OK I want to take a more positive view of this game. I thought we'd be pwned all over the park in this one and we didn't.
Firstly, the bleeding obvious - no goals scored. While we can whinge about the lack of goals scored on our part, look at it this way, Sydney were favourites to bag a few & we stopped them. We had more shots, it seems, than them.
Secondly, Kwassi's penalty attempt. I had people asking me why is it that one of the more inconsistent forwards was taking the penalty. My reply was that he was the only one stupid enough to accept the challenge. At the close of a match, everybody's buggered, legs won't do what you want them to do & suddenly a ref blows a whistle and points to the penalty spot.
I thought, when I saw the reply, that Kwassi did good to place his body movement to one side and shoot to the other. The shot didn't have enough pace and Bolton got onto it, but if the lack of pace had deceived Bolton, and he had gone flying over the top of the ball and let in the goal, we'd all hail Kwassi the new messiah!
No, I won't bag Kwassi for that shot, he again look dead on his feet. Hutch was down injured, Pedj and McGlinchey had played their ring off the whole match and could have been in worse shape than Kwassi. Never seen Matty take a penalty, someone above reckons he's hated taking them from his juniors/amateurs days so that maybe the answer. Dylan had the freshest legs on the park, but again, who has seen him take a penalty?
Thirdly, the constant moaning about Hutch. I noticed the comments from previous and in recent times the analysis about where Hutch is placed in this team. Agree that he is NOT the attacking focus, our plays do tend to start from out wide, and the second play and possible switch of direction comes from the centre attacking mid (Mc Glinchey) not one of the centre defensive mids. So if you want to assess Hutch's worth to the team, look at the scoreboard first.
Corica was quiet this match, I reckon. Kisel didn't come forward as much. Bridge, when he came on, had to stay back. So it does seem that the two defensive centre mids (Hutch & Pedj) did their job. Hutch also drifted out left when Heff had a a run, likewise, Pedj drifted right when Porter went forward.
I've also noticed that Hutch is doing less of his turn and pass backward routine, but maybe that's also because he has options with McGlinchey being more mobile than, say, Caceres, from last season. But again, Hutch is not the attacking focus. He'd be looking for either McGlinchey, Kwassi or Heff to take the ball up into attack. Or switch the ball over to Pedj or long ball it across to Elrich or Porter. Last resort would be to backpass to Wilko or Boogs or even back to Danny.
Anyone wondering why Travis isn't getting a run, may care to look at the results in this CDM area, and see that Travis is listed as a defensive centre mid more than an attacking centre mid. He ahs to bide his time til either Pedj or Hutch get injured or suspended. I think Mc Glinchey's cover would be Caceres and maybe Travis 3rd choice there.
Also remember that in the only 10 minute appearance by Travis, he took to a Melbourne player like a hound after a fox and picked up a yellow for his efforts. The tackle he tried, that earned him the yellow, was quite a nasty little piece of work from him, even if the receiver of the tackle arguably deserved it for a previous knock. He's firey if he gets fouled, and maybe that is showing up in training and Lawrie wants the guy to settle down a bit before committing him to a full 90, too?
Fourthly, we kept Danning quiet the whole match and nullified, to a large extent, Brosque and Aloisi. I was dreading Heff's match up against Danning. I know if I was Danning I would have been licking my lips at the prospect of playing against a fumbled footed player like Heff is sometimes.
But Heff stayed back a bit more, rarely went forward and lost the ball, and on those times he did lose the ball really worked hard to get back. We could skite that we had our B team in the defense and they couldn't crack it! Lavicka's sub or Danning was proof that the kid wasn't being effective. Top points for Heff in this match I reckon.
He, Hutch and Wilko, worked on Danning's side and made him so ineffective that the manager had to sub him and try someone else.
McGlinchey MoM and getting better week by week, terrific heads up play to feed McAllister in the final minute 
Have to laugh at Sydney forum which claimed last week their superior fitness would see them run over us in the last twenty minutes - we outlasted them easily. And finally, this European coach crap, this so called genius from world footballing power Czech Republic - Sydney played rugged, hoof the ball up English Tier three football - bring back Terry Butcher! 
