Mariners V Drive By's

[Big Dog]

Of all the young players to get a start with the senior team he impressed me as something special. When I heard is was stacking shelves and only had a scholarship deal I was aghast that the he hadn't been offered a full senior contact and signed for life.
From neutrals I often hear the comment that he is amazingly good for his size. What a load of crap. He is amazingly good, full stop.
I do not understand how he has remained below the radar for so long. This is to our benefit and long may it continue, but he cannot be too far from getting senior rep call up from those who should be aware of his quality.

I'm a huge fan. He needs to add goals and assists on a regular basis to go to next level.

 

[JoyfulPenguin]

My Ratings & Thoughts:

Danny Vukovic: 7, Got bailed out by Dan Hall on the goal line but made some crucial saves through the game. Wasn't at fault for the first goal but potentially could have done better for the second. Looks a lot more comfortable on the ball than earlier in the season.

Thomas Aquilina: 4.5, Not his best night and struggled to deal with the Wanderers attacking forays down his side. Especially in the first half. Didn't manage the same work rate Storm has showed, offensively or defensively, but the difficult conditions could account for that.

Nectarios Triantis: 8, Was a composed presence in our backline throughout the night and deserved his "assist". Credit to Monty for unearthing and believing in him. Great to see his jubilation from the goal and going to embrace Monty was heart-warming.

Brian Kaltak: 8, A nervy first 10 minutes, including one wayward pass that almost cost us a goal, was backed up with a herculean defensive effort. Dominated Borello in nearly every one on one (execpt the goal) and put in a terrific shift. Easily would have lost without his last ditch defending.

Dan Hall: 3, Not a left back and I highly doubt he ever will be. Apart from his goal line clearance it was a tough night for a quality young player. More than A-League quality in his natural position. Should have dealt with the first goal relatively easily and highly culpable for the second. Positioning was off all night and unbalanced Kaltak a fair bit in the opening stanza. A night to forget for a player with a big future.

Josh Nisbet: 8, The heartbeat of our side with another fantastic performance. Played some imperious balls and unlucky not to have an assist after a fantastic pass to Tùlio. Close to the best centre midfielder in the competition at the moment.

Max Balard: 7, Good performance from the young midfielder and showed he deserved his place. Could have better tracked Bozanic at times and needs to add a bit of defensive grit to his game. But overall showed he deserved the faith Monty placed in him.

Marco Tùlio: 6, Not the Brazilian's best night at the office and failed to show some of his silkier skills. Worked extremely hard defensively in tough conditions and should be commended for that. Unlucky not to have a goal. Needed better combination play from him.

Sam Silvera: 8, Composed mature performance from a player on top of his game. Deserves praise for his defensive work rate in tough conditions. Deserved his goal, even with the slight deflection, and would have had an assist if Ruhs had gambled more on his ambitious ball in the 73rd minute. Disgusting scenes from the RBB hurling bottles at a player who didn't really celebrate out of respect for his old club.

Paul Ayongo: 4, Worked hard defensively in sweltering conditions but we need more going forward from a visa player. Anonymous most of the night.

Michael Ruhs: 5.5, Another who worked extremely hard and improved on his performance last week. Consistently made good runs and got in much better positions than last week. Was unlucky not to snag a goal from Silvera's cross late on.

Substitutes:

Jason Cummings: 8, Lifted the team when he came on and deserved to be fortunate with his goal after having so many chalked off. We're a much better side with the Cumdingo involved.

Sasha Kuzevski: 7, When I saw both Roux and Farrell out I was surprised to not see Sasha start. Without knowing his fitness capacity he surely would have been a better option at left back then Hall. Made some great marauding runs when he came on and provided the width we desperately needed.

Harry Steele: 6, Not sure if left back is a future position for him but was competent during his time there. Good to see him bounce back after a rough last game.

Christian Theoharous: 8, What a home debut! Can't ask more, apart from maybe a goal, from a substitute and was absolutely electric. Fantastically weighted pass to allow Triantis to shoot first time. The width of a post away from two worldies in two weeks.

James Bayliss: 6, Played competently defensively and got up and down the touchline well in his short time on the pitch.

Coaches

Nick Montgomery & Sergio Raimundo: 7.5, Not many sides in A-League history could lose 3 starters and still get a result against a team one place behind them. Monty and Sergio have built a hell of a squad and culture.

Our slow starts are becoming a bit of a concern, we could have easily been more than 2 goals down in the first 15 minutes. While we slowly wrestled back control of the game it would be good to have more intensity from the start.

Once the team clicked into gear Monty's & Sergio's tactics helped us take control of most of the game, even with a weakened starting eleven. Balard dealt well with the press that clubs had started using to target Harry Steele. But the conditions, and selection of Hall at left back, significantly reduced our offensive capabilities from full back, at least until half time.

If Kuzevski is fit he or Aquilina should have started at left back. Hall clearly isn't a left back and he was extremely culpable for both goals, simply because he didn't know how to position himself as a left back. While Hall at left back was potentially worth an experiment it felt like it cost us points today.

Monty's first triple change probably could have done with being five minutes earlier. However, to be fair to him, they were apparently ready to go on a fair way before the Wanderers second.

Overall Monty and Sergio got us back into the game and adeptly adapted our tactics on the fly to better deal with the Wanderers' game plan.

My man of the match votes:

3: Brian Kaltak
2: Sam Silvera
1: Christian Theoharous

 

[JoyfulPenguin]

 

[Big Dog]

My own thoughts:
Ayongo and Ruhs were irrelevant for the first half. Absolutely no influence on the game. Shows what me miss when Cummings isn't on. I was surprised Cummings was even on the bench with the rib injury he picked up at training.
There's been some discussion re Ballard and Steele. I think Max deserves to be ahead but they are very different players. One thing Harry does very well is keeping the game flowing by delivering the ball early.
Silvera was great last night and good to see his frustration at coming off. He's keen.
Aquilina's delivery is frustrating. Theoharous... what a left foot.
We had a lot of players unavailable last night so a good result in the end.

