The Lowedown: A-League schedule pushes Mariners to new limits

OK, I will admit that topic is an easy target, and we are all waiting for confirmation of what appears good news, but please let's get it done chaps, and we can relax a little.

Speaking of which, I may have mentioned last week that the teams seeded one and two in the A-League play-offs would be happily putting their feet up as others did battle, and that is still true if the Mariners could find some spare seats on two trans-continental flights, to and from their AFC Cup triumph in the Middle East on Monday morning our time.

Congratulations are in order, and though media coverage has been far more subdued (I wonder why) than when the Wanderers achieved the same feat, they have done the nation, and the A-League, proud.

Having defied the odds, the extensive travel, and the flow-on problems associated, the APL rewarded them with a Friday-night first-leg qualifying match at Allianz Stadium against Sydney FC!

Thank you very much indeed.

Having effectively played three matches, and flown around the world, in a week, whilst winning two pieces of silverware, they are rewarded with a short turnaround and a fourth game in 12 or so days!

That is genius.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Wellington and Victory rock up to play in the other first-leg qualifier, after a week's recovery.

Having said that, such is the resilience and determination of the Coasties, I'd hardly be surprised if I have woken this morning to learn they have grabbed a result over a Sydney team that has beaten them twice this season, but will probably be missing key players.

Joe Lolley, their talisman, has succumbed to a hamstring injury that will end his season, and Luke Brattan, their chief organiser and midfield anchor, is surely unlikely after the foot injury he suffered last week.

Coach Ufuk Talay will be keen to establish a lead in this two-legged final, and will surely try to test the legs of the Mariners, despite the absence of some quality and experience.

Mark Jackson the Central Coast mentor, would surely be happy with a draw, and home-ground advantage in the second leg, next weekend, given the week they have just had.

Melbourne Victory, gallant winners in a penalty shootout, after playing for a long time with 10 men against cross-town rivals Melbourne City in the elimination final last week, host Wellington, at a rectangular field, sometimes known as AAMI Park.

I sense Victory will need to take an advantage across the ditch to progress next weekend, and expect a circumspect approach, designed to keep them in the contest in Melbourne, in the belief they can get the job done in Wellington.

The first legs of home-and-away contests can lend themselves to general caution, even in a season where the competition has recorded more goals than ever before.

Stats tend to get churned out more prolifically than ever when finals come around, or is that just my imagination? For me, that one is more interesting than most. Why is it so?

Have the strikers outdone themselves this year?

VAR, in my opinion, rules out more goals than it confirms, so why the "more than ever" total?

Dare I suggest the lost art of defending, in a world of zonal systems, that no matter their philosophical appeal, have yet to be effectively mastered by the majority of teams.

Does the desire to press high too often leave teams too vulnerable?

Who will get the balance right in the next few weeks?