Central Coast’s Hutchinson ready for A-League opener

Central Coast Mariners’ Maltese international John Hutchinson is looking forward to Thursday’s A-League season opener.

The Mariners take on reigning title holders Melbourne Victory at Etihad Stadium and although the visitors will go in as underdogs, Hutchinson says he and the club are ready for the challenge.

“Flying away with the (Maltese) national team was a good experience, and then coming back here, normally we have two to three months of pre-season but this time we’ve only had four weeks,” said Hutchinson.

“It’s been crammed in but it’s been a good pre-season, the boys have been working hard and we’re looking forward to the first game on Thursday.

“The boys have been training hard, and we’re looking forward to the start of the season so we can make amends for the end of last season, which was disappointing.

“While most of the boys have put it behind them, it’s still there in the back of the memory what happened at the end of last season, so we’re looking to make amends for that and get off to a good start this year.”

A-League 2009/10 Round 1 – Melbourne Victory v Central Coast Mariners
Etihad Stadium, Melbourne
Kick-off 8:00pm AEST