AFC Champions League 2013

[tsd]

We beat Melbourne by exploiting defensive errors, especially their midfield and their forward/wingers getting caught out with quick transitions. These guys had 5 players in their half most of the game and refused to leave any space. Not sure I remember a recent game where the mariners managed to smash a window in another teams parked bus. This game had more in common with the first game against wsw than last weekend

 

[ballantyne]

Two points dropped for sure, but what a great improvement on previous ACL campaigns where we looked very vulnerable.
Regarding penalties, Corinthian FC, the great London amateur side of the late 19th century, refused to score penalties. Awarded a spot kick, they would kick it out for a goal kick. Defending a spot kick, their keeper would stand to the side of the goal and not attempt to save it, as they considered that the shame of conceding a pen warranted conceding a goal. This is the way forward for the Mariners. We simply refuse to take part in penalties. We win from open play or we don't win.

 

[midfielder]

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH how we did not win ... bloody hell .... must be the football Gods repaying some past sin we made...

But finishing has been a problem all year ... when we smashed the Nux the score could have been 12 nil... the same against MV could have been 8 or 10 nil... SFC 12 goals

What I tho was impressive was the way the replacement players did their job... we had three first team players out and Duke starting late .... seems like we have a system and the subs just fit in GA will done with the squad...

My MOM was Sainsbury along with weeMac ... Best on the park was their Goalkeeper...

Me thinks if Duke can improve his shots on goal he could be anything ... but god he is quick ....

A draw away gives us the points I suppose.... disappointed I am but not dishearten...

 

[midfielder]

Note to stadium management .... tho the organisation last night was well below par....

No signs ... no one outside telling folk where to go for what and some staff not knowing how the ticket system worked...

If you brought tickets tho tickett and brought tickets tho the club ... you needed to be in different line...

Food stalls considering the starting time were not enough ...

 

[12th player]

Was at Bluetongue yesterday. First half started as exepcted by all. By now we are all aware that GA's preference is to start games by sitting deep and letting the opposition take charge. Feels comfortable sitting deep (yesterday was more evident) with a compact and defensive set up and lets the opposition have the initiative and ball possesion. To my surprise Suwon didn't take advantage of the mariner's cautious approach and contrary to expectations, Suwon's so much talked about skills and pace, was absent. In fact, Matty was just another spectator during those boring first 45 mins. I believe that after the initial 20 mins, GA should have realised (most of us sitting on the stands did) that this Suwon side was vulnerable,was not and wasn't going to cause any major problems due to their lack of match fitness (this was their first official competitive game for 2013). On the night, they were not up to the standards technically or physically and that's when GA should have changed tatics. Should have taken a more adventurous approach by pushing up all lines and pressing in their half.
In the 2nd half we pretty much started in the same manner but there was an improvement with the inclusions of Birnie and Duke,IMO both should have started the 2nd half ( don't know why GA took so long to replace Mile ).We pressed in their half and the youngsters provided more intensity to our attack.Opportunities were created but our finishing was amateur. The clearest chance to score was obviously the penalty.Like many, I could not believe it when I saw Monty grabbing the ball to take it.You could tell from the stands that he wasn't confident and there was only going to be one outcome. In this case GA should be held responsible. If we have intentions of making it through to the nock out stages, we certainly wasted a great opportunity to grab 3 very important pts. .This Suwon team yesterday was beateble.They only had one clear chance of scoring and it wasn't due to their own creation.It was provided by Monty with an unexpected and clumsy back pass to Matty.I don't think next time we face the Koreans, they will be as vulnerable as yesterday. I also expected GA to make full use of the bench. Both McBreen and Mont should have been replaced and rested for Sturday's battle.Two of the oldest on the field played the full 90 mins(?).Caceres should have replaced Monty.He surely would have provided fresh legs and better ball distribution.
Moving forward to Saturday I hope we can confirm why we've been on top of the league for so long and we give WSW a reality check.Hopefully it's not vice-versa.

 

[true believer]

usually I can see both sides of the argument in these forums but not this time, I don't think you really appreciate the quality we were up against and how that made our performance look.play like that in the aleague and we romp it in

your joking. in 6 weeks they may be something. they were disjointed and ordinary.
we pissed it up against the wall

 

[bradley]

I've taken my breather, relaxed and re-watched the game this morning, we played alright except in the final third, just couldnt get our final pass right all night, guess that's what frustrated me the most,

Dissapointed with the crowd, expecting less at the next ACL game, stadium management were hopeless (dealing tickets in particular) and didnt do much to get people to come back, also the tactics of foreign teams (in particular time wasting) also frustrate people. Do feel the marketing team also have to shelf some of the blame for the low crowd as the promotion for this game was non-exsistant with all the focus being placed on the Wanderers game. Then again it was a Wednesday so what can you do? (Im never satisfied am I haha!)

