Central Coast Mariners vs. Auckland FC
Polytec Stadium, Gosford, Australia
Friday, December 12th, 9:35pm (NZT)
Off the back of another fantastic derby victory against the Wellington Phoenix last weekend, the team’s concentration shifts to a Friday night fixture, where they play the Central Coast Mariners away from home.
If you love giant inflatable mustard and tomato sauce bottles, but love AFC even more, then tune in to Sky Sports 1 for pre-match coverage at 9pm. Kick off is 9:35pm.
Given that the Central Coast Mariners are the hosts this week, it’s only fair that we start with them.
Let’s get into it.
After winning the double in their 23/24 season, the Mariners and their fans will no doubt be frustrated at where they are now. Even though we pinched their best player (Dan Hall) in last year’s preseason transfer window, they were expected to go on and have more success, or at least compete for silverware. Unfortunately for them, they fell short of finals football, and their form this season suggests that they’re on track to fall short again.
Currently sitting in 8th position, with only two wins under their belt, they come up against an Auckland FC team who are on a high after beating their rivals in the Kiwi derby last weekend.
The Central Coast Mariners need to find THAT player who is a killer in front of the goal. Their highest goal scorer is midfielder Alfie McCalmont, who is sitting on just two goals. Their six other goal scorers are on one goal each. Usually, it would be great to have seven different goal scorers on your side, but if you don’t have one or two prolific players scoring with consistency, things will always be a bit tough.
The Mariners know this is a huge game in terms of their top six aspirations – a win could see them sneak into the top six, a loss could see them chasing a 4-point gap to 6th place.
Now to the good part. Auckland FC.
What a game it was last weekend at the fortress. Go Media Stadium had more than 22,000 people in the house. The fans were amazing as always, and the team on the pitch delivered. It was easily our best performance of the season, and as Jacob Spoonley said in the commentary, “this is the Auckland of old.” The perfect game to go on and start a bit of a rampage. Let’s wait and see, fingers crossed!
Unfortunately for Auckland FC, other results didn’t go their way over the weekend. We could celebrate and sing “we are top of the league” for just a couple of hours. That was until Sydney FC and the Brisbane Roar got their jobs done. The top 3 remain the same, with just a point the difference between third and first. Something’s gotta give – who will blink first?
We’ve come up twice against the Mariners in our short history. In the latest fixture, we were up 2-1 in the dying embers of the game. Nicholas Duarte’s soul-crushing equaliser in the 90th minute meant we had to share the spoils. It’s only fun when we score late goals, not the other way around.
On paper, it’s an easy three points for Auckland FC. In reality, it’s much more difficult. Central Coast Mariners need the points desperately to be in the running for the top 6. Auckland FC want nothing less than to be on top of the league.
Tune in at 9:35pm tomorrow night. Support Auckland FC.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Auckland FC
Steve Corica has spoken – the Captain returns! After leaving the pitch in the 14th minute in round three, the leader returns. And what a game to return to. Sakai opened the scoring when we played the Mariners last, which boosted the lads into what became a 4-1 victory – our biggest away win to date.
Yes, Dan Hall is a defender, but you see it all the time in football – players scoring against their former club. Extra incentive for Hall as well – he’s actually never beaten his former club, due to missing out on the first game with injury. He will be locked in on Friday, a match he will do everything in his power to take the three points home.
“Gimme gimme gimme Guillermo at Mt Smart, super Uruguayan scoring all of the time.” Hopefully, this song will still be ringing in his head after last weekend’s performance. May came off the bench to seal the points, and he made history for the club. He became our first-ever player to reach double figures in the goal-scoring department. He loves playing against the Mariners too – he scored in both fixtures against them last year, don’t rule him out of making it three in a row.
Central Coast Mariners
I’ve mentioned him already, so without a doubt, Alfie McCalmont is definitely one to watch. He’s their top scorer, and he scored against us last time out, so he could potentially be a thorn in the side of Auckland FC.
Central Coast goalkeeper Andy Redmayne could have a significant impact on how this game unfolds. The Australian international is a big game player and is no slouch between the sticks. The added motivation for him will be the 2026 World Cup. He needs to be on top of his game, every game, to make the final World Cup squad.
