The End
And so this long season comes to an end; the most difficult season since the last days of Lawrie McKinna. The Mariners simply did not have the energy to overcome the odds stacked so high against them. They never looked like winning but to their credit they made the Wanderers look pretty ordinary for most of the game.
In front of a packed and passionate crowd at Parramatta’s Pirtek Stadium it was the Mariners who had the first chance of the game as Dappuzzo headed clear under pressure from Bernie as he tried to connect with Fitzgerald’s far post cross. Another metre on the cross and the Wanderers would have been in real trouble.
Five minutes later the Mariners had the luckiest of escapes as Topor-Stanley outjumped Reddy to crash the ball against the bar with all the power of a Zwaanswijk header. Two minutes later it was the Wanderers who rode their luck as Covic expertly cleaned up after Spiranovic completely miss kicked Duke’s cross. Fitzgerald lost control of the ball but Hersi fluffed the chance on the break and then Reddy gave us a heart-in-the-mouth moment as he dribbled clear under intense pressure.
The Wanderers shaded possession but the Mariners were having their moments too but that all changed on the half hour. Bridge hit a good shot to the bottom corner which Reddy did well to save at full stretch but when Ono returned the ball across goal Hersi forced the ball home for the opening goal. Mariners protests about offside came to no avail and the replay showed he was kept onside by Montgomery.
The Mariners responded in the best possible way as Bernie showed great skill to set Duke away on the break; Duke raced to the edge of the area to fire a fierce shot which found the side netting. Covic may have had it covered but a foot closer and a foot higher and he would have had no chance. Duke couldn’t hide his frustration.
Liam Reddy has enjoyed a season of character redemption at the Mariners’ Last Chance Saloon and he was at it again with the most spectacular save from Ono’s free kick. Montgomery, who really should know better, fouled Ono on the edge of the penalty area. Alarm bells were ringing as Ono stepped up; this was a situation redolent with danger. Soaring like Superman, Reddy not only flew to his left to save but also caught the ball two handed. If his name had been Mat Ryan he would be playing for the Socceroos [sic]. Loud and clear over the airwaves we heard the Band playing “Yellow Football Team”. It was a proud moment.
The Wanderers are coached by the humourless Tony Popovic. A man skilled in the Dark Arts learned in the uncompromising maelstrom of England’s Championship football. Throughout the first half his team, notably Dappuzzo and La Roca, had repeatedly fouled the Mariners players. Nasty, niggling, spiteful fouls. It was ironic that when the referee finally brought out the yellow card it was for Topor-Stanley who had largely been blame free.
A goal down at half-time it was important the Mariners took the game to the Wanderers; ten minutes in they had a real chance to equalise. Excellent pressure from Duke won him the ball; his shot was blocked and fell to Ibini. He could have fired in a shot or even passed the ball to Duke. He did neither: he simply fell over. It was the clearest indication that the Mariners did not have the legs for this game.
Dappuzzo committed his fifth cynical foul; the benevolent referee kept the yellow card in his pocket. Pressure from Duke and Fitzgerald forced a handball on the edge of the area. Bosnar’s free kick hit the ball and fell to safety. It should not have: Fitzgerald had ducked out of the wall leaving the perfect gap; it was another chance gone. The Mariners kept going forward, Rose burst into the penalty area but his right foot shot was poor. The ball fell for Duke whose well hit shot didn’t trouble Covic; a couple of yards either side and it certainly would have. Hersi then butchered a chance to put the game out of reach when his soft header wrong footed Reddy but went wide.
A tired Duke lost the ball on the edge of the Wanderers area; they broke with real venom but Duke dragged his exhausted body back to clear Juric’s cross from his own penalty area. What a phenomenal gutsy effort!
The referee by now had found his yellow card: he booked Ono for what might have been his second foul; he booked La Rocca for what might have been his seventh; he booked Kim, on for Fitzgerald, for his first.
It wasn’t Kim’s first touch; a free kick on the edge of the Wanderers’ area had left Covic motionless but had curled over. The valiant Mariners were finally undone when Wanderers broke at pace and La Rocca, who in my opinion was lucky to be still on the park, coolly placed the ball beyond Reddy.
The Mariners were out on their feet; it had been a gallant effort but the odds, stacked by the FFA against them, were just too much to overcome.
All the players tried their best, some performed much better than others. Bernie like a Flemington sprinter, just can’t back up and never had the energy for this game, Anderson, who does not have a clue who he will pass to before he receives the ball, was like Bambi on ice but Liam Reddy, with that remarkable save, Bosnar, aggressive and willing as ever and Caceres, neat and calm, were not disgraced. My MoM is Mitchell Duke who simply did not stop running; Phar Lap could not have a bigger heart. The scientists should examine him to see if he has the secret to a new energy source to replace fossil fuels.
sung OUR chant 
"who do we sing for"
