Saturday’s Second A-League Round 23 match is between Central Coast Mariners and Newcastle Jets. The opening kick-off is set to commence at 7.45pm with the game to be played at Central Coast Stadium. The home team Central Coast Mariners are the favourites for the match. View our preview and teams for the game between Central Coast Mariners and Newcastle Jets.
Round: Round 23, Saturday March 15 at 7.45pm AEDT.
Stadium: Central Coast Stadium
Head to head: Played: 31, Wins: Mariners 11, Jets 9, Draws: 11
Previous encounter: Previous encounter: Mariners 3-0 Jets, January 25 2014
Central Coast Mariners $2.20 vs Newcastle Jets $3.30 at Sportsbet Australia get a $250 FREE BET on this match
Central Coast Mariners $2.30 vs Newcastle Jets $3.00 at Luxbet Australia get a $500 FREE BET on this match
Odds Comparison:
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| Central Coast Mariners | 2.20 | 2.40 | 2.30 | 2.40 | 2.20 | 2.30 |
| Draw | 2.30 | 3.40 | 3.20 | 3.40 | 3.30 | 3.25 |
| Newcastle Jets | 3.30 | 2.85 | 3.00 | 2.85 | 3.30 | 3.00 |
All odds are subject to change. Odds listed are correct at the time of the latest update.
Tips: Newcastle Jets to win or draw.
Teams:
Central Coast Mariners FC Squad:
1.Justin PASFIELD (Gk), 3.Joshua ROSE, 4.Marcel SEIP, 5.Zachary ANDERSON, 7.John HUTCHINSON (C), 8.Nick MONTGOMERY, 9.Mitchell DUKE, 11.Nick FITZGERALD, 12.Liam REDDY (gk), 15.Storm ROUX, 17.Anthony CACERES, 19.Matt SIMON, 20.Bernie IBINI, 21.Mile STERJOVSKI, 25.Eddy BOSNAR, 26.Kim SEUNG-YONG, 27.Matt SIM, 28.Glen TRIFIRO
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 3.Joshua ROSE (returns from injury), 15.Storm ROUX (returns from international duty), 25.Eddy BOSNAR (returns from injury)
Outs: 6.Brent GRIFFITHS (omitted)
Unavailable: 10.Marcos FLORES (knee – season), 13.Hayden MORTON (thigh – 1 week), 14.Michael MCGLINCHEY (on loan – Vegalta Sendai), 18.Michael NEILL (knee – season), 23.Adam KWASNIK (knee – season)
Newcastle Jets squad:
1.Mark BIRIGHITTI (gk), 4.Kew JALIENS, 5.Ben KANTAROVSKI, 6.Zenon CARAVELLA, 7.Andrew HOOLE, 8.Ruben ZADKOVICH (c), 9.Emile HESKEY, 11.Craig GOODWIN, 13.Joey GIBBS, 14.Josh MITCHELL, 15.Josh BRILLANTE, 17.James VIRGILI, 20.Ben KENNEDY (gk), 21.Sam GALLAWAY, 22.Adam TAGGART, 23.David CARNEY, 24.Mitch OXBORROW, 29.Joel GRIFFITHS
**Two to be omitted**
Ins: 17.James VIRGILI (promoted), 29.Joel GRIFFITHS (returns from injury)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 2.Scott NEVILLE (knee injury – long term), 25.Mitch COOPER (knee injury – long term)
Preview:
Form:
Past five matches:
Mariners: WLWLL
Jets: WWLWL
The Game:
This is a must-win F3 Derby for Central Coast and Newcastle as the tight battle for places in the bottom half of the top six continues. The Mariners have lost six of their past eight matches in all competitions, but come into the encounter on a high after their 2-1 win over Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the AFC Champions League on Tuesday night. Phil Moss’ men need to use that win to kick-start their domestic campaign. The Jets have won three of their past four, keeping consecutive clean sheets, but there was still plenty of feeling at training as goalkeeper Mark Birighitti and defender Taylor Regan demonstrated with a nice little dust-up last Monday.
The big issue:
Mariners – can Central Coast use their win in Asia as a platform late in the A-League campaign? Losses in five of their past six domestically have the Mariners in serious danger of slipping out of the top six, now just a point clear of the seventh-placed Jets. They face Western Sydney and Brisbane in two of their final five A-League matches so a meeting with Newcastle is crucial if they want to play finals.
Jets – just what happens to the Jets when they have to travel to Central Coast Stadium? Newcastle’s record at Central Coast is dreadful, with just one win in 15 trips to the Mariners. The other 14 have seen seven losses and as many draws. Clayton Zane needs to get his men enjoying the trip down the M1 Pacific Motorway as they aim for their first win at the Mariners since January 2008, when James Holland and Joel Griffiths were on the scoresheet.
The game breaker:
Adam Taggart – the 20-year-old is the league’s top goalscorer and Australia coach Ange Postecoglou is keeping a close eye on him late in the campaign. Taggart already has three goals in Socceroos colours – all at the 2013 East Asian Cup – and a strong finish to the season could see him on the plane to Brazil. He has scored five times since the start of February and is clinical, so if given the opportunity has the ability to punish the Mariners.
Prediction: Mariners 1-1 Jets
Newcastle’s record in Gosford makes for dreadful reading and even with a firing Taggart, it is hard to ignore. The Mariners will be on a high after their success mid-week and should be good enough to at least avoid a loss. Taggart is a match-winner when on and it has been a long time since the Mariners kept a clean sheet. Central Coast’s 3-0 win over the Jets in January was the last time they kept a team goalless. A lot is on the line in Gosford and a draw would be an OK result for both.
Source: www.footballaustralia.com.au