Melbourne City FC will play a pre-season friendly in Lismore for the third consecutive year, bringing the world game to regional areas.
Although the Central Coast Mariners are geographically closer to the northern New South Wales town, Melbourne City FC will play host to the two-time premiers at Oakes Oval in Lismore on Sunday.
The side will be coming into the clash against the Mariners after a comfortable 4-0 win against NPL1 side FC Bendigo, with Marc Marino finding the net twice at Epsom Huntly Reserve. A string of youth trialists featured in the game on Tuesday night with all available players having some role in the game.
Melbourne City FC’s pre-season has seen a string of strong performances with commanding results against local sides and tight losses to Sydney FC in the FFA Cup and Adelaide United in Alice Springs. The clash will once again pit the Club against a fellow Hyundai A-League side with a chance to see what they will expect from the Mariners when the teams first meet at AAMI Park in Round 6.
A strong side will travel to Lismore on Saturday with Damien Duff and Robert Koren likely to feature on the team sheet. Since signing a senior contract with the side, Marc Marino has impressed up front, netting in both local games against Hume City and FC Bendigo. The 18-year-old came on as a substitute against Adelaide United and John van’t Schip may give the young gun an opportunity to test his skills against the likes of Nick Montgomery and Eddie Bosnar.
Central Coast will come into the game relatively fresh, spending the week in Lismore for a pre-season camp. The Mariners last competitive match was their Westfield FFA Cup tie against the South Coast Wolves where they progressed to the round of 16 with a 1-0 win against the NSW NPL1 side. The 2013 champions have drawn Brisbane NPL side Olympic FC in the next round of the FFA Cup and will look to fine tune their squad in Lismore coming into the September 16 clash.
New signings Richard Vernes and Malick Mane are part of the 25-man Mariners squad that has travelled to the northern New South Wales town and may feature in Sunday’s clash.
Melbourne City FC has faced Western Sydney Wanderers and Brisbane Roar in Lismore on the previous two occasions and will look to give a good showing when they make the long trip up the east coast on September 7.
The town has proven to be a welcoming host for the Club and the partnership with the town will continue to prosper with pre-season fixtures like this in the future. Lismore is also the birthplace of former Socceroo Craig Foster and has had a tradition of developing young footballers in the area.
For more information about what Lismore has to offer, go to www.visitlismore.com.au
Match Details
Pre-season Match
Sunday 7 September 2014
Melbourne City FC v Central Coast Mariners
Oakes Oval, Lismore
Kick-Off: 2:30pm
Tickets
Tickets selling fast at www.visitlismore.com.au
