Australia NewsPedj Pushes Coast Towards Title |
EXCLUSIVE: Revitalised Central Coast midfielder Pedj Bojic has targeted another five goals this season as the in-form Mariners ramp up their title credentials heading into the final 12 rounds of the A-League.
Bojic has set himself a target of seven goals for the remainder of the season as the defender-turned-midfielder has pushed into a more offensive role.
It's resulted in some eye-catching performances from the former Northampton Town man two goals over the last month including two goals against Fury and Roar in mid-October.
And with fellow midfielders John Hutchinson, Nick Travis, Mike McGlinchey and Ahmad Elrich also starting to find their scoring boots, Bojic is part of an exciting combination for coach Lawrie McKinna. Bojic, 25, is naturally delighted at this turn of events.
"I am a natural right back but I am enjoying it in midfield and long-term it can be a potential position for me. Obviously there are defensive duties but with a licence to go forward more and get involved," he told au.fourfourtwo.com.
"I tend to run around a lot so I tend to come off the park buggered but if you put in the hard work, you get the rewards. I enjoy it."
That's exactly the mantra the club and the team have espoused over the last four and a half seasons of its existence - a mantra that was ramped up considerably after the side's poor 2009 ACL campaign where they finished bottom of their group.
All interest now centres on Friday night's clash with Perth Glory at Bluetongue Stadium. A season-high crowd is tipped with the added value of a curtain raiser featuring ladder leaders Central Coast women in the W-League.
And McKinna comes up against another an old mate. At the turn of the millennium, McKinna was assistant to Perth's David Mitchell at NSL club Parramatta Power.
McKinna will be hoping it's a similar scenario to last week when he comprehensively won the battle 5-1 against his former assistant Ian Ferguson in steamy Townsville.
Friday's clash should be played in conditions much cooler. Bojic described the scene in the half-time break at Dairy Farmers stadium as like having played in a rainstorm such was the effect of the humidity on the Mariners' sweat levels.
It's expected to be slightly cooler in Gosford with around 29 degrees expected at a venue that's had work done on its surface over the last six weeks.
The Mariners trained on it earlier this week and Bojic declared himself satisfied with how it felt underfoot. "They've patched up a few areas but it looks good," he said.
The Mariners have patched up a few areas themselves in recent times. After the disastrous ACL they've conceded just nine goals (easily the best in the A-League) and scored nine in the last two games for a total of 22 - the league's second best behind Melbourne Victory.
What's more the Coast are sitting nicely in fourth spot on the ladder just four points off top spot with four home games in their next six
With that fixture run, the Coast can cement their spot in the top four and even the top two between now and New Year's Eve.
They are now looking good for a solid tilt at the title, with the stingiest defence in the A-League finally matched by a free scoring frontline, slamming home nine goals in the last two matches alone.
But in a topsy-turvy season they may have the momentum but they won't be taking anything for granted. And with Glory in fifth, two points shy of the Mariners, Dave Mitchell's men could leapfrog the Coast with a win on Friday.
Little wonder the spotlight is firmly on this likable club based an hour's drive up the F3 from Sydney when they return to play in front of their home support this Friday night.
Bojic added: "We seem to be proving everyone wrong and we seem to be a force in the league. We've never had any doubt we're capable of top two."
However Central Coast look certain to have lost a second key member of their watertight defence with McKinna confirming our story earlier this week that Dean Heffernan is set to agree terms with Melbourne Heart.
"We don't know exactly what's going to happen but it's more than likely that he'll be going," McKinna told the Sydney Morning Herald. The leftback's departure will come after Nigel Boogard was signed by Adelaide United for next season.
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