FFA Cup

[iEatHands]

Its incredible what we can do when we play attacking football!

 

[nearlyyellow]

Oh, what, J. Rose scores? What a bloody legend!

 

[universalmind]

what's our longest losing streak?

 

[nearlyyellow]

3-2, only 1 the diff. Not a drubbing at all!
I'll be interested to see what all you aficionados say tomorrow on the game, our tactics, and our player ratings. 'night.

 

[rbakersmith]

what's our longest losing streak?

We had a 5-game streak last year (4 A-League games + an ACL group stage game). I'm not sure if that's our longest though.

 

[sydmariner]

Zelic is a tool!!but that won't help us

he always was

 

[VicMariner]

No matter who it is, someone hates them.
Well I reckon Ned Zelic is bloody awesome.

I like Craig Foster too.

 

[MagpieMariner]

We had a 5-game streak last year (4 A-League games + an ACL group stage game). I'm not sure if that's our longest though.

Season 5 I think, we won NYE then lost the rest of the season, not sure how many matches that was.

 

[rbakersmith]

Season 5 I think, we won NYE then lost the rest of the season, not sure how many matches that was.

Season 4 - lost the last 3 rounds + both minor semi final games against the Roar.
Season 5 - lost all 5 games in December

 

[Wombat]

yes negativity is bad

I would love to be posting something positive.
I didn't watch the game tonight as I went to see Roy Jones Jr (legendary boxer) at Gosford Golf Club......now that was entertaining!
I asked my wife to tape it for me but she forgot.

Can someone tell me if there was any improvement. Player ratings? Overview of the game.
I noted another strange line up.

 

[MrCelery]

Oh, what, J. Rose scores? What a bloody legend!

Josh Rose - Left back > centre back > centre forward next week?

Class goals from the 'old timers'.

Are you watching how it's done Dukey!

 

[eenfish]

I would love to be posting something positive.
I didn't watch the game tonight as I went to see Roy Jones Jr (legendary boxer) at Gosford Golf Club......now that was entertaining!
I asked my wife to tape it for me but she forgot.

Can someone tell me if there was any improvement. Player ratings? Overview of the game.
I noted another strange line up.

First half was poor.
Kim is absolutely useless and subbed at the half where we drastically improved. 4.5
Mane had a few moments but nothing top notch, subbed at the half for Matty who lit it up for 15min before pulling a quad. Mane 5.5, Simon 7.5 if he had played a little longer I think.
Duke had no service, but didn't look like he had much fight all night. 5.0
Hutch was okay, gave up the ball a couple of times but still a work horse. Much the same from Monty. 6.0 for both.
Caceres subbed on at the half for Kim, set up the goal with a nice through ball. Helped lift the squad. 7.0
Cernak came on for Matty. Lively and visible but heavy touch and a little wasteful. Consistent with what I've always seen from him. 6.5
Rose did okay at CB, a silly challenge gave away a free just outside the box that lead to a goal if I remember right. Scored the goal, but I had to go to work and I turned off the tele after Adelaide scored their 3rd. 6.5
Sim was alright, I like him, but didn't do anything too exciting, didn't do too much with getting the ball forward and didn't seem a liability at letting guys past. 6.0
Anderson wasn't too hot. Not great with ball possession, but had it tough with a few turn overs from the midfield. 5.0
Morton surprised me, I never really rated him but he did alright I thought. Out of position a couple of times and was at risk of getting burnt by the Adelaide players but I think he coped relatively well. 6.0
Reddy had one great save, one lucky save where he committed early and could've lead to a goal if the shooter had tried a chip instead of a straight shot at Reddy's chest, couldn't really be blamed too much for the goals. 6.5

Over that'd be around 6.0 for the squad. All out of ten. Just IMO, feel free to rip me to shreds.

 

[eenfish]

Also I forgot Vernes, who had some glimpses of good play but doesn't seem on the same page as the other players at most times. 5.0

 

[scottmac]

f**k thats devastating for matty. he was the only real thing i was looking forward to this season & he showed what we've been missing in his 15. heart, desire & a nose for goal. with him we are mid table, without..............

