The Central Coast Stadium is the venue for this upcoming F1 local derby between Central Coast Mariners and Newcastle Jets on Tuesday night in the A-League with Central Coast still possessing a slim chance of a top two finish.
3rd placed Central Coast Mariners trail 2nd placed Sydney FC by a five-point margin but the hosts have two games remaining of their campaign.
If they win both of these matches and Sydney slip up away at Brisbane Roar, then The Mariners will claim oner of the top two spots.
The Mariners had to endure a sticky six-match spell without a win in the A-League recently which included defeats against Western United and Brisbane Roar but they did manage to hold Sydney FC to a 2-2 draw at home, thus remaining in the race for the top two.
Recent wins against Newcastle Jets (1-0 away) and Macarthur have helped restore Central Coast’s confidence and momentum, while at home, The Mariners have lost just one of their last eight matches.
Newcastle Jets have had to endure a wretched campaign this season in the A-League as the visitors sit rock-bottom of the division and head into this local derby in terrible form having failed to win any of their last 14 matches overall.
To make matters worse, Newcastle Jets have suffered 11 defeats within this sequence of poor results.
There’s nothing left to play for here except pride and bragging rights, although having lost five of their last six away from home, The Jets look to have their work cut out here.
Newcastle Jets had actually started the season in bright fashion on the road as they’d lost just one of their opening five games on their travels and had picked up wins at Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne Victory, but the wheels have come off in dramatic fashion since.
Defeats at Adelaide United, Sydney FC, Perth Glory, Western United and Melbourne City have outweighed the 2-2 draw they nicked at Macarthur, while The Jets have conceded 2 goals or more in each of their last six away games.
Central Coast Mariners have won the previous two meetings on the trot against Newcastle Jets and the hosts look in good shape to take the honours on Tuesday night as well.