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Central Coast Mariners star Roy O’Donovan turns up heat on Western Sydney Wanderers
Tom Smithies, Football Editor, The Daily Telegraph
February 9, 2017 9:11pm
“IT’S pretty tight,” says Roy O’Donovan, and the striker is clear his Mariners are ready to make the battle to secure a place in the A-League finals even tighter, at Western Sydney’s expense.
As the two teams meet on Sunday, with the Gosford club aiming to reel the Wanderers in through a third straight victory, O’Donovan said there is “pressure on Western Sydney every week” — especially against a side “always taken quite lightly”.
Mariners striker Roy O'Donovan takes a shot at goal. Picture: AAP
Western Sydney’s players have been taking the threat of the Mariners very seriously, with a gap of just five points in the midst of a five-team arm-wrestle for the last places in the top six. In round four the Mariners took a point off Tony Popovic’s side, part of a winless streak at Spotless Stadium that O’Donovan said remains an issue.
“There’s pressure on them every week, they’re a big club and well supported,” he said. “They’ll be very keen to get their first win at their temporary new home (at Spotless Stadium) but we go full of confidence having won our last two.
“Western Sydney haven’t kicked on the way people might have expected, and hopefully we can stick to our game plan. It won’t be easy — Western Sydney are a strong side and have weapons at their disposal. But the Mariners as a team are always taken quite lightly — that’s probably been fair enough in what, the last three seasons? But we’ve been unlucky at times this season.
Roy O'Donovan believes the pressure is on the Wanderers this weekend. Picture: Getty Images
“We drew with Melbourne City on New Year’s Eve, a last-minute equaliser that was hard to take, and the week after we looked like the only side capable of beating Sydney FC, only to lose to an off-side goal.
“But our performances have been good, and importantly when we haven’t played so well the last couple of weeks, we’ve still ground out a result.”
On Thursday, the FFA said the game would go ahead as planned despite the scorching temperatures forecast across the state all weekend, with a southerly wind scheduled to bring some relief by Sunday afternoon.
Central Coast’s Liam Rose clashes with Wanderers veteran Brendon Santalab during their match at Central Coast Stadium in December. Picture: Getty Images
Newcastle’s home game against Melbourne Victory at the same time the day before has been moved to Monday and O’Donovan said the predicted heat would undoubtedly affect the game.
“It is difficult — we played in Canberra last week, and so far inland the humidity and the heat made for hard conditions,” he said. “It probably wasn’t the best game to watch as a result, but for once we came out on the right side of a tight situation.
“To be honest you can’t learn much from it, except that you have to survive it. It’ll be a very hot day in Western Sydney, and we all have to deal with that.”
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http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...s/news-story/75de7bb43a60cb81502aafb384104f64
Tom Smithies, Football Editor, The Daily Telegraph
February 9, 2017 9:11pm
“IT’S pretty tight,” says Roy O’Donovan, and the striker is clear his Mariners are ready to make the battle to secure a place in the A-League finals even tighter, at Western Sydney’s expense.
As the two teams meet on Sunday, with the Gosford club aiming to reel the Wanderers in through a third straight victory, O’Donovan said there is “pressure on Western Sydney every week” — especially against a side “always taken quite lightly”.
Mariners striker Roy O'Donovan takes a shot at goal. Picture: AAP
Western Sydney’s players have been taking the threat of the Mariners very seriously, with a gap of just five points in the midst of a five-team arm-wrestle for the last places in the top six. In round four the Mariners took a point off Tony Popovic’s side, part of a winless streak at Spotless Stadium that O’Donovan said remains an issue.
“There’s pressure on them every week, they’re a big club and well supported,” he said. “They’ll be very keen to get their first win at their temporary new home (at Spotless Stadium) but we go full of confidence having won our last two.
“Western Sydney haven’t kicked on the way people might have expected, and hopefully we can stick to our game plan. It won’t be easy — Western Sydney are a strong side and have weapons at their disposal. But the Mariners as a team are always taken quite lightly — that’s probably been fair enough in what, the last three seasons? But we’ve been unlucky at times this season.
Roy O'Donovan believes the pressure is on the Wanderers this weekend. Picture: Getty Images
“We drew with Melbourne City on New Year’s Eve, a last-minute equaliser that was hard to take, and the week after we looked like the only side capable of beating Sydney FC, only to lose to an off-side goal.
“But our performances have been good, and importantly when we haven’t played so well the last couple of weeks, we’ve still ground out a result.”
On Thursday, the FFA said the game would go ahead as planned despite the scorching temperatures forecast across the state all weekend, with a southerly wind scheduled to bring some relief by Sunday afternoon.
Central Coast’s Liam Rose clashes with Wanderers veteran Brendon Santalab during their match at Central Coast Stadium in December. Picture: Getty Images
Newcastle’s home game against Melbourne Victory at the same time the day before has been moved to Monday and O’Donovan said the predicted heat would undoubtedly affect the game.
“It is difficult — we played in Canberra last week, and so far inland the humidity and the heat made for hard conditions,” he said. “It probably wasn’t the best game to watch as a result, but for once we came out on the right side of a tight situation.
“To be honest you can’t learn much from it, except that you have to survive it. It’ll be a very hot day in Western Sydney, and we all have to deal with that.”
Masterfood Quality Sauce:
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...s/news-story/75de7bb43a60cb81502aafb384104f64