 

[Leigh]

So we scored two goals? That's an improvement, all the match reports were saying we got flogged though...

Also conceding more on set pieces...

Also Matt Simon looks leaner, thinner... I know he went off injured, hamstrings usually not a season long injury.

 

[eenfish]

So we scored two goals? That's an improvement, all the match reports were saying we got flogged though...

First half was dire, some promising moments but Mane had few chances, Duke got little service, Kim was invisible, Vernes was wasteful, and out defense really lacked leadership, felt like they were a bit over the place. Adelaide controlled the first up, and once were up by 2, they were in a great position to sit back and focus on counter which they did very well. We fired up a bit in the second half but lacked any cutting edge after Matty went off. All in all, we got beaten pretty squarely but definite improvements for us compared to the Sydney game.

 

[Roy Law]

Come Back Soon Matty Simon, Please​

I rarely get angry but I am very angry tonight. I can’t remember seeing a worse performance by the Mariners than their display in the first half; this was a cup semi final for goodness’ sake!
But for Liam Reddy the match could have been called off at half-time; only he stood between Adelaide and a cricket score. Unfortunately, Reddy is not Superman, he is not even Mat Ryan, he is a competent A League goalkeeper; there was only so much he could do. The Mariners’ defence once used to be as frugal as a Tory Treasurer, was once as heartless as a Minister for Immigration, but now doesn’t even have a lock on the door. Adelaide’s first goal came from a Pub Team rehearsed move; no defender blocked the forward pass, no defender tracked the runner; Reddy exposed and the Mariners undone. The second came as a result of the incessant Adelaide pressure, even Reddy was going to crack, and Mabil’s drive beat him at the near post.
Changes had to be made at half time, and they were the right ones to make; Caceres replaced the invisible Kim; Simon replaced the lazy Mané. I would not have known Kim was playing apart from his name being on the team sheet. Mané didn’t touch the ball for the first ten minutes, clearly had not heard of the offside rule, and only mustered one worthwhile shot.
Matty Simon was simply wonderful; a Central Coast Mariner who understands the value of hard work, who has pride in his team, who will never accept defeat. In his heartbreakingly short cameo he showed up the expensive imports and, as he so often has done in the past, lifted the team on his broad shoulders and took the game to Adelaide. Suddenly Adelaide was going backwards, suddenly Nigel Boogard did not have the time to look like an American Football quarterback, suddenly the Mariners were playing football. His goal was all his own work: he won the ball, passed it, ran for the return, and banged the ball past Galekovic. The whole team grew in confidence.
Simon lasted not much more than ten minutes before pulling up lame but had more touches and made more impact than Mané had in his forty five. He was visibly distraught as he sat on the bench, head in his hands.
The Mariners continued to press forward and occasionally played some good football but they failed to test Galekovic until the match was over. Cernak, a silly foul, and Montgomery, increasingly frustrated, both earned yellow cards. Vernes had a shot after the best approach play of the night but it was high and wide; Hutch had a pop from distance but it had no power and then Adelaide ended any hopes with a late killer goal on the break. There was just time for Rose to show that the Mariners could play with precision at pace when he slotted home a face saving second. Don’t let the scoreline fool you; this was dreadful.
Reddy stood up as best he could; Morton showed pace and determination in a rare first team appearance, Hutchinson battled, Duke ran a lot, Vernes may be worth another look and Caceres brought organisation as he tried to tidy up the mess. But Anderson, not surprisingly, and Montgomery played without belief in the system, and probably the coach; Mané was a big disappointment and Kim Seung-yong should be put on the first available flight to Korea.
Matty Simon, in just twelve minutes, is hands down my Man of the Match; come back quickly big man, we need you.
If I was Mike Charlesworth I would be calling Phil Moss to my office first thing in the morning for a please explain. I would want an explanation of the mind numbing decision to play Josh Rose at centre back when we have four proper centre backs to choose from. I would demand an explanation of the negative tactics which effectively conceded the game to Adelaide; I would want to know why the Mariners laid down like a Lady of the Night and invited Adelaide to score at will. I would remind him that the Mariners have built their success on hard work and a never say die attitude; that the Mariners are the team that no one should ever underestimate. I would question his judgment in spending my money on worthless visa players. I would remind him that he has a three year contract and I can tear it up if I want to.

