CCM v the Pearl Divers / the Red Louganis

[marinermick]

Gold. My own favourite was when the AU Diving bench got up to warm up and I got to yell at them that the pool was just up the road, so they could go and get ready.

And Mick absolutely gave it to Veart and Aloisi

First half giving it to opposition coaches and second half in the bay.

Best of both worlds.

 

[Michael]

Having woken up and digested all of last night, I’m even happier.
Gutted I couldn’t get to the stadium. In the second half it sounded like 20k were there. And Kuol celebrating with the academy juniors brought such a joyful tear to my eye. You can bet Monty has encouraged the juniacademy lads to be at home games and sit together like that, makes them so much keener to reach the top level.

on the players... Ollie went up yet another level. Before the pen miss he turned back the clock and was surging into the final third like a 23yo box to box mid. And there’s no better sight than your captain scoring a bullet from 22yards and sprinting arms outstretched and knee sliding to the fans. ICONIC. Ollie is the king of the coast the best player this region has ever produced.
Stens was an absolute beast in the tackle and his touch and pass got better throughout.
I said to my mates when alou came on, he needs to pull his finger out after his last couple sub impacts, did he what.
Nigro was massive against Goodwin who has been literally on fire, got to the point where you could say he was sheepishly holding nigro’s pocket around the prison yard.

Urena was absolutely outstanding and was every bit the high quality visa player we’ve begged for.
Ruon and kye were brick walls. Phenomenal.
and finally nizzy. The work experience kid.
What a person and what a footballer. It’s almost as if he heard the commentary blowing their loads over gauci and the young Newcastle commentator trying to stick it to us by saying “he was in your academy”. When he proceeded to take the absolute piss out of gauci and go around him and could’ve scored himself but tee’d up alou.

what a time to be alive.

 

[bikinigirl]

<snip> ... BG, I am pretty sure that Staj told Simon as he was leaving the field at half time that he would be making replacements at the 60 min mark. I don't think the goal had anything to do with it. I mentioned to TB at half time I expected to see Nizz and Kuol on early, Staj did not disappoint ... <snip>

. i don't think the goal changed the tactics either ... but it did seem to change the mentality and energy levels - before the subs. so when they came on we were already lifting and it just increased further

. recently i think Staj has tried to hold on and our performance has started to drop ... and when the subs have been made they aren't adding to the intensity they have to create it and try to lift everybody back up

. i just thought the goal (their goal) increased our focus ... and maybe that includes Staj's focus to stick to the game plan. oddly enough the intensity of those on the pitch actually allowed him to make the change - and perhaps that is why he has held off too long recently

 

[bikinigirl]

Hmmm, I seem to be on my own on this one, everyone seems to think Matty was poor.

. i think he looked poor in the context of the match - he seemed to be struggling a bit ... lacking some of his usual intensity (Urena seemed to be doing more chasing/shutting down) and was reeeeaallly slow getting back, too often

 

[BrisRecky]

Even though I felt and probably looked like a 135 lbs of wet shit , I’m glad I dragged my arse to the Fortress to see every segment of that match , sat in my seat for the first half and a bit then hobbled over to sit with Wombat et all....how good was the team, the bay and finally the academy kids going f**king birko .....I was over the moon seeing that we shut down that diving smarmy raging dipshit Mauk, almost as impressed as the way Nigro handled Goodwin...now Eleanor had a short poppy nap which got the Barrels a arsey goal but och well ....remember when Gauci was here , yeah me too barely, 3rd string knob at best, enough about the arseiest game of his life (two penalty stops pfff f**k off)
NOW who do I pick for my MOM, geez , um, um, um, NIZMONSTA , that’s who although theres a rollie paper amongst a lot of the lads , to be fair, for that honor...speaking of niz, and kuolity , I said at the start of this roller coaster that Montys Marvels we’re gonna shake it up and yes, with some help from mi amigo Marco and some old heads that exactly whats happened ....it was good to see Staj not dawdle with his swapsies and when he doesn’t , that’s what happens (for the most part)... to the media for a minute, f**k you Robbie Slater , you mood wrecking f**k , after a game like that , with a crowd like that and all you can report is that Stuttgart FC is circling Kuolity for the pick up ...time and a place you dreary miserable arse, wasn’t our fault ya boy got hurt ...arsehat

Did I mention how f**king marvelous it is to see Bay 16 up and pumping again after all this time ?, it’s just flat out f**king awesome to see, hear and experience ...onya boys ??...so finally let me just say...there’s only one Alan Stajic and ......WINNING PODDDDDDDD !!!!!
?????⚽️???⚽️

 

[Big Al]

Mauk was invisible tonight. He played a few ok balls but had no impact on their loss or our win. Quiet as f**k

Apparently someone tampered with his diving gear

 

[onto it]

...Stens physical prescence makes a big difference....

