Australia Cup Round of 32 vs Hindenburg United

[Coastalraider]

Some early thoughts with an obvious filter of being 2 weeks into the season.

Kuol took way too long to get involved and didn’t take his opportunities, shades of last year.

Alfie is going to take this comp by storm.

I was more impressed than I thought I would be with Feijao.

Mauragis will be very good for us and our strikers.

Paull and Wilson…. Neither of them are currently capable of playing at this level. Both are likely to improve with game time but aren’t at a level where we can’t afford to be giving it to them. Kuzevski actually looked really good yesterday, and while I rate him higher than both Paull and Wilson, it’s also a good example of the benefit of playing some NPL to get some actual game time in rather than just training and watching from the pine. Both players need that but our youth policy means they haven’t got it over the winter. They are stuck on an awkward space of not good enough and not getting match time to get better. Paull playing left not only makes the LH side weaker, but also shifting Kaltak means he’s less effective.

Diesel - instantly looked a level above Paull, really look forward to seeing him develop. Reminded me of Triantis that he just naturally looked comfortable with the pace. Also it moves Kaltak into his preferred position.

Smith looks like he really needs some time - might be fit but seems a step off the pace at the moment.

Pav, actually pretty happy. First game for ages after being on the bench last year. Was obviously told to get up the field late in the match, the commentators were joking about him being in the front line if he kept going that way right before being caught out. Obviously embarrassing for him but when you throw everyone forward sometimes you get caught out.

Overall I lay that result squarely at the feet of kuol and edmo. Early season games will have errors with new players trying to gel into new systems etc, but we created more than enough clear opportunities that 2 strikers that far into their careers should have put that game to bed.

 

[Tevor]

Some early thoughts with an obvious filter of being 2 weeks into the season.

Kuol took way too long to get involved and didn’t take his opportunities, shades of last year.

Alfie is going to take this comp by storm.

I was more impressed than I thought I would be with Feijao.

Mauragis will be very good for us and our strikers.

Paull and Wilson…. Neither of them are currently capable of playing at this level. Both are likely to improve with game time but aren’t at a level where we can’t afford to be giving it to them. Kuzevski actually looked really good yesterday, and while I rate him higher than both Paull and Wilson, it’s also a good example of the benefit of playing some NPL to get some actual game time in rather than just training and watching from the pine. Both players need that but our youth policy means they haven’t got it over the winter. They are stuck on an awkward space of not good enough and not getting match time to get better. Paull playing left not only makes the LH side weaker, but also shifting Kaltak means he’s less effective.

Diesel - instantly looked a level above Paull, really look forward to seeing him develop. Reminded me of Triantis that he just naturally looked comfortable with the pace. Also it moves Kaltak into his preferred position.

Smith looks like he really needs some time - might be fit but seems a step off the pace at the moment.

Pav, actually pretty happy. First game for ages after being on the bench last year. Was obviously told to get up the field late in the match, the commentators were joking about him being in the front line if he kept going that way right before being caught out. Obviously embarrassing for him but when you throw everyone forward sometimes you get caught out.

Overall I lay that result squarely at the feet of kuol and edmo. Early season games will have errors with new players trying to gel into new systems etc, but we created more than enough clear opportunities that 2 strikers that far into their careers should have put that game to bed.

Agree the opportunities where there for the strikers.

 

[Ads]

Interesting point is how do we work out keeping Doka on the right.

And how do we get Migsy & Alfie on the ball with a bit more room.

Roux———Deisel———Kaltak————Marsguis
————————-Tapp———————————-
Doka———Alfie————Steele————Dipizio
————————-Edmo——————————


* Kuol against tired legs
* New Brazilian against tired legs
* Theo against tired legs

Much more balanced with a 4-1-4-1
* Tapp to be a sweeper of the midfield
* Lots of fire power off the bench
* Stick with the one striker and work on defence until Diesel and the other up to speed.

 

[shipwreck]

Im sorry but I think the coaching staff got that starting lineup all wrong.

 

[Capn Gus Bloodbeard]

Cupset does hit different though when you’re coming off good seasons.

We need to stop thinking npl are the automatic underdogs. I don't think of this as an upset at all.
5th in npl at the peak of their season, vs a mostly brand newteam in preseason training in their first match together.

 

[MrCelery]

Silly pre season comp designed to engage the NPL

Don't agree with the first part. I love a good Cup comp. Definitely there to engage the NPL, but I see that as a positive too. A chance to see something different. And a good pre-season hitout for the A-League sides.

