Round 4 - CCM v Victory @ Gosford (Pink Day)

[JoyfulPenguin]

Thought we were much the better side throughout the match and it was tough to only get a point after so many golden chances. Here are my thoughts on our players

Tom Glover:
Had his best game in a Mariners shirt and was top notch all game. His positioning to stop Mark Milligan's early chance was fantastic and he saved well with his foot. Has improved his handling of the ball markedly since his first game and didn't give the Victory attackers any chance to feed off of crumbs. His distribution was great in the first half but panicked at times in the second. Set his wall up well and could do nothing about Leroy George's free kick, no goalkeeper would save that.

Storm Roux:
Defended and provided an option well when going forward but his crossing was very, very poor. Was free numerous times down the right and couldn't find the right ball, but wasn't helped by Asdrubal's positioning. Sad to see him go off injured and we lost an attacking outlet when he did.

Jake McGing:
Had his best game as right back and defended admirably after Storm was taken off. Neutralized Austin's pace and positioned himself well to intercept the ball. His crossing was poor however and failed to provide an overlapping option for Appiah.

Alan Baro:
Played well and stopped numerous dangerous Victory attacks. Calm on the ball and recycled the ball exceptionally well. Positioning was off a couple of times but in general had a great game.

Antony Golec:
Composed on the ball and provided some good direct balls for Asdrubal, Pain, and Appiah. Gave away unneeded fouls and allowed Victory to set up their shape as well as giving up the foul for Leroy George's free kick. Was exposed for pace by Barbarouses and could have easily conceded another goal but positioned himself well enough to force a tough shot. Needs to stop needlessly fouling but had probably his best game in Mariners' colours.

Josh Rose:
Was poor and caught in possession numerous times, failed to provide an attacking option for Pain and struggled to keep pace. Was wasteful when he managed to get forward and needed to recycle the ball better. A great servant of the club but if Rowles is fit and capable he needs to start.

Wout Brama:
Bossed the midfield well and rarely missed a pass, showed his class today and linked with De Silva well. Perhaps needed to take players on more when Victory sat deep but was very impressive.

Tom Hiariej:
Worked tirelessly and barely wasted a ball. Has developed a great connection with Brama and De Silva but needed to find Appiah, Pain and Hoole more often. Broke up numerous Victory attacks and was strong defensively.

Daniel De Silva:
Had an exceptional game and was unlucky to not win Fox's man of the match award. Managed to find space even with a starting Socceroo marking him and was instrumental in a number of our chances. He worked tirelessly to win back the ball and was always desperate for the ball. Sometimes needs to play simple instead of trying the extravagant.

Andrew Hoole:
Whipped in numerous dangerous set pieces and was unlucky not to have an assist to his name. Gave away a silly foul and was dutifully awarded with a third yellow card for the season. Links very well with De Silva but needs to improve his connection with other players.

Kwabena Appiah:
Was lively, athletic and deserved a goal. Ran rings around Leigh Broxham but his crossing and touch let him down. Lacked support from McGing but attacked his full back well and could be a fantastic player if he manages to improve his crossing.

Asdrubal:
His positioning was poor in the box and was peripheral for much of the game. Played a lovely through ball to Appiah for his main chance but we needed more from him. Doesn't work hard enough when we are in possession and needs to create more space for De Silva, Hoole and co with his runs.

Josh Bingham:
Made a short appearance and recycled the ball well when asked, will be a tight race between him and Powell for the bench striker spot next week.

Connor Pain:
Gave away possession wastefully quite a few times before his goal but improved markedly afterwards. Terrific finish for his goal and his positioning was top notch, was unlucky not to have a hat trick. Lacked Josh Rose overlapping and needed to run at defenders more often. Worked hard however, and deserved his goal.

We were much better than Victory for much of the game but they would have won this one with Berisha. I fear our biggest out this year is Scott Galloway. Next week against Brisbane is a crucial match and we need to start turning this performances into points

 

[true believer]

That Ref was an absolute FFA stooge. Who was it?

Fielding ! as i said to middy the worst in the league and has a hard on for us

 

[true believer]

Adam Fielding, the guy who sent the snake off for his headbutt.

No he didn't . But he did give fitzy a yellow for simulation when at the corner flag .then sent him off 1 minute later .
I say he is not incompetent , he is a cheat .