Yep, there has not even a mention of him decking Yengi at about the 85th minute... that physical side is a big part of his game. I think though, the comparisons with Nizzy are pointless, as Stenz is a spine player, he is the rock that allows the Bozz to roam more freely. Nizz is the nippy terrier who does amazing things against a tired defence.
Stenz is obviously still coming back to match fitness, and made a couple of mistakes early, as did Birra & Bozz, two other rocks of the team, but for me there is way more to him than the physical stuff, which most of our commetantors talk about.
His positioning and tackling are such that virtually no attacks come through the centre of the park. Zero.
He's also very aware (most of the item) of what is going on around the park, both close and at distant and no doubt would have the highest percentage of successful one touch passes of any of the team.
In the classic spine player mode, the mistakes seems glaring while the work rate and clean up effect are often missed. It's not a glory role.
Perhaps though, the reemergence of team form at the time of Stenz' return is no coincidence?

To the game. For me, the team as a whole were brilliant, hard working, some mistakes, but a gutsy never say die attitude shown once again.
Special mention to Nigro, who has grown immensely to be now a very good, extremely hard working fullback. I was hard on him early but he has proved me wrong. Well done Stefan.

I think though, that Staj deserves the most credit. He is a very, very, good manager who has lifted the performance of every single player in that team from the depths of the past. He's a class act.

 

[Big Al]

What a win. We survived a Birraz shocker (when he played for Newcastle type game) and two missed penalties. Imagine saying that over the last few years.

Birraz was off from the start, kicked (maybe a throw can’t remember which was which) it straight to Goodwin (i think) early and he should have been punished for that. Then he fumbled every shot. Only a little but took nothing clean. Then went long and turned it over again as went straight to AU. His first half was bad and then he was very weak on the goal. It was a weak tap in and he should have saved it.

The saving grace being the lady behind me asking me what I thought the score would be earlier in the game when AU had all the ball but no end product.
2-1 to us i confidently answered.
Now i am a perfect 3 for 3 on games attended with some special happening

 

[Ancient Mariner]

You will be all pleased to know that the power of my tipping curse has returned.
I was kind of shattered when I tipped City and they beat us. I took it to mean that maybe I had lost my powers.
So much so that I did not put in a tip for the Melbourne game which turned out a disappointing draw.

However with things looking grim it was time to find out whether the City game was a one off glitch or whether my powers were lost forever. I boldly tipped Adelaide to win and thank heavens my powers have returned.

Beware the curse of the Ancient mariner.

 

[turbo]

I always liked Adelaide, now I f**king hate them

I feel the same, not just for that one bs game but there’s some undesirable elements coming in to their game that hasn’t been there previously. I don’t put that on Veart, think it’s more Mauks influence and not being punished for it.

 

[BaysideMariner]

Just re watched the game and my thoughts on CCM were that:-

- We need to resign Urena on a multi year contract.
- Nisbet is a gun and works so hard.
- Bouman is getting better and is showing what Stajic saw in signing him.
- Nigro had his best game for the Mariners.
- Stensness really makes it easier for everyone else in the team to do their job.
- Adelaide missed Lopez.

 

[onto it]

Just re watched the game and my thoughts on CCM were that:-

- We need to resign Urena on a multi year contract.
- Nisbet is a gun and works so hard.
- Bouman is getting better and is showing what Stajic saw in signing him.
- Nigro had his best game for the Mariners.
- Stensness really makes it easier for everyone else in the team to do their job.
- Adelaide missed Lopez.

Nailed it. except...
Who's Lopez, and who cares?

 

[MrCelery]

On TV I saw a glimpse of Shaun Mielekamp at the end of the game. In my mind, this was a result for him as much as anyone else. Considering the shite he's had to plough through these last half dozen years, it's great to see the hard work pay off for him.

 

[priorpeter]

Having woken up and digested all of last night, I’m even happier.
Gutted I couldn’t get to the stadium. In the second half it sounded like 20k were there. And Kuol celebrating with the academy juniors brought such a joyful tear to my eye. You can bet Monty has encouraged the juniacademy lads to be at home games and sit together like that, makes them so much keener to reach the top level.

on the players... Ollie went up yet another level. Before the pen miss he turned back the clock and was surging into the final third like a 23yo box to box mid. And there’s no better sight than your captain scoring a bullet from 22yards and sprinting arms outstretched and knee sliding to the fans. ICONIC. Ollie is the king of the coast the best player this region has ever produced.
Stens was an absolute beast in the tackle and his touch and pass got better throughout.
I said to my mates when alou came on, he needs to pull his finger out after his last couple sub impacts, did he what.
Nigro was massive against Goodwin who has been literally on fire, got to the point where you could say he was sheepishly holding nigro’s pocket around the prison yard.