Bring on the Wanderers, if we can remain as structured as we did last night the Wanderers will find us extremely hard to break down in attack.

 

[bikinigirl]

australian football has excepted mediocrity for way to long.[/quote]

. i'm not going to get into the argument ... but that was hilarious.

 

[true believer]

yes you can still hear the laughter coming from korean airlines

 

[adz]

I think you've made your point mate. There are some of us who are obviously disappointed with the loss but think the team performed well.

Looking forward to Saturday.

 

[FFC Mariner]

What last nights game showed us was the crappy passing against better sides is potentially disasterous.

In the A league, you can give the ball away and it tends to come back to you fairly quickly - against better sides, they will hurt you if you keep doing that. Luckily for us, Suwong were off form last night so couldnt make us pay.

Pedj was possibly the worst culprit but I will take yet another opportunity to bash the Fraud as he was diabolically shit (as usual).

Bluetongue/organisers need to be ashamed of themselves for the "facilities" on offer last night. Chaos in the ticket queues, only 1 food and drink outlet open, not telling people there were AFC reserved seats so they thought some members got something denied to them etc etc etc

Admin generally for the club and stadium would get you fired in a real job.

 

[true believer]

Looking forward to Saturday.

so was the team. i hope everyone values that.

 

[Roy Law]

12th player: your comments about the lack of technique and fitness of Suwon and how they were there to be taken is exactly the comment I made when we played our first ever ACL also against Korean opposition. On that night we were told to expect superior technique and they just didn't have it. Lawrie made the mistake of putting out a very defensive team and even went so far as to say 0-0 was a good result. It wasn't; it left the Mariners playing catch-up - desperately trying to win away from home. I am surprised GA hadn't learned from Lawrie and had been more positive with his approach. We attacked non stop against the Victory but did not against Suwon - an opportunity missed.

 

[style_cafe]

That's a bit harsh True Believer.

Not our best effort sure. But considering the credentials of the opposition, and the fact we came off a very hard run in the wet on the weekend, I'm not surprised we were a bit flat.

Our excellent defence was, as usual, miserly. They didn't really look like scoring.

There were some nice touches throughout the match, and we toiled well, but just needed someone to pull the trigger. And find a penalty taker.

My MOM was the ground announcer, who read out the names of the Suwon team perfectly!

Would you have known if he got one wrong?
I did the ground announcing for a few seasons & if there was a name i couldn`t pronounce after practising a while I`d just leave him out.Only one person on the ground was offended..

 

[style_cafe]

The game really wasn`t that exciting, but really I didn`t expect it to be.
We had our chances but couldn`t convert which has been our problem all season.
Overall though I was pleased that we didn`t lose.With Arnie having to deal with 3 games in a week I think a draw was acceptable.
Are we getting so used to winning in the ALeague that we lose sight of the big picture?
Arnie did well. He got some fringe players on the park,rested a couple that needed a break, kept the momentum going & came away with our reputation intact. Surely that`s something to be proud of.

A loss days before the biggest game of the season would have been tragic.

 

[Marquee]

Never realised Eddy Bosnar is a bit of a nutter.
http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/video/19795523697/ACL-mixed-zone:-Eddy-Bosnar

 

[FFC Mariner]

Touchy too

"Holger doesn't like you " chant clearly needled him

 

[SFL]

Guizhou vs Kashiwa 0-1

Kashiwa on top of our group. Little surprise to me to hear Jorge on the left with the assist. The goalscorer Cleo, is their new striker who I have watched twice now with little to be impressed with as he is quite isolated up front and slow off the mark, however seems they are figuring how to utilise him with his height and size. Kashiwa are also running a new formation which sees Jorge higher up the left than previous systems.

Leandro (unsurprisingly) again sharp from the set-piece. We cannot allow any free kicks outside the box as this man is deadly.

Last night, we really needed those points. The draw at home isn't good enough against a Suwon who will be well drilled and into their K-League season by the time we see them again.

 

[true believer]

Touchy too

"Holger doesn't like you " chant clearly needled him

yeah at least that was one highlight of a low night.

 

[greenlig]

From that video, it looks like we mauled them in the final third, just couldn't finish. I was listening on the radio, so that's the first footage I've seen. That final strike just didn't come off.