Well that was tough to take, while I am not as emotionally connected to this derby as most, it was very painful to lose that one. Especially when you could see it coming for the entire second half. I was impressed by the spirit we showed for portions of the game, where has that been this season? But I felt even that spirit and enthusiasm went missing at times, there were simple pressure acts that we didn't always perform, simple passes that we missed and a simple lack of defensive structure at key moments.
My thoughts on our players:
Adam Pearce:
While he is clearly not ready for the A-League and could have done much more for Jets' second goal and on the Jets' set pieces in general, I thought he probably had his best match for us. His attempted save at the first goal was horrific, it should have been relatively easy to deal with. He needs to command his box better and be far cleaner when catching the ball but you could at least see the potential he has today. Even if Kennedy is able to play next week I would pick Pearce over him, though if Munford and Gauci are anywhere near A-League level they deserve an opportunity.
Matt Millar:
Was by far our best player though he did fade in the second half. His marauding runs were a highlight of the first half and I can't remember a more pinpoint cross in my time as a Mariners' then the one he managed for his assist.
He combined well with Andrew Hoole down the right hand side and played through some very clever and well weighted balls. While his defensive aerial abilities are nothing to write home about, he allowed a free header for Hoffman for the first goal as well as giving away a free header to Jair earlier in the match, he fought for every ball and was rarely beaten in one on ones. He was culpable for the second goal when he was clearly out on his feet and forced Rowles to be dragged out of position. Should be given an opportunity further up the pitch as he is clearly a right winger playing right full back.
Antony Golec:
He was peripheral for most of the game, when not giving away all the ball. He appears to be slowly getting back to the player he was before his injury but a full recovery seems like it will take a long time. His attempted cross field balls were encouraging, and we desperately need to add width when coming out from defence, but his execution was poor. As a senior player in our side he needed to galvanize and marshal our defence, and for the majority of the match there was far too much space between him and Rowles. While this problem partly comes from poor screening from O'Neill/McGlinchey/Melling throughout the game we need to stay far more compact and as the senior player in defence Golec needed to ensure that happened.
Kye Rowles:
Has the makings of a fantastic defender, and in the right environment I think he really could flourish into at the, very least, into an above average A-League player. He has very much proved me wrong from his initial impressions for Brisbane Roar. He consistently makes good interceptions and tackles but often lacks the ability to recover when dragged out of position, with the right experience and structure around him he is one player we could build a team around.
Jack Clisby:
Constantly beaten one and one and allowed cross after cross after cross to be delivered to Newcastle's strikers. Why is he on set piece duty? He did not successfully execute a set piece today and barely has all season. Had his worst performance in a Mariners' shirt to date.
Michael McGlinchey:
Improved on his performance on last week and was positive in possession but was nowhere near the standard required of an A-League visa player. He is not a defensive midfielder and does not know how to tackle, the only positive in keeping him in that position is that it stops Melling from starting. On the ball his first half was good, he was positive and made some good combinations but frankly I except better from a foreign player.
Aidan O'Neill:
Put in a tremendous defensive shift in the first half and successfully screened our back four for the first time this season. Moved the ball quickly and hit the target even with ambitious balls. Sad to see he him go off in the second half but made next to impact in the second half prior to his injury.
Jacob Melling:
Surely McGing was a better option to come off the bench for a tiring Millar? Made no impact on the game albeit with limited minutes.
Mario Shabow:
Was direct, positive and eager to combine with other players. While his decision making could use some work at times he offered more in the 10 role than anyone else has this season. Worked tremendously hard off the ball to create options and deserves to keep his place next week. Needed to be subbed earlier to take control of the midfield.
Josh Macdonald:
Had limited impact but limited opportunities on the ball, came on far too late and did not work as hard as Pain did.
Jordan Murray:
Was far more successful playing centrally last week against Wellington than wide today. Thought he was hard done by to lose his starting spot and if he comes off the bench he needs to be playing as an actual striker.
Andrew Hoole:
Was comprehensively beaten by Georgievski today but worked hard on and off the ball. Was put through into dangerous crossing positions by Millar numerous times only to be unable to cross past Georgievski but did well to offer an option and create space for Millar to run into.
Matt Simon:
Fought hard for the ball as he always does and probably had his best game since returning to the Mariners. Combined well with Shabow and produced a quality headed finish. He needs to offer more off the ball when we have possession, he is far too often static and looking for an unneeded aerial contest.
Connor Pain:
Worked exceptionally hard with and without the ball but had two fantastic opportunities which he spurned. Hard to come down on him after he has been close to being our best player this season but as a now senior player he has to finish at least one of those chances.
Mike Mulvey:
We wanted it more than Newcastle in the first half and it showed, we looked like an A-League standard team who were proud to be professional footballers in the first half. Throughout the match our central defenders allowed too much space between them and their fullbacks. Shabow was a brave selection choice which paid off, but where is Hiariej? Our substitutions were late, why did we wait until the 67th minute to make our first sub when we were quickly losing control of the match. We completely failed to deal with fatigue and adjust to a small alteration to Newcastle's game plan.
The performance was better today and I at least don' feel embarrassed to be a Mariners' fan because of it, we are still off to the worst start in A-League history. There certainly were positives to take out of this match, the opportunities we created as well as the performance of Shabow and Millar, we still gave away far, far too many chances that any other A-League side will comprehensively punish us for. Newcastle came without their shooting boots today and even with a much improved defence we continued to give away chances. Without a huge amount of luck I can at best see us at best getting two wins out of this season.
Simon did well with the goal but I still wonder about the opportunity cost of starting him. It feels like we need to shoehorn them in at the cost of proper change.