 

[Capn Gus Bloodbeard]

Silly pre season comp designed to engage the NPL
Stuff we already knew?
Buying Kuol was a mistake
Paull and Wilson aren't good enough.
We are a CM s
We have too many full backs
Stuff we found out?
New Brazilian, Alfie and Diesel are quality.
Keeper is solid.
Kuz is 100% a starter
Doka is not a 10

Some early thoughts with an obvious filter of being 2 weeks into the season.

Kuol took way too long to get involved and didn’t take his opportunities, shades of last year.

Alfie is going to take this comp by storm.

I was more impressed than I thought I would be with Feijao.

Mauragis will be very good for us and our strikers.

Paull and Wilson…. Neither of them are currently capable of playing at this level. Both are likely to improve with game time but aren’t at a level where we can’t afford to be giving it to them. Kuzevski actually looked really good yesterday, and while I rate him higher than both Paull and Wilson, it’s also a good example of the benefit of playing some NPL to get some actual game time in rather than just training and watching from the pine. Both players need that but our youth policy means they haven’t got it over the winter. They are stuck on an awkward space of not good enough and not getting match time to get better. Paull playing left not only makes the LH side weaker, but also shifting Kaltak means he’s less effective.


Pav, actually pretty happy.

I thought he looked pretty dire....his footwork is atrocious. Poor options on goal kicks and a few releases, couldn't seem to decide what to do with the ball at his feet and lost it a few times, came close a few others. Not to mention, that 3rd goal.

Hopefully this aspect of his game can be coached, otherwise he's going to keep putting our defence on it.

Our scramble defence was okay, but really it just means they had a lot of crosses they couldn't get on the end of. Against a better team actually hitting their player will be a problem. But, at least players are getting back. Losing the ball too much in the midst putting our defence on the back foot, and lack of game time meant we got beat 1 on 1 a lot.

Once our attack learns to work together we'll score goals. It was painfully obvious that there was always a big disconnect between the ball carrier and other players.

And that last half of ET was pretty dire, just desperate.

I don't look at it as anything dire overall. There's some potential

Surprised we didn't use all our subs though. Few tired legs out there.

 

[Michael]

Heidelberg are the perfect example of why a 2nd div is necessary. But anyway.

Some extra thoughts on the game.
I said it to mates and possibly on here when he signed, Mauragis won’t be as defensively sound or have the ticker fazz did. But he 100% will have a better final ball/cross and a little better at beating players IMO. And he’s the best possible replacement for fazz. Kuzi was also very bright, I did get the feeling he’ll need to re-settle into the first after so long out though.
Alfie ran the show and was a noticeable tactic for him to sit higher than Tappy for periods in possession, something that’s a little different from last season. He was superb and I’m so excited to watch him this season. Vitor was impressive after some iffy early touches and suits out style to a tee, worked hard off the ball and sharp runs in behind and wasn’t scared to whip a ball in, for comparison I’d say he looked better in that 45mins than Torres and Beni did in their debuts.


I’m actually excited to see these lads hum when they’re fit, sharp and clicking. I could be bagging a couple of the players who genuinely just didn’t play well but there isn’t any point in that this early on.

 

[Michael]

Interesting point is how do we work out keeping Doka on the right.

And how do we get Migsy & Alfie on the ball with a bit more room.

Doka is best at RM. not a winger, a wide play maker. An early 2000s right midfielder. He could also work on the left with Mauragis bombing past him.

Alfie will get most ball where he is next to Tappy, he would also be influential in the 10 would see less ball but would have more space when he gets it.

I personally think Migs is best in the 10 but can be effective on the left if he has someone to link with.

 

[BrisRecky]

WELL.......that's the promotion to build NPL crowds out of the way.......time to flick Wilson and Paul and get amongst it

 

[Ironbark]

As I said early in the game - pretty happy with all the new recruits who showed they have the goods.

Whilst Alou didn't take his scoring opportunities he actually provided a fair bit in attack and defence and was technically better than I've seen him in the past. I still feel he and Edmo have several notches to ratchet up. If they do they'll be awesome, if not... well more of what we got last night.

Feel sorry for DWH not even making the bench.

Jacko used this as a bit of a preseason friendly I felt and rotated too many non- first 11 starters which ultimately undid us. Not a terrible idea giving them time in a competitive match with low stakes - but Australia Cup is a good opportunity for competitive minutes preseason and now we don't have that.

Doka has to be on the right. We missed Theo I thought too. Not sure why he wasn't in the squad.

