MARINERS ARRIVE IN JAPAN WITH BAG OF EXCUSES IN HAND

The little club that won't go away has arrived in Japan for Match Day 6 of their 2014 Asian Champions League tilt. As if on cue the Central Coast Mariners whinging and whining came wringing out of the post match press conference on Friday (18th April), after they downed the entertaining Adelaide United.

Moss consoles Hutchinson after ACL Match Day 5

Mariners manager Phil Moss teed off at FFA for scheduling their A-League semi-final on Saturday 26th April (rather than Sunday), giving the Gosford club a limited recovery period from their bout with Hiroshima tonight. "A 24-hour turnaround from flying in from an overnight flight to playing a grand final qualifier is not acceptable," the manager moaned. Moss looked to garner sympathy from the gathered media and the public as the broken record kicked into overdrive. Year after year of their annoying existence the Mariners have tried to play the 'little battler' card, and Moss has proven that like previous managers Lawrie McKinna and Graham Arnold he has a knack for building a siege mentality around his playing group.

For all the manager's bleating about the toughness of the draw, the situation could have been avoided if Central Coast had simply finished in the top two of the A-League. If they had, the Mariners would have been in the privileged position Western Sydney Wanderers found themselves in. Wanderers had a week off after the regular season, before going into their ACL clash with Guizhou Renhe fresh as daisies, and as expected routed the Chinese outfit 5-0.

As for the Mariners' hopes against Hiroshima I'd have to give them more than half a hope. After sitting in the stands for Hiroshima's visit to Niigata over the weekend and making a miracle turnaround to write this article within days, I saw nothing in the purple team's arsenal to scare Central Coast. Hiroshima played their usual 'cat and mouse' game hoping to catch Niigata on the break, but too often their transitions were broken down by the home team.

So tonight the moment of truth arrives for the Mariners in what will definitely be a cagey affair, with both teams likely to sit back and counter attack. Yes, there was no Hisato Sato and a home ground advantage for the Mariners last time the two met, but importantly tonight a draw will be enough for the Aussie club to advance to the Champions League Round of 16 provided FC Seoul draw or win at home against Beijing.

WANDERERS POISED TO TOP CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUP

Australian soccer has officially proved itself worthy of respect amongst Asia's top professional leagues. Last night Western Sydney Wanderers shocked K-League opponents Ulsan Hyundai with a 2-nil win in Korea Republic. In an even bigger shock Melbourne Victory defeated continental king-pins Guangzhou Evergrande in Melbourne in front of 13,000 plus fans.

Wanderers now sit atop Group H with just one group match remaining. The fact that match is against strugglers Guizhou Renhe has this blogger labelling it a foregone conclusion that Wests are going to top their group. Arguments for this fate tempting prediction are plenty.

1. Guizhou Renhe will make the more than 9 hour flight to Sydney with absolutely no motivation as they cannot advance from the group.
2. Wanderers will be fresh as there is no action for teams one and two from the A-League in this the first weekend of the finals series. 
3. Wanderers are currently on 9 points as are Kawasaki, but the J-League team is less likely to take all three points against a desperate Ulsan Hyundai fighting for survival on 7 points. 
4. If Kawasaki do win it's unlikely they'll surpass Wanderers goal difference as the A-League team is likely to rout Guizhou Renhe.

After topping their group Wanderers will then face off with the runner up of Group F, likely to be Sanfrecce Hiroshima or FC Seoul. Currently Central Coast Mariners (6pts) have a slim one point lead in Group F, but tonight they host FC Seoul (5pts), whom will likely bring them back to earth. Mariners travel to Hiroshima the following week after having played their A-League semi final against Adelaide. The Gosford team just can't do it.

As for Melbourne Victory well done to them. They toppled Lippi's Guangzhou and have their qualification fate in their own hands. Unfortunately they'll have to travel to Korea Republic to take on ACL regulars Jeonbuk. It's a mountain of a task, but they could take some momentum into the match if they add to their defeat of Guangzhou, with a semi final victory over Sydney FC in the A-League on Friday.