Thu 24th May 2007

Central Coast Mariners Football Manager Lawrie McKinna has set his sights on the Philips Lighting Soccer 7’s title following the Mariners’ arrival in Hong Kong yesterday evening.

The Mariners’ ten-man squad touched down in Hong Kong in the early hours of this morning before taking to the Hong Kong Football Club tournament pitch for the first time.

All members of the Central Coast squad, each of whom played some part in Tuesday night’s 3-0 triumph over Malaysia at Pluim Park, completed the hour-long session staged in 32 degree heat and at 59 percent humidity.

Having watched tournament rivals Aston Villa and Celtic train prior to the Mariners’ appearance on the tournament pitch, Football Manager McKinna was hopeful of seeing his charges improve upon their showing at the 2005 edition of the Philips Lighting Soccer 7’s, where they suffered a semi final exit at the hands of PSV Eindhoven.

"The boys are feeling good, they had a good night’s sleep and trained well today," said McKinna.

"The humidity here is unbelievable, the sweat is running off us already and we’ve barely done anything.

"It’s nice to get invited to these things, Hong Kong Football Club have covered a lot of the expense and it’s only right that we come here and do our best.

"It doesn’t matter what tournament we’re in, we want to win it, we’ve done well here in the past and we want to go one step further.

"We want to win everything we do, and this is a good place to start."

Mariners captain Alex Wilkinson, who at just 22 years of age is the second most senior squad member in Hong Kong, looms as one of the Central Coast’s key players when they open their Group D campaign against City University of Hong Kong at 9.30am (11.30am AEST) on Saturday morning.

The 2005 Philips Lighting Soccer 7’s is the only competitive tournament that the Mariners have competed in that Wilkinson has not.

"I think we’ve got a good chance," said Wilkinson.

"The two local Hong Kong teams will be tough to beat at home, they’ll be used to the climate and obviously Aston Villa, an English Premier League team, they’ll be tough, but we’re pretty confident we can progress."

The Mariners have been placed in Group D with local sides Hong Kong FC and City University of Hong Kong, with the biggest challenge facing McKinna’s charges likely to come from English Premier League side Aston Villa.

The Philips Lighting Soccer 7’s kicks off on Saturday, 26 May - www.ccmariners.com.au will feature exclusive and extensive coverage of the tournament.

Following their Hong Kong sojourn, the Mariners will return home to contest the third annual Central Coast Football Charity Plate against a local selection made up of the best players from the Central Coast Premier League. Kick off at Pluim Park on Saturday, 9 June is at 5pm.