 

[Bladesman]

This just about sums up why I think Moss is so bad as I am sure it is a very similar story for other games this season, even when we have been allowed to have possession as with the Perth game it has all been in areas where they are happy for us to have it and cause no issues -

It was one-way traffic in the first half with Adelaide dominating almost every statistic. Josep Gombau’s side enjoyed almost 65 percent of possession, getting nine shots at goal to the visitors’ one, having five corners to nil and making more than 140 more passes.

Just before the late 2 goals ipat about 86 mins in a do or die match where we were 2 - 0 down at half time and should have been throwing the kitchen sink at them with nothing to lose we had 3 attempts.

 

[Gratis]

I've actually come away from that game quite buoyed.

3 main points -
1. AU are a well oiled, fluent machine and the best in the league for sure at the moment. They dominated possession and created chances out of nothing, that's where they're at.
2. We were quite capable of winning this game which is a point in itself considering the above (geez do we have to get into defending set pieces on the training pitch)!
3. Matt Simon, the Mariners lucky talisman, was that spark that relit the fire in the belly we've been missing. It spread throughout the team and remained after he went off.

First half was weak.
For the same reasons I've been banging on about all season. We're trying to play a new style but at the expense of some critical factors. These being - ball control and aggressive attacking.
I've talked about this before. The corollary is we're not conceding as many fouls as we have in the past but it leaves the opposition defence feeling confident and comfortable and thus us toothless. This was our first half again. Not bad. But our ball control was mediocre in parts (cheap turnovers) and our 'creativity' opened nothing.

Second half the embers were stoked.
I mentioned recently we needed Matt Simon to come in and show them how to play with fire in the belly, how to put doubts into the minds of the opposition defence and mix things up. Boy ' o boy did he do that. For any who missed it the 15 minutes he was on felt like we could have scored at any time. It was like the days of old when 3 nil down we would go for it and pull of the epic.
Sadly Matty (who appeared to be in tears on the bench) pulled the quad and fingers crossed for a quick and full recovery. He's clearly up for it and led by example. Great goal.

After he went off yes we lost what Matty provides but the team did not lose the aggression. We attacked, we played with some heart. It was like they finally remembered how. Not doing so has been my only real source of frustration this season, I can see where Mossy is trying to go and I've always thought we'd get there but not having the dig was always my problem. This game (ok 2nd half) they had a real dig and it led to a second goal.

Ultimately AU were too good on the night and there's no shame to losing to them.
I'm excited. I see the spark is relit and the boys know the missing ingredient now. When Matty went off and they continued in that vein I knew it wasn't just Matty alone, he showed 'em and they remembered.
I'm certain withthe ongoing refinement of our new system, a settling of a first 11 (much of that team put up it's hand, I'd throw Fitzy into the mix and we're off) and combined with the return of the Mighty Mariners Spirit I can see us mauling a few teams later this season.

Yeah we lost (to the best team going atm). Yeah the first half (which wasn't actually bad) wasn't great. And yeah even with the fire in the belly we need some refinement. But that for me that fire was always the missing ingredient. With that back the refinement, the goals and the confidence will come.

 

[Gratis]

Just before the late 2 goals ipat about 86 mins in a do or die match where we were 2 - 0 down at half time and should have been throwing the kitchen sink at them with nothing to lose we had 3 attempts.

Keep in mind we were playing a very slick team at the moment and with Matty on seemed like we could win it. With him off it only seemed like we could pinch it. Regardless it's a big step forward on recent weeks.