Mariners 2012 AFC Champions League megathread

[MrCelery]

1-1 Final

Overall very impressive by CCM. My MOM is a toss up between Dutchy, Wilko and Amini. But they all did well.

Kennedy didn't have sniff all night.

But again, a bit of drought in the shot department.

Looks like we came through unscathed.

Now bring on the sheep-shaggers. verhead:

 

[scottmac]

WORST

REF

EVER

Couldn't believe what i was seeing when Rogic Amini & Ibini were on the field, Right then I believe our strongest 11 were on the park for the first time together.

Matty Simon would have been awesome tonight and i'd go as far as saying we would have won.

 

[scottmac]

Seongnam currently making Nagoya's left side look like anything but divers.

 

[yellowcake]

And all square in Seongnam (1-1). GD only separating the group.

 

[style_cafe]

Very pleased with the effort tonight.
In fact that`s the best we`ve played for months.

The refereeing was comical & the lineman on the eastern side was either blind or a blatant cheat.
I don`t think I`ve ever heard any crowd boo so much during a game.

Apart from Bojic I think everyone had a reasonable game

 

[Wombat]

Very pleased with the effort tonight.
In fact that`s the best we`ve played for months.

The refereeing was comical & the lineman on the eastern side was either blind or a blatant cheat.
I don`t think I`ve ever heard any crowd boo so much during a game.

Apart from Bojic I think everyone had a reasonable game

Bojic and Hearfield were average (but not bad). Everyone else was excellent.

 

[Wombat]

We were excellent tonight. In fact that is the best we have played in the last two months. If we play like that inWellington we will win the league.

Ryan 8. Top game. Totally alert and distribution first class.
Bojic 6. Headless chook but still worked hard.
Rose 7. Good game and one superb bit of defending kept us in the game.
Wilko 7.5 Top game from a man in fine form.
Dutchy 8.5 Simply brilliant. MOM
WeeMac 7. Not in top gear tonight but still decent.
Hutcho 7.5. Pretty good game...when he plays like that we don't miss Griffo.
Amini 8. First half, slightly off the boil but second half he was amazingly good. Japs struggled to control him.
Bozanic 8. Great game. Made a couple of mistakes late on but was superb overall.
Rogic 7. Decent game.
Hearfield 6. Worked hard.

Subs ....all did ok.

Really good game....far better standard than most HAL games and we rose to the occasion. Crowd was very vocal and atmosphere was brilliant. Can't wait for the next one!

Mom
3 pts Dutchy
2pts Amini
1pt. Ryan , Wilko and Bozanic.

 

[midfielder]

In my humble that is the best we have ever played aside from up front...

Respect nay huge respect for GA ... the formation he played tonight and the way he drilled the shape into them was the like I have not seen before ... held for the entire match...

My observations ... from corners he zoned defended like all players aside from Musty and Olly inside the six yard box... Only Kennedy seemed to be playing in a forward role so he left Wilko and Douchie to watch him and pushed Rose and Pedj into wide midfield roles pushing weeMac & Olly more into the centre of the park and denied them space to work with... we they did get some space they looked quite skillfull...

The ref ... worse than Breeze when Kossie Killers kicked us to death ...

Cannot Spilt... Dutchie, Ryan & Hutch under pressure they were without equal... Hutch the best game I have seen him play ever...

Now for Musty ... OMG .... he played a game tonight that should have him in the Australian side ... without Hutch & Dutchie and he could not have played how he did however words fail me the way he closed down the play, distributed the ball, ran at pace, touch under pressure unbelievably... hunger and determination I have not seen him show before as well...

Sad about the crowd ... went to MacDonald's at East Gosford and they have a Bears RL huge sign ... what can you say but whataaa gotta do to earn some local respect ... three people came up to me at Macers and asked me the score and I felt like screaming go to the Farking match you tight arses ...

The entire midfield played well however the set up GA played worked a treat ... as i said massive respect ... just hope he stays ...

 

[Forum Phoenix]

Crowd was great. We have to change the way we think about this.

Its Wednesday night, a school night, a dance, karate, football etc etc training and activities night, a homework night...
We are a family club. We pulled nearly two percent of our population. That would be the equivalent of
Adelaide pulling a 20K plus crowd. Brisbane a 40K crowd. Victory and SFC 80K crowds respectively.

