Mariners in Honk Kong

[marinermick]

The Central Coast Mariners will debut on the world stage this weekend at the Philips Lighting International Soccer Sevens tournament at the Hong Kong Football Club in Hong Kong.

The Mariners earned their spot in the annual championships after finishing second to Sydney FC at the recent Club World Championship qualifying series.

Consequently, the Mariners are now lined up to face two local sides and European heavyweights Celtic in a bid to return to Australian shores with Central Coast football’s first silverware.

The Hong Kong tournament has traditionally housed some of the biggest names in world football, with UEFA Champions League semi finalists PSV Eindhoven topping this year’s list.

Also present are Old Firm giants Rangers and Celtic, Manchester United and Aston Villa from the English Premier League, and Japanese J-League side Urawa Red Diamonds.

Local representation includes Hong Kong First Division sides Happy Valley and Kitchee, Hong Kong University League Champions City University Hong Kong, and a Hong Kong Football Association Chairman’s Select side, made up of the best players from Hong Kong’s top flight.

Rounding out the 16-team tournament are Yau Yee Select, a team chosen from the best of the Hong Kong Amateurs League, KFC Toyko and the Shanghai Shooters, who come to Hong Kong via China, where they compete in the Shanghai International Football League and tournament hosts Hong Kong FC, who are represented by two teams.

All first round matches run for seven minutes each half, with each finals match being extended by three minutes per stanza.

First up for the Mariners are the Hong Kong Football Association Chairman’s Select side, who will feature some of the best talent available from the Hong Kong First Division.

Previously, the Hong Kong First Division featured the Central Coast Mariners very own Andrew Clark, who had a brief stint with 5-1-7 FC, who have since been relegated to the third division.

Two hours and twenty minutes after their first crack at seven-a-side football, the Mariners will play the Hong Kong FC’s number two team.

Hong Kong FC is an amateur club that is represented in the Hong Kong Second Division, where it currently enjoys top spot.

Finally, to finish off their Group A campaign, the Mariners will face Scottish Premier League (SPL) runners up Celtic.

The Park Head club made world headlines only recently for their heartbreaking last minute implosion against Motherwell at Fir Park, which handed bitter local rivals Rangers the Scottish Premiership crown.

The hoops have sent a young outfit to Hong Kong that features only four first team squad members, albeit ones that have yet to see game time in the SPL.

Goalkeeper Michael McGovern, Paul Lawson, Anthony McParland and Darren O’Dea all have their own Celtic squad numbers and are expected to make their first team debuts in the coming years.

McGovern, 20, spent the past season loaned out to Division Two side Stranraer.

The rest of the side has been handpicked from Celtic’s under 19’s side, which claimed the Scottish Football Association Youth Cup and League titles this year.

Should the Mariners finish in the top two of their group, they will progress to the Cup quarterfinals, starting at 12.30pm (Hong Kong time) the following afternoon. Should they finish third or fourth, the Mariners will playoff for the Plate Championship title, which kicks off three hours earlier.

The Mariners are lined up to meet representatives from Group C regardless of their final group place, a group that features Manchester United, runners up from the last Philips Lighting International Soccer Sevens and Urawa Red Diamonds.

Much like Celtic, Manchester United have sent an experimental line up to Hong Kong, which features few recognisable names, but some who have donned the synonymous red of Manchester at senior level.

Midfielder David Jones made his debut for the Red Devils in this year’s FA Cup stalemate with Exeter City, whilst Chris Eagles, another midfielder, has also made his top-flight debut under Sir Alex Ferguson.

The Mariners first foray onto the world stage promises to be a challenging one, but one which is capable of launching the fledgling club into further local, national and global notoriety.

* www.ccmariners.com.au will provide match details of each of the Central Coast Mariners matches ten minutes after full time.

Central Coast Mariners Squad Nigel Boogaard, Leo Carle, Andrew Clark, John Crawley (GK), Dean Heffernan, John Hutchinson, Adam Kwasnik, Paul O’Grady, Matthew Osman, Noel Spencer

Philips Lighting International Soccer Sevens Tournament Groupings

Group A
Celtic (Scottish Premier League)
Central Coast Mariners (Hyundai A-League)
Hong Kong Football Association Chairman’s Select
Hong Kong FC 2 (Hong Kong Second Division)

Group B
City University Hong Kong (Hong Kong University League)
Happy Valley (Hong Kong First Division)
Kitchee (Hong Kong First Division)
PSV Eindhoven (Dutch Ervidise)

Group C
KFC Tokyo (Shanghai International Football League)
Manchester United (English Premier League)
Urawa Red Diamonds (J-League)
Yau Yee Select

Group D
Aston Villa (English Premier League)
Hong Kong FC 2 (Hong Kong Second Division)
Rangers (Scottish Premier League)
Shanghai Shooters (Shanghai International Football League)

Central Coast Mariners Schedule

Central Coast Mariners v Hong Kong Football Association Chairman’s Select
Saturday, May 28 – 9.20am (11.20am AEST)

Central Coast Mariners v Hong Kong FC 2
Saturday, May 28 – 11.40am (1.40pm AEST)

Central Coast Mariners v Celtic
Saturday, May 28 – 1.20pm (3.20pm AEST)



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[Der Kaiser]

marinermick said:

Central Coast Mariners Squad Nigel Boogaard, Leo Carle, Andrew Clark, John Crawley (GK), Dean Heffernan, John Hutchinson, Adam Kwasnik, Paul O’Grady, Matthew Osman, Noel Spencer

Hm. And heres me thinking that Wayne O'Sullivan would be perfect for a Sevens team..?

[marinermick]

apart from crawley and spencer this is very much a mariner's second ten

many of the high profile players such as o'sullivan, gumprecht, pondeljak, mrdja, and petrie are all carrying injuries

wilkinson and beauchamp are too important at the back to risk injury

[sydneyfc04]

good exposure for your club and the A-leauge, hope you do well.

[jubal1]

Well done to the Mariners, past the first round, I'm not surprised that Celtic topped the table, both the old firm teams play a lot of 7's both as training and in regular tourneys.

Hope you draw Man U. and cuff them.

[mentalalien2002]

Yep, they've got Man U

[STUPIDf*g**t]

I read on the Celtic official site that they sent over an academy side. Still, good work Mariners in making it to the next round.

[Glenn]

jubal1 said:

Well done to the Mariners, past the first round, I'm not surprised that Celtic topped the table, both the old firm teams play a lot of 7's both as training and in regular tourneys.

Hope you draw Man U. and cuff them.

Well you got your wish CC Mariners 2 Man U 1 ;D

[gymeagooner]

I hope Mariners beat them, imagine the publicity Aussy football would get. It would also make NRL, g@Y FL think that they are not the only sports played in Australia.

GO THE MARINERS

Glenn said:

Well you got your wish CC Mariners 2 Man U 1 ;D

[Glenn]

Unfortunatly CC Mariners will have to settle for a 3/4 place play off after losing 1-0 to PSV in Golden Goal

[gymeagooner]

AND THEY DID ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[marinermick]

good effort from the mariners

spencer scored two long range bombs against man united and crawley was awesome in goals

[martyp]

great to c the central coast beating man u!!!!! good work to all the boys from up north!!!

[mentalalien2002]

Why aren't there any results for the 3/4 playoff anywhere ??

[marinermick]

mentalalien2002 said:

Why aren't there any results for the 3/4 playoff anywhere ??

because there was no such game