Urena was absolutely outstanding and was every bit the high quality visa player we’ve begged for.
Ruon and kye were brick walls. Phenomenal.
and finally nizzy. The work experience kid.
What a person and what a footballer. It’s almost as if he heard the commentary blowing their loads over gauci and the young Newcastle commentator trying to stick it to us by saying “he was in your academy”. When he proceeded to take the absolute piss out of gauci and go around him and could’ve scored himself but tee’d up alou.

what a time to be alive.

Love this, but something that really shit me was harper’s insistence on calling nizzy “the work experience kid”. Super disrespectful and tbh just dumb. Bloke has been killing it in the league this season and deserves a bit of respect on his name.

 

[Rising Sun]

Urena is a seriously good player, we're luck to have him. I'm with everyone else in calling for a Urena/Kuol starting pairing to be tested

I am going to go against the grain and say that I am happy with Kuol starting off the bench - with the caveat that he is on no later than the 60 minute mark. He is a potential game changer coming on at the 60 mark. Staj has said previously that Kuol is an explosive player not suited to a full 90. If he starts then he comes off early, and at the moment I think he would be more effective playing the last 30 rather than the first 60.

What I would like to see, now that his fitness seems to be improving, is more minutes from Urena. So he stays on when Kuol comes on.

I also think Bouman would go well with Urena up front. He is willing to make runs on spec, and if he can get on a wavelength with Urena then it could be a good partnership. Urena/Bouman to start with Kuol on at 60, and Matty playing more his Sydney role is worth a look.

 

[PatientMariner]

Sat with the Yellow Army last night for the second time (for a long time) after the victory game last week, was convinced I was the bad luck curse and was going to move back to my usual spot, so glad I didnt.

Full credit to the Bay, felt like the good old days. Loving the academy kids down the front bringing more atmosphere and a sense of fun to Bay 16.

On the game itself, I thought we were all over Adelaide for the whole game but just couldn't score, then when they scored at the start of the second half a sense of "Mariners luck" hit me. Thankfully Oli is a gun and Nisbet with the most unselfish assist in Mariners history won us the game.

Loving the "Don't Back Down" attitude of the team this season, a year ago we would have lost that 4-0. Credit to Staj especially, his subs completely changed the game.

Side note, love having Bouman and Urena attacking down the right, nice little combo forming there!

 

[Rising Sun]

. Ruon rightly gets credit, his presence is hard to miss ... but Kye is doing so much right and not much wrong - his confidence seems to have grown with the leadership role and the second guessing has gone

Someone on here previously compared Kye to Sainsbury, but he reminds me of Alex Wilkinson. Nothing fussy, reads the game well, right place at the right time and low error rate.

I think he and Ruon complement each other suberbly - Ruon the "enforcer" and sometimes taking a bit of a risk, and Kye smooth, risk-free and cleaning everything up.

The only downside is that the best Academy/Youth centre back we have had since Sainsbury can't get a look in

 

[Josho Howe]

The noise from the bay as soon as we equalised to just after full time was the loudest it's been in god knows how long. Absolutely outstanding effort. Came home with a headache and sore voice just like it should be.

Nissy won us that game last night. What an outstanding footballer. Has the footballing brain, control and first touch many in this league wish they had. The winner was all on him closing down and then unselfishness to give it to Kuol for the tap in.

Big ups to Tongyik again who was brilliant. Had one little error for their goal but it didn't matter in the end. Also to Rowles - he has improved out of sight from seasons past. The consistency has been fantastic. Staj has gotten the best out of every player in this squad like Lawrie did back in the early days.

What a team and what a feeling.

 

[ryan]

Someone on here previously compared Kye to Sainsbury, but he reminds me of Alex Wilkinson. Nothing fussy, reads the game well, right place at the right time and low error rate.

I think he and Ruon complement each other suberbly - Ruon the "enforcer" and sometimes taking a bit of a risk, and Kye smooth, risk-free and cleaning everything up.

The only downside is that the best Academy/Youth centre back we have had since Sainsbury can't get a look in

Much like Wilko, Kye does not get the plaudits he deserves. This is, i think, because he is playing at a consistently high level without much fuss. Some other defenders with other teams get recognised for having good games but Kye plays well every week so it's just expected now. He is more likely to be talked about for having a bad game because that would be a rare thing

 

[Wombat]

I would swap Nizzy for Bouman and Alou for Matty. Matty to come on for the last 25mins.

Stens was very shonky to start with but will be better for that game.