Central Coast's outstanding Hyundai A-League defence faces one of its toughest tests when the Mariners tackle Perth in Saturday night's grand final qualifier against Perth at Gosford.
Central Coast's outstanding Hyundai A-League defence faces one of its toughest tests when the Mariners tackle Perth in Saturday night's grand final qualifier against Perth at Gosford.
The Mariners success this season has been built on the resolute defensive line led by inspirational skipper Alex Wilkinson and veteran Patrick Zwaanswijk.
The pair, along with Pedj Bojic and Joshua Rose, will need to be on their game against a rampant Perth attack at Bluetongue Stadium.
There is plenty on the line with a spot in the premiership decider against Brisbane Roar up for grabs.
The Mariners missed the opportunity to host the grand final after losing the major semi-final 5-2 on aggregate against the Roar.
In the second match on Easter Sunday the Mariners conceded two early goals, hit back strongly before a third goal in the second half handed Brisbane a 3-2 victory.
The focus for the Mariners is now on continuing the club's good run of results against Perth.
"Perth are a different challenge," Mariners coach Graham Arnold said.
"We've got the players capable of matching them."
Wilkinson is confident the Mariners will rebound strongly from the major semi-final disappointment.
He said the team's heavy schedule during the past two months could be a good thing for the rest of the campaign.
"The boys have showed there are no issues with fitness," Wilkinson said.
"It's not tough to get up for games. Perth are playing well and are scoring a lot of goals and they'll be tough on Saturday night."
"But we're playing at home and will be ready for them. We've got fantastic spirit in the change room."
The Mariners will be hoping for a much bigger crowd for the Perth match with only 9,846 fans turning out for the second leg of the major semi-final on Sunday.