Zwaanswijk’s boys ready for junior Sky Blues

Central Coast Mariners Foxtel National Youth League (NYL) Head Coach Patrick Zwaanswijk says the junior yellow and navy are prepared for tomorrow’s round 3 clash against ladder leaders Sydney FC Youth in Tuggerah.

Central Coast Mariners Foxtel National Youth League (NYL) Head Coach Patrick Zwaanswijk says the junior yellow and navy are prepared for tomorrow-s round 3 clash against ladder leaders Sydney FC Youth in Tuggerah.

“Everyone should be fit and ready to compete against Sydney FC tomorrow morning,” said Zwaanswijk on Friday. “We have spoken about things that we need to improve on this week and we-ve done some video analysis. Tomorrow we want to create a lot of chances.”

The home team will be looking to claim maximum points for the first time this campaign following last Sunday-s narrow 2-1 defeat to Newcastle Jets Youth.

“It was a good game for us to see where we-re at,” explained the Dutchman. “We used all of the young boys and I think we started well. We got a sloppy goal against us early on, but Jesse Curran scored a brilliant free kick from 25 metres out.”

“We then got the own goal off a set piece, so it was sloppy again and we made it hard for ourselves. Newcastle deserved the win in the end. We are starting to get better and starting to create chances. I-m proud of the boys for their hard work and effort.”

The junior Sky Blues will be hoping to record their third successive win of the season and consolidate their position atop of the Foxtel National Youth League table.

“They are sitting at the top of the ladder and they obviously have a good side,” he said. “They had a good win over in Perth. Every game is different with first team players coming in. This should be a derby for us with a lot of players coming from Sydney, they should be motivated to play against Sydney and show them what they have.”

The former Mariners defender praised some of Central Coast-s young guns following their impressive start to season six of Australia-s premier youth competition.

“Jesse Curran is ready to train more with the first team, he is performing well every week and at training you can see that he-s got a good touch. Jacob Esposito is doing well too. Young Daniel McFarlane is a player to keep an eye on in the future, as well as Lachlan Everett,” he said.

“The young kids are doing well. We try not to look too much at the results, but as a coach you need to win games. I don-t want to put any pressure on the players, they do a good job and I-m happy as long as they give me 100 per cent each week.”

Zwaanswijk says he hopes to see another bumper crowd for tomorrow-s encounter against Steve Corica-s charges.

“There were a few hundred people that came along for our first game against Adelaide. It was a great turnout. It-s great for the boys and good for the crowd to cheer on the locals, with a lot of local players playing in the (Foxtel) NYL. It-s good to see people come out and support them,” he concluded.

Central Coast Mariners Youth vs. Sydney FC Youth – Foxtel NYL Round 3
Saturday 9 November, 2013
Central Coast Mariners Centre of Excellence, Tuggerah (1 Bryant Drive)
Kick-off: 10:30am
Admission: Free
Twitter: #NYLCCMvSYD