A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since a brace of goals from captain Mitchell Duke helped the Red & Black celebrate their Hyundai A-League return to Wanderland with a come-from-behind 2-1 win against the Central Coast Mariners at Bankwest Stadium.
A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since a brace of goals from captain Mitchell Duke helped the Red & Black celebrate their Hyundai A-League return to Wanderland with a come-from-behind 2-1 win against the Central Coast Mariners at Bankwest Stadium.
Some 114 days later after the opening round of the season, the two sides meet again in a Round 17 fixture at Central Coast Stadium in a game that could make or break their Finals hopes.
After promising starts, both clubs have struggled to make an impact in the competition and will be looking to build some momentum as they make a bid for finals football.
Just a single point separates the eighth-placed Wanderers (14 points) and ninth-placed Central Coast.
A win is vital for the Wanderers, who are six points off sixth spot.
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Interim head coach Jean-Paul de Marigny will take charge of the side for the first time, replacing Marcus Babbel, who departed the club recently.
Given the bye last week de Marigny, who was Babbel’s assistant, has had time to work with the squad since the 1-0 loss to Perth Glory on 19 January.
Importantly, de Marigny will welcome back young guns Tass Mourdoukoutas and Keanu Baccus to the squad. The duo have been away on Olyroos duty since the start of the year and have missed the club’s last three games.
Their return will add considerable depth to the squad, which has been working hard as they look to turn around their season.
The Wanderers will be looking for more inspiration from Duke, who will be playing against the club that gave him his chance in the Hyundai A-League.
Duke is the Red & Black’s leading goal scorer with five this season, two of them coming against the Mariners in the first game of the season and his competitive edge has been on show all season as he leads the statistics with most duels (121) won of any player in the competition.
The Red & Black enjoy playing at Central Coast Stadium and have a great record at the venue having beaten the Mariners six times in their 12 encounters there.
Between 2015 and 2018 the Red & Black won five games in a row at the ground before the Mariners turned it around with a 3-1 win last April.
Significantly, the Wanderers have lost just three of their past 17 games against the Mariners.
The two clubs have built a keen rivalry since the Wanderers came into the domestic competition in 2012 with the Wanderers having an edge in the overall results with 12 wins and six draws in 24 games.
While they have lost their past two games, the Mariners are a side that has earned a lot of respect this season under coach Alen Stajcic.
They are particularly tough to break down and have done well at home, where they have won three of their four games this season.