This is not a dig at you MF. I'm so tired of hearing trolls on other forums bitching foolishly on our crowds. We want more people at our games yes, of course. But we as a supporter group have to take an accurate and proud position of the fact we are the most integrated and connected club in the league. And be clear about it.

Sick to death of hearing "MV has the best supporters in the country" when they engage a far smaller ratio of their population than we do. If they had 2.5 - 3% of their population regularly at games as we do, they'd be consistently getting crowds of over 100K.

imagine that. Well that's us. Our cub is amazing. It's a fact.

Great game. Agree with everything already said. We deserved the win. Despise AFC refs and divers.

Lets go get the plate.

 

[Roy Law]

After a slow nervy start I thought the Mariners did very well; Arnie’s tactics worked a treat and we played a lot of very decent football. The only downside was the weakness that has dogged us since Matt Simon left: the lack of a cutting edge up front almost certainly cost us a win in this game.

The early signs weren’t good as we quickly got a reminder of how cynical the Asian sides are at diving in the ACL. The referee didn’t help matters as he displayed a fussy desire to be the centre of attention. Nagoya Grampus won five corners to the Mariners one in the first half hour showing ability to pressure without seeming to apply pressure. The difference was in their technique: while the Mariners struggled to keep possession and find rhythm Grampus seemed to be at ease in finding their team mates. Bojic was having a nightmare; only Amini seemed capable of matching their skill in these early phases, threading a ball through to Hearfield who tamely hit something between a cross and a shot.

Memories of the old Nemesis that so haunted Lawrie McKinna’s Mariners came flooding back: a weakness at defending set pieces. From a corner Ryan got his clearing punch horribly wrong but was alert enough to produce a full length save to redeem himself from the consequent shot. When the referee again got it wrong as Nagoya dived, and Bojic complained, the resulting free-kick looked innocuous until Hearfield made a terrible hash of clearing it and Tagana scrambled the ball home. Smugly Nagoya trotted back for the kick-off; they clearly thought that this was going to be easy. They couldn’t have been more wrong.

The Mariners fought back; possession improved as Bozanic, Hutchinson and Rose all lifted. Three times Rose got free on the left after excellent approach work. Bozanic neatly fed Hearfield but he appeared to tread on the ball and the chance was gone; from the clearance Rogic was inches away from finding Hearfield for a decisive header. Rogic was giving a very good Kwasnik impression: sometimes losing the ball, other times producing something dangerous and threatening. After good Mariners pressure Nagoya failed to clear their lines and Zwaanswijk rammed home the header from Rogic’s perfect cross. The equaliser was deserved; the Mariners had lifted to match their opponents. The half closed with Rogic hitting a trade mark left footer just wide after fine skills on the edge of the area.

The second half was almost all Mariners; they dominated possession and played all the good football. Nagoya rarely attacked, resorting to long balls over the top. Kennedy was anonymous. The Mariners were closing in for the kill. Bozanic was inches away after a decisive run from midfield, Amini brought a fine save from the keeper, Ibini, on for Hearfield, skipped passed the big central defender but had too much on it to take on the keeper. Zwaanswijk was troubling Nagoya with his aerial threat; Rogic had another dig just wide and after fine inter passing Amini fed Wilko whose shot was too tame to trouble the keeper. The Mariners didn’t quite have it up front and Nagoya held on; both sides shouldn’t be too disappointed with the result. There is still everything to play for in this group. I have every confidence after this polished display that the Mariners will be up for it in Wellington this weekend.

 

[Roy Law]

The Players:
Ryan: a couple of times looked under pressure from their crosses – it is a step up in standard in the ACL – I think he should have a word with Chock Mundine about timing his punches.
Bojic: the ACL is beyond him; for the second time his eccentric play, acceptable in the A League, has left him embarrassingly exposed.
Rose: all class; one of our best on the night. Great going forward and excellent defensively. Seriously, Holger Osiek, get this guy in the Socceroos!
Wilko: was it Sade who sang “Smooth Operator”? She must have had this guy in mind. A display of real quality.
Zwaanswijk: Another of our best players. Dominated at the back, one wonderful outmuscling of Kennedy set the tone for a quiet night for the Socceroo. Scored a great header and scared the life out of them every time he went up front.
Hutchinson: excellent. He seems to love life in the ACL. Kept things moving smoothly all night long.
McGlinchey: worked hard but didn’t quite have the penetration. His touch let him down a couple of times and the Japanese defenders seemed able to match his twists and turns.
Bozanic: after a quiet opening was one of our most influential players. Unlucky not to score.
Amini: awesome; best game of the season. Seemed to revel in the quality around him. Great touch, attitude and vision. This was why Borussia Dortmund has signed him.
Rogic: an up and down display: sometimes magical, sometimes lost. It is a sign of his quality that although things didn’t always work for him he still provided some of our most dangerous moments.
Hearfield: m-u-s-t n-o-t s-t-a-r-t. The weak link in our attack – Ibini, McBreen or even Sutton would have done better.
Subs: Ibini did ok but not enough time; McBreen had little impact.

