Wellington Phoenix head coach Giancarlo Italiano has dismissed the relevance of the men’s past two visits to Gosford as they prepare to put their unbeaten start to the new season on the line against Central Coast.
The Phoenix will square-off against the Mariners at polytec Stadium on Sunday evening after following up their season-opening draw in Perth with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Brisbane at Sky Stadium.
The Nix have happy memories of their last two matches in Gosford. Wellington beat Central Coast 3-0 last November and then won by the same scoreline in this year’s final pre-season match.
Italiano says last year’s A-League meeting was a long time ago.
“We were good that day,” he told media after training on Thursday. “We stuck to the game plan…but we’re a different team and they’re a different team now.
“Different dynamic and different season so we’re going to go there and try and be as disciplined as we can, stick to the gameplan, enjoy the moment, [and] enjoy the sun.
“And we want to get a win so that we can give ourselves a good opportunity for the season to progress where we need to.”
The Mariners also have a new coach, with Warren Moon taking charge in an interim capacity after Mark Jackson left the club on the eve of their pre-season match with the Phoenix.
“From evidence I’ve seen they’re a little bit more compact than they were against us in the friendly game.
“They’d obviously just lost their manager the day before and they were probably a little bit disjointed.
“They gave us a tough game over there but knowing Mooney, he is very good with defending structure and so on, so expect them to be hard to break down and also they have their home crowd so it’s something we have to overcome.”
The wild recent weather in Wellington is also something the Nix have had to overcome.
“The wind has been crazy here for the last two weeks. It’s been a variable that is very hard to train for and get used to.
“We actually trained on the day where everything was shut down. That was an experience. We had hail yesterday (Wednesday) and then we had bright sun.
“But Gosford will hopefully be nice and warm. The pitch is really good there. It was probably the best I’ve seen it when we played that friendly match.
“They’ve got a good crowd, a good buzz and it’s next to the ocean as well so I’m looking forward to the game.”
Italiano will be unable to call on five of his first team squad members with attacking midfielder Ramy Najjarine (foot) joining All Whites fullback Tim Payne, Paulo Retre, Nikola Mileusnic and Nathan Walker on the sidelines.
But centre back Isaac Hughes is in line to return after missing the opening two matches of the season with an infected ankle.
“Hughesy has ticked all of the boxes so I’m anticipating he’ll have some involvement in the game.”
Xuan Loke made his home debut against Brisbane when he replaced Payne, but Loke isn’t guaranteed the right wingback spot in Payne’s absence with Matt Sheridan another option in the position.
“I don’t want to burden him (Loke) with having that expectation that he needs to start every game.
“It’ll be a game by game basis for him, as it will be for some of the other younger boys.
“I’m really concentrated on that younger group now in terms of balancing expectations and playing time so every week will look different.”
Corban Piper won’t be considered for the role with Italiano viewing him as a striker this season.
“He plays with all of his heart and he gives maximum energy all the time when he gets on the pitch.
“I feel like with his size, his presence and his ability to make forward runs playing him up top suits him better.”
Piper is on a minutes restriction as he returns from an osteitis pubis injury which sidelined him for the first few months of the Phoenix’s pre-season campaign and is expected to again be named amongst the substitutes.
The third round Isuzu UTE A-League match between the Wellington Phoenix and Central Coast Mariners is scheduled to kick-off at polytec Stadium in Gosford at 7pm (5pm AEDT) Sunday and will be broadcast LIVE on Sky Sport 3 in New Zealand and on Paramount+ in Australia.
Most recent meeting: 25 January 2025 – Wellington Phoenix 0 Central Coast Mariners 0
All-time A-League head-to-head: Phoenix 20W, Mariners 19W & 11D.
Wellington Phoenix squad (two to be omitted): 1. Josh OLUWAYEMI (gk), 3. Corban PIPER, 4. Manjrekar JAMES, 5. Fin ROA CONCHIE, 7. Ifeanyi EZE, 9. Hideki ISHIGE, 11. Carlo ARMIENTO, 12. Dan EDWARDS, 14. Alex RUFER (c), 15. Isaac HUGHES, 17. Gabriel SLOANE-RODRIGUES, 18. Lukas KELLY-HEALD, 23. Luke SUPYK, 24. Xuan LOKE, 25. Kazuki NAGASAWA, 27. Matt SHERIDAN, 29. Luke BROOKE-SMITH, 37. Anaru CASSIDY, 39. Jayden SMITH, 40. Eamonn MCCARRON (gk).
Unavailable:6. Tim PAYNE (injured), 8. Paulo RETRE (injured), 10. Nikola MILEUSNIC (injured), 19. Nathan WALKER (injured), 20. Ramy NAJJARINE (injured).
Central Coast Mariners squad (two to be omitted): 2. James DONACHIE, 3. Nathan PAULL (c), 5. Lucas MAURAGIS, 7. Christian THEOHAROUS, 8. Alfie McCALMONT, 9. Ryan EDMONDSON, 10. Miguel DI PIZIO, 11. Sabit NGOR, 14. Nico DUARTE, 15. Storm ROUX, 16. Harrison STEELE, 21. Abdul FAISAL, 22. Arthur DE LIMA, 26. Bradley TAPP, 27. Alexi HOURIDIS, 30. Andrew REDMAYNE (gk), 33. James HOURIDIS, 37. Bailey BRANDTMAN, 40. Dylan PERAIĆ-CULLEN (gk), 41. Shumba MUTOKOYI.
Unavailable:4. Trent SAINSBURY (injured).
Main image: The Wellington Phoenix warm-up for training at NZCIS. Photo: Cam McIntosh/Photomac.
