Mariners coach Nick Montgomery unconcerned by Adelaide star Craig Goodwin’s ‘long-ball’ sledge

The Central Coast Mariners will again be intent to prove they are much more than a ‘long-ball’ team when they take on Adelaide United on Saturday night.

Adelaide United captain Craig Goodwin has described the Mariners as a ‘long-ball’ team. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

Central Coast coach Nick Montgomery has dismissed Adelaide United captain Craig Goodwin’s labelling of the Mariners as a “long-ball” team, believing they were comments made in the heat of the moment after an embarrassing loss.

Still hurting after being beaten 4-1 by the Mariners at Coopers Stadium during the final round of the regular season last month, Adelaide will again host Central Coast in the first-leg of an A-League semi-final on Saturday night.

As expected, Goodwin was unhappy less than two weeks after losing what was a fiery affair against the Gosford-based club, with his comments including his unflattering description of the style of football the Mariners play.

However, while Goodwin’s rant hasn’t been forgotten by Montgomery’s men, the Central Coast coach believed that if the Socceroos star had his time over again, he would choose his words more wisely.

Nick Montgomery and his Mariners return to Coopers Stadium on Saturday night. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Craig Goodwin – he also said we were a long-ball team,” Montgomery said.

“In the emotion of things after the game, if he looks at the stats, he’ll probably take that comment back.

“No-one likes losing games of football. He’s a winner, and you’ve got every player out there in finals for every club that wants to win. That’s the mentality they have.

“Revenge, or whatever you want to call it, that’s a dangerous word ... but that’s normal. They lost out on the last game of the (regular) season for that second spot (on the ladder) which everybody wanted, and fortunately we got it.”

However, what happened during the regular season is no longer being considered by Montgomery.

“We don’t look at our games in the past,” he said.

“Adelaide are a very good team and they’ve got some very good players.

“We go out to attack and win games of football. That’s the only way that you win games of football.

“(If) you sit back and defend for 90 minutes, you’re never going to win.”

Adelaide midfielder Jay Barnett said the Reds – who bounced back to end Wellington’s season with a 2-0 elimination final win last week – had no choice but to forget about their heavy and costly loss to the Mariners.

“It was just one of those nights for us where we were just a little bit off and they played quite well, but we have to put that behind us,” Barnett said.

“Finals football is a very different game and over two legs, anything can happen.”
Barnett said he was “riding the wave” in wanting the Reds to go “as far as we can” in the battle for the championship.