 

[VicMariner]

We deserved a win. Simple as that.

Appiah is playing better than I have given him credit for in the past. Maybe I was wrong, maybe he has stepped up a notch.

Rose was poor and maybe time is catching up with him.

 

[true believer]

We deserved a win. Simple as that.

Appiah is playing better than I have given him credit for in the past. Maybe I was wrong, maybe he has stepped up a notch.

Rose was poor and maybe time is catching up with him.

most of the time he is very good , but today he made 3 mistakes he never made in years gone by
father time has caught my favourite mariner

 

[sydmariner]

That Ref was an absolute FFA stooge. Who was it?

Adam Fielding

 

[Wombat]

Can we take a moment to appreciate how well tom glover played tonight? always there to block the shot, great distribution of the ball. For the first time in a few years I feel we've got a safe set of hands in front of goal.

Some great saves but his distribution was poor. He was very annoyed at himself at times.

 

[Wombat]

Did anyone spot Wout nearly give away a penalty in the second half? That was very dumb and lucky the Victory player didn't try and milk a penalty as the ref thought about giving it.

 

[Ancient Mariner]

Last year's tactics of running the ball down the wings and whipping in a high cross from the corners is over.

We do not have the height in our front men to play that sort of game.

However we do have superb attackers who can run at defenders and can also play clever balls along the ground.

Wingers will be attacking the goal, like Appia did last night, rather than just whipping in crosses.

On the defence, Rose, I am sure was instructed to spend more time playing deep rather than attacking in order to strengthen or defence. Unfortunately Leroy George was in most cases to good for him. I still see him as a useful left back.

Yes we are missing Galloway.

If Roux is out for any length of time, I think we need to look for a fullback injury replacement quickly. McGing is ok if he plays a defensive rather than attacking role. He is still learning the position. Maybe in the future.

 

[Yoda]

......and Yoda in case you were asleep he has scored a couple of goals.

That was largely the point. He has scored a couple of goals, off the shin and off the thigh. Other than that I haven’t seen him have a convincing strike on goal. He runs around a lot, but I’d rather he be more effective in front of goal, and 4 games in I’m not convinced that he’ll get there.

 

[Big Al]

Usually agree with you Wombat in the defence but not tonight, maybe where we sit plays a part as couldn’t see in 1st half.

The defence was much better organised and better yet had intensity. Golec was very strong as was Baro in 2nd half and Rose was very good against George (he was in front of me all 2nd half) and came across and covered a potential goal attempt a few times.
Not sure when in 2nd half but Golec was either at a corner or came into attacking half to shut a play down and Victory broke down our right wing. He absolutely gunned it back. He was surprisingly quick. He run as fast as he could got back in time and then the ball bounced towards him with some Victory players around that would have scored had he not got back. Then he headed it out of the box. This is what has been missing. Effort and desire to get back. Was a really notable play. We were alot better organised and won a lot of the 1st and 2nd balls. Apart from set pieces i don’t remember any chances for Victory

 

[BrisRecky]

Well, if we pulled the trigger more often, I mean if Danny had just shot instead of attempting perfection, we would of flogged them, the only bloke who finally said fukkit was Painy and he almost had a double...Rose the Elder has terrible sense of direction when passing and Victory were awful compared to previous years....

 

[Timmah]

Signs continue to be really positive. A few years in the mire has that feeling of existential dread lingering around but for the most part I was actually enjoying watching us last night.

I think the fact we didn't win came down to a bit of luck not going our way. Couple of posters, the odd heavy touch. On another day a couple more go in and we win 4-2.

 

[Ozhammer]

I wonder how many teams have scored first in 4 consecutive games without winning any of them?

That'll be another unwanted record to go with all the ones we 'won' under Fraudsley methinks.....

