In this week 9 match, on Tue Dec 27th, Melbourne City will play host to Central Coast Mariners in a clash of the A-League. Weather on match day is looking like a cloudy but hot day with daytime temperatures of 30 degrees, which may be tiring for the players. In their last match, Melbourne City recorded a 1-2 loss against Sydney. MacLaren struck first for Melbourne City in the 22nd minute on a penalty kick, then in the 23rd minute, Paulo Retre sent in a beautiful pass which was converted by Joe Lolley Finally they completed the comback victory in the 61st minute on a goal by Adam Le Fondre to cap off a wild match. Melbourne City should be reasonably happy with their recent performance, earning 19 points in their last 10 matches, while in their last match, 4th placed Central Coast Mariners, recorded a 3-0 shutout win against Newcastle Jets. Marco Túlio struck first for Central Coast Mariners in the 22nd minute on a feed from Jacob Farrell, then Jason Cummings added another in the 63rd minute on a feed from Marco Túlio At the end of 90 a dissapointed Newcastle Jets couldn’t manage to score, and Central Coast Mariners took the shutout win. Central Coast Mariners is looking for direction having 4 win and 3 losses in their last 10 matches.
This match will be the first time these two teams face eachother this season. Last season Melbourne City won the head to head battle with 2 wins.
Central Coast Mariners is lucky enough to have a few offensive weapons, with Michael Ruhs and Kuol each having 2 goals in their last five. Melbourne City is fortunate enough to have Jamie MacLaren in top form. In the last 5 matches the attacker has scored 6 goals.