SOCCER
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THE Western NSW Mariners FC are haemorrhaging goals in the men’s National Premier League 3 competition and their coach Andrew Fearnley has issued his players a rallying cry to stop the rot when round six approaches tomorrow.
Winless so far despite boasting the fourth-best attacking record in the 12-team competition, the Mariners have lost their last three matches 4-3, 4-3 and 5-3.
Though it highlights the attacking prowess of the side, it clearly shows that the Mariners have a massive defensive issue that has to be addressed as soon as possible if their season is to be salvaged.
The general mantra for men’s and women’s Mariners teams over the years has been to try and play positive, attacking football.
Fearnley admits that the time may have come, for the time being at least, to forget that idea and try and force their opposition into a grind.
“It’s probably time to do that now, if not earlier in hindsight,” he said.
“We had already kind of made that decision anyway, but it is all about applying it. We got caught out last weekend against Inter, we did well to come back before half-time but again we fell away at the end.
“It is a matter of applying ourselves without the ball, we aren’t getting enough bodies behind the ball. We’ve been in the contest with teams that are vying for finals positions but have been finding a way to lose each time.
“With that in mind, our whole training week has been focused on our transition from attack into defence. If given the choice, I’d rather lose 1-0 or 2-0 than lose 4-3.”
Despite their issues, the coach said that the general level of morale within the side was reasonable. But he put the onus on his players to take the right attitude and level of application into tomorrow’s game in Sydney.
“The problem is part mindset, part application,” he said.
“We need to man up, take responsibility. Yeah, we’ve lost five games, but one win can make a big difference and there’s nothing to stop us getting on a role and getting back on track.
“We can still fix some things in attack as well, not just our defence.
“We’re scoring goals, but we have turned the ball over a lot in positions and areas where the other team can get on the counter-attack and hurt us.
“Looking at the last month, we’ve probably made the games too open. I don’t think there has been a match where we haven’t created as many, if not more, opportunities to score than the other team.”
The Mariners play the Gladesville Ryde Magic in Sydney at Magdala Park from 4.30pm tomorrow.