ACL Elite vs Shanghai Shenhua

[true believer]

Forgot brandtman was out there tbh. He was pretty anonymous until the last minute.

he is a savant . we just need him counting cards .

 

[true believer]

OK guys time for a reality check.

We had a team of promising young players against a a top Asian side.
Who were the old heads in our team?
Kaltak, our captain who got his first pro contract the year before last?
Doka, probably the only one you could say who is experienced and never stopped running all night?
Apart from that we had a bunch of kids shoved into a position of responsibility well before they were ready and they made mistakes, took wrong options, were sometimes out of position and never stopped trying.

I thought they were wonderful in spite of all their faults.

I saw lots of individual improvements and a ton of potential.

This is what this season is going to be all about. Get used to it and enjoy it rather than picking faults.
Think about it, some are asking for a 16year old to be our attacking playmaker. That is wonderful, but be prepared to take the errors with the brilliance.
These young players are going to have to be strong and need support so that they are not overwhelmed by the task.

nailed it ! looks like you're filling the void left by forum phoenix, heart breaking departure .

reality people ! emmas is a kid and for now 15 minutes cameos are whats good for him .
vitor didn't cut the mustard at 10 .he's still looks unfit .
as does alfie who is brilliant for about 25 minutes a half .
diesel has won me at CB as has now pauli .
i thought the criticism of mauragis and sasha is unwarranted . they are both being told to get forward in our new 532 set up .
i think the chinese team were over rated .if we had a tulio or similar player in our ranks
then we would have taken them comfortability .

congrads to our lads that never gave up.

 

[true believer]

There is so much to unpack in that game I don’t know where to start. Will need to watch it back,

First half I thought we looked hungry and threatening. We weren’t amazing but if we had tried that on against Perth we would have scored. The second we conceded it was like we flicked a switch and went back to stilted, passing around the back. No enthusiasm or strategy.

I thought the subs switched us back on and the passion we showed at the end was reminiscent of the days of old. It was a brilliant come back and a draw that felt like a win.

Positives for me were Paull for most of the game.. also Alfie. I mention them because I wasn’t rating them at all before.

Sasha did well again although looked nervous. Still think he’s brilliant.

Steele looks lost. Had a few good moments but he isn’t confident.

Worrying signs were the squad turning on each other.. there was a LOT of frustration and bland going on, on that pitch. Not exactly united out there.

Also the injuries. When we send out Wilson we are well down the order. (I am also one who desperately wants him to score a winner, but just making the point.)

Somebody mentioned another serious injury at training yesterday?

Where is Duarte??

I have faith we can get a winning team going under Jacko… unless we literally run out of players. We are 3 rounds in to the aleague season, 4 rounds into the AFC… 😳

another quality post

i still think steele is just getting his mojo together after serious injuries .while still ordinary he seems to be improving .he'll get there

 

[Tevor]

another quality post

i still think steele is just getting his mojo together after serious injuries .while still ordinary he seems to be improving .he'll get there

I think a lot of us just want to see Steele do well now he has his chance and can hopefully stay injury free. One thing I’ve noticed about him is he is trim and looks the fittest I’ve seen him. Injuries didn’t help in the past though.

 

[true believer]

I think a lot of us just want to see Steele do well now he has his chance and can hopefully stay injury free. One thing I’ve noticed about him is he is trim and looks the fittest I’ve seen him. Injuries didn’t help in the past though.

mrs TB said that to

 

[shipwreck]

Huge test this weekend, the Nix will really test on where we actually stand

 

[Josho Howe]

That's the sort of result that can kickstart your season. Hope the change room was buzzing. That team came 2nd in the CSL and we more than held our own. That first win isn't far away. Sunday let's hope.

 

[Big Al]

Just need a bit of luck which we got for the equalizer.

That’s 2 headers i think in the ACL that have hit the keeper. These things happen when you’re up against it.

Was disappointed with tonight as we were way better and should have won and they were the worst team we have played in the elite.

They had two chances and two goals. They seemed to hit our spirit as we knew we were on top and conceeded sloppily again.

However we found a way as we have all tournament to score late like we were good at in the A League last season.

