LINING up for three games in the same week is a physical test for any team, but rather than being daunted by the full schedule, the Western NSW Mariners FC see it as a chance to build important momentum.
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The Mariners last Sunday produced one of their best performances of the men’s State League 1 competition when they drew 1-all with the Inter Lions, their rivals lucky to split the points as they equalised in the final seconds of the match.
The Mariners were in action once more on Wednesday night, this time on their home turf at Proctor Park for a Football Federation Australia Cup match.
While they were the distinct underdogs against a Hakoah outfit which call a higher-tier competition their own, the Mariners prevailed 4-1 in a penalty shoot-out.
Now the Mariners will do battle under lights once more, taking on Nepean in the fourth round of the State League 1 competition tonight.
Coach Andrew Fearnley decided to give his men Thursday night off instead of running a regular training session to help them ‘refresh and recover’, but he is keen to build on their momentum.
“You have just got to have a good run of games. It was good to back up Sunday’s positive result and hopefully we can just flow on to Saturday’s game,” he said.
Fearnley is hoping fatigue will not be a factor tonight and if the volume of the team song his men belted out on Wednesday night is any indication, they will not be short on confidence.
Though the Mariners were somewhat fortunate in the shoot-out as Mitch Rooke got to retake a failed penalty attempt after the goalkeeper was judged to have moved off his line early, that he capitalised on his second attempt was a good sign for Fearnley.
The coach was also pleased to see the next three Mariners attempts hit the back of the net – it showed his men can handle pressure.
“We got lucky on the first one, but again you have got to take your chances and we did,” he said.
“It is always difficult when you have to step up and take the next one, but when you put your first four shots away you are very hard to beat and that’s what we did.
“We will take confidence from that.”
With the Mariners likely to have similar wet conditions tonight when they face Nepean, it will work in their favour.
Nepean have had a less hectic schedule than the Mariners – who have played three FFA Cup games and three State League fixtures – but they do head into the match on the back of a loss.
After opening their season with a 3-2 win over Dulwich, they were unable to find the back of the net last weekend and went down 1-0 to Gladesville.
The Mariners sit two spots above them on the ladder and if Fearnley’s men can win tonight, not only will they open up a nice buffer between themselves and the bottom of the ladder, they could possibly move into the top three.
Kick-off is at 7.30pm.
WESTERN NSW MARINERS FC (squad): James Christie, Matt Corben, Stuart Bromley, Adam Brakenridge, Kenny McCall, Jeremy Judge, Mitch Rooke, Nathan Davis, Duncan Logan, Adam Scimone, Ricky Guihot, Nikki Spice, Tim Porter, John Henry, Chris Howarth, Kane Hughes.