MoM: Mustafa Amini, well supported by Patrick, Bozanic, Rose and Hutchinson

 

[true believer]

MOM GA what a class act . he has clearly established himself as a world class manager/coach .

AFC fair play is in tatters after the shameful display of nagoya. unless something is done about the simualation in the game . particular nagai must be looking at suspenion for the AFC to have any crediblity.
the standard of refreeing wouldn't cut it in park football let alone at this level.just disgraceful


Ryan 7.5. his reading of the game is what impresses me most
Bojic 6.5 beaten for speed (as were most)never gave up
Rose 8 close to best on ground .class effort in front of holger osiek
Wilko 7.5 most under rated player in the A league
Zwanee 8.5 all class. a goal, handled kennedy with ease. what a gem
WeeMac 6 disappointing
Hutch 7 good game better the longer the game went
Amini 8 what class . constant danger for nagoya
Bozanic 8. outstanding , performance of the season
Rogic 7.5 good game . i hope he stays in oz for another season
Hearfield 6.tried hard .i would have liked to see berni on at half time

 

[greenlig]

I was trying to stream it on a sh***y net connection all night, and missed big chunks of the game. I just saw that first dive on Bojic, and the one that resulted in the goal. Wow. I can't believe that they allow that kind of stuff to go on. I think our refs would get butchered in the J-League for being too harsh! And to think that Perez got suspended for simulation...

The bits of the game I saw were fantastic though, and hopefully we carry that momentum through to Sunday!

 

[kevrenor]

A match report of sorts:

http://back-of-the-net.com/2011-2012/Misc/ACL12-CCvsNG.htm

 

[MrCelery]

Crowd was great. We have to change the way we think about this.

Its Wednesday night, a school night, a dance, karate, football etc etc training and activities night, a homework night...
We are a family club. We pulled nearly two percent of our population. That would be the equivalent of
Adelaide pulling a 20K plus crowd. Brisbane a 40K crowd. Victory and SFC 80K crowds respectively.

This is not a dig at you MF. I'm so tired of hearing trolls on other forums bitching foolishly on our crowds. We want more people at our games yes, of course. But we as a supporter group have to take an accurate and proud position of the fact we are the most integrated and connected club in the league. And be clear about it.

Sick to death of hearing "MV has the best supporters in the country" when they engage a far smaller ratio of their population than we do. If they had 2.5 - 3% of their population regularly at games as we do, they'd be consistently getting crowds of over 100K.

imagine that. Well that's us. Our cub is amazing. It's a fact.

Great game. Agree with everything already said. We deserved the win. Despise AFC refs and divers.

Lets go get the plate.

Good argument. We should not forget that. It makes our big crowd figures from earlier seasons very impressive when seen in context.

 

[MrCelery]

A match report of sorts:

http://back-of-the-net.com/2011-2012/Misc/ACL12-CCvsNG.htm

Referee 5/10? Now that's generous!

 

[Nathan Byrn]

Good argument. We should not forget that. It makes our big crowd figures from earlier seasons very impressive when seen in context.

We are a one team town. The others are not!

 

[Nathan Byrn]

And the smaller the population the easier it is to engage. The financial models were done on 7,500 min. Then it was changed to 10,000 with rise in costs etc. Maybe when the march is organised you can get your mates to march to the game!

 

[marinermick]

Another thing to note was that Kennedy was given a yellow card for a clear punch to the back of the head of Dutchy.

Should have been a red.

 

[Nathan Byrn]

Another thing to note was that Kennedy was given a yellow card for a clear punch to the back of the head of Dutchy.

Should have been a red.

I thought Rogic was lucky.. With that wild swing out, nowhere near the ball!!