31 Dec 2009

Phoenix match at test of character

9:00 am on 31 December 2009

Former Socceroo Ahmad Elrich says tonight's A-League football match against the Wellington Phoenix will be a test of the Central Coast Mariners' character.

The 1-0 loss to Sydney last week was the Mariners' fourth-straight defeat, putting the club's finals aspirations in serious doubt.

Elrich, a former Phoenix player, has spent most of this year on the sidelines after undergoing a knee reconstruction late in 2008 but will return tonight against his old club at Bluetongue stadium.

The Phoenix can leapfrog the Mariners into seventh spot on the ladder with a win.