Much better performance but still some things missing but that’s ok.

We really should of had more points out of this campaign as we have been pretty good. Would love us to upset Vessel and put ourselves in the mix for the 8. We deserve that.

How good to see Ngor Eames and Brandtman making things happen. Eames pass was a bit short but a beautiful idea but Ngor made it something through desire. We really lifted after that goal

 

[Big Al]

Diesel got caught way to high on the first goal. He pushed into the midfield to cut off the play and didn’t. The midfielder was next to the receiver of the ball and would have put pressure on them with Diesel back to fill the whole.

Then Brian sat to far back with Paull watching. To late goal.

Second goal Diesel makes the slide to cut off the ball but doesn’t keep possession unluckily and they pounce straight into the hole again but Brian stays in the middle but both him and Paull had the same player who was Paulls. I think Brian should have been more aware and slide over to fill the hole and cut off the scoring angle.

It was the only time all night they got caught short but they were punished.

Brian needs to come forward a bit more as starting to get caught back a but to far to often. Especially at the elite level

 

[Ironbark]

We're able to compete in this game. They'll take their chances well so we need maximum concentration at those key moments. If we do there's a chance of pinching it.

Made this call very early in the game. Shame we didn't hold out those key moments. The youngins will learn from the experience. We are heavily hit by injury at the moment so we need them to.

 

[true believer]

some more observations . i think kaltac played concussed . was he given a head injury assessment ?

like last year in the asian cup. di pizio's last minute equalizer steadied the ship in the group stage.
our season took off from there.
maybe brandtmans has just done the same for 2024

 

[Michael]

Very happy with the fight shown by the boys, true mariners spirit. Their two goals are just an example of if you give quality time and space you’re likely to get punished. Just two mental lapses. I don’t think many keepers stop their 2 goals tbf.

Ngor’s goal was very very well taken, good use of his shoulder/strength and good composure. Their defence was dog shit, we deserved to score against it. The ball from Eames was nice (even with the deflection) and exactly what we need. In each of his cameos he’s shown sharp touches and always looks forward and pings passes. Honestly don’t think he’s far away from starting. Good on Bailey getting that finish too, hopefully builds his confidence at this level.

 

[Meerkat]

some more observations . i think kaltac played concussed . was he given a head injury assessment ?

like last year in the asian cup. di pizio's last minute equalizer steadied the ship in the group stage.
our season took off from there.
maybe brandtmans has just done the same for 2024

No idea. Walked past me a few times this morning and looked fine. Was shopping in Rebel.

 

[Michael]

He's another Theo. Needs to stop being a show pony.

I honestly think you’re watching a different Mauragis in a CCM jersey.
He’s literally been probably our best player early into this season. Definitely the most consistent.
Another theo? Ya joking.
He does his defensive work, gets up and back all day long. Creates the most chances every match. And when we’re under the pump, literally carry’s the team out of our 18yd box with a big countering run.

How anyone can put a blight on Mauragis at this point is completely idiotic.

 

[turbo]

How anyone can put a blight on Mauragis at this point is completely idiotic.

I think some can't see past the ex Jets tag or hold him to an unreasonable standard because of it.

 

[Big Al]

I honestly think you’re watching a different Mauragis in a CCM jersey.
He’s literally been probably our best player early into this season. Definitely the most consistent.
Another theo? Ya joking.
He does his defensive work, gets up and back all day long. Creates the most chances every match. And when we’re under the pump, literally carry’s the team out of our 18yd box with a big countering run.

How anyone can put a blight on Mauragis at this point is completely idiotic.

Has been pretty good but has been a bit hoggy last 2 games ignoring runs and simple passes and trying to hard himself but certainly hasn’t been bad and is trying and the nee backline setup helps him

 

[Coastalraider]

No idea. Walked past me a few times this morning and looked fine. Was shopping in Rebel.

What you fail to mention is he was walking up and down looking for the milk isle…

 

[Capn Gus Bloodbeard]

No idea. Walked past me a few times this morning and looked fine. Was shopping in Rebel.

Was he looking for his striker? I'm sure the staff could help him find them 🤣