 

[nebakke]

For mine, Rosey did alright - he was just outmatched in Leroy, no shame in that. We definitely struggled a bit in defence at the start of the first half and in mid for most of the first.
At the end of the day, I have to say, I think we could have benefited from getting Appiah and Bingers on much earlier... I know neither of them are giant slayers, but as someone else has already pointed out, Appiah's pace changed the game a lot - to our advantage.. Yep, he butchered an almost open goal, but he also created that situation - something we almost completely failed to do in the entire first half.
As for Asdrubal, I still quite like him, but I think the reality was that we were bossed out of the midfield for most of the first half and struggled to penetrate their defence for a lot of the first... Some of that at least, I reckon was down to both he and our golden boy, having a bit of a propensity for moving the ball around the defence, rather than sometimes taking the open route. That's generally a good thing, but yesterday I think we could have opened up a number of chances earlier in the second, by having someone like Bingers in front in stead, to play a - shall we say, "less sophisticated" game.
On a whole, we clearly weren't pushing as high as we have been, which benefited our defensive approach but also impacted negatively on our attack. At least they're tinkering - gives me a bit of hope we might get there though.

 

[scottmac]

That was largely the point. He has scored a couple of goals, off the shin and off the thigh. Other than that I haven’t seen him have a convincing strike on goal. He runs around a lot, but I’d rather he be more effective in front of goal, and 4 games in I’m not convinced that he’ll get there.

Three ball needs to get to him in front of goal forhim to be having shots. He's scored off a corner and a spilled shot. He's not getting the ball where he needs to and hes having to retreat as much as half way to become involved. When he does though he has a dramatic effect on the play. He holds up well and distributes well. Sometimes I think he could distribute quicker but hey, he's a striker.
Brama's goal last week was due to runs by Asdrubal and DeSilva. He's making the right runs we just aren't hitting them yet

 

[Ancient Mariner]

Well, if we pulled the trigger more often, I mean if Danny had just shot instead of attempting perfection, we would of flogged them, the only bloke who finally said fukkit was Painy and he almost had a double...Rose the Elder has terrible sense of direction when passing and Victory were awful compared to previous years....

There were a lot of people around me moaning whenever the ball was passed backwards, they were also screaming "shoot" every time we got near the goals.

I found it frustrating that they do not understand the game we are now playing which is based on possession and probing for gaps. There is no point in going forward if there is not an open option, it is better to recycle through the back and to be patient and create the opportunities.

Likewise with shooting with no opening. Melbourne's defence was well organised and they sat back. There is no point in kicking it straight at a defender. If you remember Paine had to take about three touches across the box before he got the opening to shoot.

Appia took the right option in going round the keeper who was a long way out. It was his touch round the keeper that was too heavy, that stuffed things up. His other option was a chip, but that takes a lot of skill.

A very tactical game that I found enjoyable to watch.

Maybe those around me who were getting frustrated have been brought up watching too many kids' games and never watched Roar at their peak.

 

[Tevor]

Last year we wouldn't have got the point for a draw so I'll happily take it this early in the season and against MV, we are playing some good football and teams are struggling against us. Apart from round 1 where we still didn't play totally crap we have been competitive and with some luck could have won one or two games and this is a hell of a lot better than last year despite where we currently sit on the ladder after 4 games. This year I go into our games thinking that if we play well and be clinical we can win and that's pretty much against every team in the comp, I didn't have that feeling last year.

I thought Asdru had a good game, I can see why Paolo picked him as he is more than just a wait for the cross striker. As others have mentioned he dropped back to be involved, is good at holding up the ball and can help create room for others with a pretty good passing game. The positive so far is from our 5 goals we have had four scorers, if Pain and Appiah can get 5 each with Wout, Hoole, DDS and I have no doubt Tom H will get some as well we should have plenty so I would only expect about 10 or so from Asdru. A good spread of scorers across our front third makes us a dangerous side to defend against not a one man striker team as that didn't work for us for two years with Snake. Can not help but think Asdru is being marked like he is our main striker (like Snake was) so we need the others to contribute and then whene they all realise we have threats every where he will find more space.

We need to lift and be clinical this weekend against the Roar Retirees and we will get our first win and then take on SFC we some confidence.

 

[JoyfulPenguin]

The A-League Hour cutting half of our chances to make it seem like we had the same amount as Victory and then absolute no analysis of how we played instead focusing entirely on Victory, mostly on Berisha the bloody week before! I get we are a smaller market but come on.

 

[Wombat]

Did anyone spot Wout nearly give away a penalty in the second half? That was very dumb and lucky the Victory player didn't try and milk a penalty as the ref thought about giving it.

Im tipping the 2 Meh's haved never played Football before or simply didnt see it??????