a testament to their excellent work at the beginning of the season. The string of losses might however show that Lawrie McKinna’s squad was living beyond its means for the first half of the campaign.

The Mariners are widely regarded as one of the weaker sides in the league despite their continuing defiance of the odds and their recent struggles would seem to justify that perception, though their performances against the likes of the Gold Coast and Melbourne at the beginning of last month were arguably deserving of more than a return of zero points.

What can be taken from their results is that the competition remains one of incredibly fine margins, with not a great deal to choose between the depth and quality of most of its sides. The Mariners, with the absence of a particular star man but strength in work ethic and team unity, typify the unpredictability of the league.

It doesn’t bode well though for the visit of the North Queensland Fury, who despite being nailed to the bottom of the table for the majority of the season have caused the odd shock. Fury boss Ian Feguson will identify this as a wonderful chance to record back-to-back victories for only the second time.

Indeed, Ferguson has indentified the Mariners - who will set a new A-League record if they suffer another defeat - as a target and will no doubt be firing up his steadily improving outfit in Gosford. All too often this season though we have seen a similar scenario in which the Fury have disappointed; something they cannot afford to keep doing if they are to keep alive their slim chances of finals football.

FORM GUIDE

Central Coast Mariners

Dec 5. Gold Coast United 2-1 Central Coast Mariners
Dec 12. Central Coast Mariners 0-3 Melbourne Victory
Dec 19. Central Coast Mariners 2-3 Brisbane Roar
Dec 23. Sydney FC 1-0 Central Coast Mariners
Dec 31. Central Coast Mariners 0-2 Wellington Phoenix

North Queensland Fury

Dec 5. Sydney FC 4-1 North Queensland Fury
Dec 11. North Queensland Fury 1-0 Perth Glory
Dec 16. Brisbane Roar 2-0 North Queensland Fury
Dec 23. Newcastle Jets 3-2 North Queensland Fury
Dec 27. North Queensland Fury 1-0 Melbourne Victory

Head-to-Head: Central Coast Mariners wins 1, North Queensland Fury wins 0 (1 draw)

TEAM NEWS

Central Coast Mariners

In: Dean Heffernan (returns from international duty), Danny Vukovic (returns from international duty), Nigel Boogaard (returns from suspension), Chris Doig (returns from injury)

Out: Panny Nikas (not selected), Matthew Ryan (not selected), Matthew Lewis (not selected)

Unavailable: Shane Huke (quadriceps - 1 week), Ahmad Elrich (ankle - 1 week)

Possible Starting XI: (4-3-3) Vukovic, Heffernan, Wilkinson, Boogaard, Porter, Bojic, McGlinchey, Hutchinson, Travis, Simon, Mrdja

North Queensland Fury

In: Nil

Out: Jacob Timpano (not selected), Jack Hingert (not selected), Fred Agius (not selected), Osama Malik (not selected), John Tambouras (not selected), Karl Dodd (not selected), Rostyn Griffiths (not selected)

Unavailable: Shane Stefanutto (knee - indefinite), Scott Wilson (knee - indefinite), James Robinson (knee- indefinite), Ufuk Talay (calf: 4-6 weeks), David Williams (hamstring 4-6 weeks)

Possible Starting XI: (4-4-2) Pasfield, Middleby, Busch, M. Smith, Tadrosse, Grossman, Spagnuolo, G. Smith, Brockie, Daal, Fowler

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Dean Heffernan (Central Coast Mariners)

Coming off the back of a big performance with the Socceroos in Kuwait, Heffernan’s confidence will be sky high. He remains a valuable commodity for Lawrie McKinna with his attacking endeavour giving the Mariners much-needed width and giving his side a totally different dimension to its attacking play when he’s in form.

North Queensland Fury (Dyron Daal)

The new form man for the Fury, scoring an outstanding winner against the Melbourne Victory last round. Recently extended his stay in Townsville and has proved an astute purchase by Ian Ferguson, scoring some important goals this season. At his best, he can be almost impossible to handle with his awkward physical frame and deft touch.

WHAT THEY SAID

''I had to pull them up and ask where it came from because we certainly haven't been playing like that. I could see it was another gear, so I know they know how important it is for us to get back into winning,” Central Coast manager Lawrie McKinna on a vastly improved training performance by his players this week.

"Unless Robbie changes his mind or wants to go back home, as far as I'm concerned at this moment, everything's fine, Robbie's fine, his family's fine,” Fury boss Ian Ferguson plays down speculation about a rift with star man Robbie Fowler.

PREDICTION

I think the Mariners will bounce back; they tend to rally together when the odds are against them (which is quite often) and the return of Socceroo stars Heffernan and Vukovic will give them a real lift.

Central Coast Mariners 2-1 North Queensland Fury