Hopefully Pav had his Maty Ryan moment early on and learns from it. Poor Kaltak had a couple of mistakes too, but his distribution is better than ever and no doubt will be a feature of the season.

Still confident we'll be top 6 at least.

 

[turbo]

Interesting point is how do we work out keeping Doka on the right.

And how do we get Migsy & Alfie on the ball with a bit more room.

Roux———Deisel———Kaltak————Marsguis
————————-Tapp———————————-
Doka———Alfie————Steele————Dipizio
————————-Edmo——————————


* Kuol against tired legs
* New Brazilian against tired legs
* Theo against tired legs

Much more balanced with a 4-1-4-1
* Tapp to be a sweeper of the midfield
* Lots of fire power off the bench
* Stick with the one striker and work on defence until Diesel and the other up to speed.

We don't have the midfield depth to have Tapp, Alfie and Steele all on at once never mind the capacity to cover if there's any injury or rotation needed. I don't hate the idea but it would work alot more if we had kept Nizzy and had Steele coming in off the bench or rotating the middle 3 as needed.

We need to stop thinking npl are the automatic underdogs. I don't think of this as an upset at all.
5th in npl at the peak of their season, vs a mostly brand newteam in preseason training in their first match together.

In most of the other games with AL vs NPL the A league sides have looked at least as fit and generally sharper at least individually on the ball. And I'm counting sides that played young squads and lost in that too. I think they should be the underdogs albeit by a smaller margin than expected, their main advantage should be familiarity and cohesion while individually most AL players should be higher quality to varying degrees.
The way we played I dont see us beating Sydney, Nix or City who are also on the way out. Might have beaten the losers from the play offs.

 

[shipwreck]

We needed to treat this like an absolute must win in order to guarantee more games.

 

[Ancient Mariner]

Both our strikers missed chances that must be put away. Kuol did not start to work until after half time, Edmo worked hard and put himself about, but neither are what you would call clinical finishers.
I have my doubts about Miggsy as a #10. I don't think his ball skills, at present, suit that position maybe in the future.
Alfie looked a class above but the midfield needs much more time together. There were big holes in the middle of the park.
Although he can play on the left, Doka must stay on the right.
Very impressed with the speed and work of our new Brazilian.
Kaltak and Diesel to build a central defensive partnership.
I think Storm is a year older and a yard slower now to be a fullback, played mostly as an extra central defender. It will be interesting to watch how our defence will be structured.
Mauragis looks exciting.
Our subs looked both young and inexperienced.

The quality and experience we have lost, not just this year but last as well, can not be easily or quickly replaced. This year will be the rebuilding year that we managed to avoid last year.

We could possibly use one or two additional experienced quality players in the squad but like many A-league teams this year it will not happen.
Many have commented that the gap between the NPL and A-League has closed somewhat. From the Cup games I have seen this year that is obvious but it is not just the improvement in NPL teams but the reduced funding for the A-League.

Overall I think we have the makings of a very exciting squad but it will time for them to grow not only as a team but in individual skills as well.

It could be a very satisfying few of years of development to watch with lots of highs and lows.

Strap in for the ride.

 

[Corsair]

his distribution is better than ever and no doubt will be a feature of the season.

I thought the same and this can make a big difference to a team over the course of a season.

 

[Allreet?]

Lots to work with and plenty of improvement to come, but my telly did get shouted at a few times - some dreadful misses from Kuol and Edmo. I just knew it was going to hurt us.

I thought by the end of last season that Edmo was turning into a pretty good finisher but he's back to square one after missing that excellent cross. As for Kuol...

Maybe we turn Alou into a #10? His best work was running through the middle and he did play some excellent channel balls.

 

[Ancient Mariner]

Lots to work with and plenty of improvement to come, but my telly did get shouted at a few times - some dreadful misses from Kuol and Edmo. I just knew it was going to hurt us.

I thought by the end of last season that Edmo was turning into a pretty good finisher but he's back to square one after missing that excellent cross. As for Kuol...

Maybe we turn Alou into a #10? His best work was running through the middle and he did play some excellent channel balls.

Could yet be a place for DWH.

 

[FFC Mariner]

Could yet be a place for DWH.

Arguably would he have been as anonymous as Alou last night?

 

[shipwreck]

Blows my mind that Paull got a start, Wilson got over 60 mins and DWH didn't even make the squad.

He seriously can't be that bad

 

[turbo]

Arguably would he have been as anonymous as Alou last night?

We'll never know. What we'll probably do is persevere as is then eventually throw him to the wolves and say well he didnt score against this J league side in 20 mins so unlucky..