Melbourne City FC will look to continue its strong run of February form with a win against Central Coast Mariners at home on Tuesday night.
The City boys overcame a midweek loss against Adelaide United with a resounding 3-0 win over Newcastle Jets on Friday night, and will now be looking to maintain that momentum against the Mariners in a bid to create separation at the top of the table.
The home win against the Jets was the type of complete performance that fans have been yearning for, with the boys netting three goals courtesy of Jamie Maclaren, Mathew Leckie and Carl Jenkinson, all the while keeping a clean sheet for just the second time this A-League Men season.
City’s attacking might has served the team well this season, ranking first for goals-per-game at 1.92, and fans will hope to see a continuation of this form in front of goal when the freely-conceding Mariners come to visit on Tuesday.
Nick Montgomery’s side has conceded 12 goals in its past five games and were most recently held to a 1-1 draw by last-placed Perth Glory at home.
City will need to be wary of new Mariners signing Jason Cummings, whose goal against the Glory was his second in his first three appearances for the club. Marco Urena is also a major attacking threat who scored in Central Coast’s last meeting with City.
It was the travelling City boys who came away with the three points on that occasion, securing a 3-1 victory in late January. Maclaren opened the scoring, but the Mariners hit back before half-time through Urena. Fortunately, a strong second half saw Andrew Nabbout and an on-debut Jenkinson find the back of the net to secure the result that broke our run of three consecutive draws prior to that.
City fans will hope that their team can extend its nine-game winning run at home when facing the Mariners, who’ve not beaten us at AAMI Park since the 2013/14 season.
Match Details
A-League Men
Melbourne City FC vs Central Coast Mariners FC
Tuesday 22 January, kick-off 7:55pm
AAMI Park
