Melbourne Victory Men return to AAMI Park for a Grand Final rematch against the Central Coast Mariners on Saturday, March 8.
Recording a 0-0 draw in their Round 1 meeting at Industree Group Stadium, Victory will be eager to get the better of the Mariners this time around.
Melbourne Victory:
Victory return from Queensland after securing a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Brisbane Roar, thanks to a late equaliser from youngster Kasey Bos – scoring his first-ever Isuzu Ute A-League Men’s goal.
Arthur Diles’ side will be determined to put on a much-improved performance on home soil.
Thankfully, Victory has consistently performed better in front of their home crowd – only recording a single loss at AAMI Park this season.
Off the back of their AFC U20 Asian Cup winning campaign with the Young Socceroos, both Josh Inserra and Alex Badolato will join up with the squad.
Signing with Victory on loan until the remainder of the season from the Western Sydney Wanderers, Badolato will be keen to make his debut in Navy Blue after winning the Asian Cup’s Most Valuable Player award – recording two goals and three assists in his five appearances.
As just three points separate second-placed Western United and seventh-placed Sydney FC, claiming all three points will be vital for sixth-placed Victory in the race to secure a finals spot with just seven games remaining in the regular season.
Round 22 Squad
1. Mitch LANGERAK, 3. Adama TRAORE, 4. Lachlan JACKSON, 5. Brendan HAMILL, 6. Ryan TEAGUE, 7. Daniel ARZANI, 8. Zinedine MACHACH, 9. Nikolaos VERGOS, 10. Bruno FORNAROLI, 11. Clerismario SANTOS RODRIGUES, 14. Jordi VALADON, 17. Nishan VELUPILLAY, 18. Fabian MONGE, 19. Jing REEC, 21. Roderick MIRANDA, 22. Joshua RAWLINS, 23. Alexander BADOLATO, 27. Reno PISCOPO, 28. Kasey BOS, 30. Daniel GRASKOSKI
Ins: 19. Jing REEC (promoted), 23. Alexander BADOLATO (promoted)
Outs: 24. Alex MENELAOU (omitted)
Unavailable: 25. Jack DUNCAN (concussion)
Central Coast Mariners:
Finishing 2nd and winning the League’s championship in 2022/23 to winning the treble with AFC Cup glory in 2023/24 – the Mariners have struggled to maintain the extreme heights of their previous two campaigns this season.
Central Coast find themselves sat 10th on the ladder, nine points adrift from Victory and the top six.
Balancing the league alongside Asia has proven to be difficult for the Gosford-based side, finishing with just one point in their seven outings competing in the AFC Champions League Elite.
The Coasties are in the midst of a four-game losing streak, notably losing their last two games on home soil to the Western Sydney Wanderers and Western United respectively.
In the midst of a difficult campaign, Brazilian playmaker Mikael Doka has been the standout for Mark Jackson’s side – recording five goals and seven assists in all competitions this season.