Good to see James Bayliss get time after 8mths off from shoulder surgery.
Moresche could be ready for match involvement in a few weeks.
Some good signs for the squad moving forward.

 

[Ads]

We should put Theoharous on the right mid so he can swing in dangerous balls.

Whip them in hard and get lots of goals from deflections, own goals and tap ins.

Leave Aquilina or Roux to focus on defence or the occasional overlap and charge the box.

 

[Corsair]

I missed why Faz was not playing? Injured or dropped?

 

[ryan]

I missed why Faz was not playing? Injured or dropped?

Injured

 

[Melange]

My duck broken! I'm an interstate supporter and until Covid made it to at least a couple of away games a season. I have seen at least one home game a season since 2014, unfortunately all have been losses, some of them horrible.

I am on a road trip and wasn't sure if I'd be in Gosford last night, and based on my loss history was reluctant to attend and possibly jinx the team.

Made it, without my members pass, @Dan the Membership Man listened to my story of woe for about five seconds, didn't need the full story, just smiled and gave me two free GA tickets. IMMENSE, thanks again Dan.

Sat next to the YA for the first time, usually a prawn sandwich man, and loved it. Drawn in by the passion and enthusiasm, you guys are awesome.

Great night, wish it was a win, but good as based on the experience.

Will probably back up and see the boys in Brisbane.

COYY! ??

 

[Big Al]

Brilliant game. Amazing atmosphere. YA were simply brilliant. This game the crowd was clapping to the chant bs NYE when it was chats about fireworks. A football crowd.

Look it’s pretty easy to rule up WSW fans and they were most definitely cheesed off at being on the end of quite a few Western Sydney Salutes (the middle finger) and I think were more annoyed it wasn’t them giving them. Know your audience ans unfortunately they aren’t good at receiving banter. As always few always ruin it and we are talking about them instead of a great game.

Their CB’s are some serious units but they were also allowed to hold/hug on every long ball. A but stupid going high so often but sometimes you have to. They were to strong for Rhus and Ayongo. Ps Ayongo is a shit dribbler. Cummings at least leads to the ball when he drops in and can therefore get it on his feet. Exactly like Marco used to.

Silvera is really shining now but just need to control it and work it into the team. He gets over excited and tries the winning play every time. He will learn. He really knew he had them tonight and was keen as to show it. He is going to have to get used to being subbed because we have some good depth in attack. Beni Theo and Tulio can all play out left or right.

Triantis was huge and so strong for 19 but he tired very late and started to make sloppy passes and didn’t/couldn’t chase Barrello a couple of times when Kaltak did. Once he developes that extra 10 minutes into his game he will be unbelievable.

Ballard was excellent last night. Lots of little dirty work but he showed great control and awareness. Definitely above Steele.

Nisbet awesome as always

Theoharous looks very good and willbe interesting to see how he goes when starts and plays fresher defense.

Tactically last time we avoided the CB’s are attacked behind the fullbacks with crossing. Apart from Nisbet to Tulio when he flashed past the post we didn’t seem to do that. We left Aqualina to do everything on the right with no help to go around Traore to draw the CB’s out to cover
When Theo came on he was alot wider than Kaveski (who was very central). It was obviously a direction but would have been good for Kaveski to drop a little wider. Especially late when there was huge space down the right and Aqualina was gassed.

Theo looks better than Beni already and Ayongo is a waste of a spot unfortunately. Great effort but no end result.

Hurry up and close the transfer window so that this team can have a crack at winning it all. Triantis Silvera and Cummings would all be of interest to overseas and need to wait until seasons end. Monty said Cummings has interest from around the world. How long will he stay when we surely can’t pay what others can. He should get us a mint to because goal scorers are hard to find. Ask WSW

 

[true believer]

My Ratings & Thoughts:

Danny Vukovic: 7, Got bailed out by Dan Hall on the goal line but made some crucial saves through the game. Wasn't at fault for the first goal but potentially could have done better for the second. Looks a lot more comfortable on the ball than earlier in the season.

Thomas Aquilina: 4.5, Not his best night and struggled to deal with the Wanderers attacking forays down his side. Especially in the first half. Didn't manage the same work rate Storm has showed, offensively or defensively, but the difficult conditions could account for that.

Nectarios Triantis: 8, Was a composed presence in our backline throughout the night and deserved his "assist". Credit to Monty for unearthing and believing in him. Great to see his jubilation from the goal and going to embrace Monty was heart-warming.

Brian Kaltak: 8, A nervy first 10 minutes, including one wayward pass that almost cost us a goal, was backed up with a herculean defensive effort. Dominated Borello in nearly every one on one (execpt the goal) and put in a terrific shift. Easily would have lost without his last ditch defending.

Dan Hall: 3, Not a left back and I highly doubt he ever will be. Apart from his goal line clearance it was a tough night for a quality young player. More than A-League quality in his natural position. Should have dealt with the first goal relatively easily and highly culpable for the second. Positioning was off all night and unbalanced Kaltak a fair bit in the opening stanza. A night to forget for a player with a big future.

Josh Nisbet: 8, The heartbeat of our side with another fantastic performance. Played some imperious balls and unlucky not to have an assist after a fantastic pass to Tùlio. Close to the best centre midfielder in the competition at the moment.

Max Balard: 7, Good performance from the young midfielder and showed he deserved his place. Could have better tracked Bozanic at times and needs to add a bit of defensive grit to his game. But overall showed he deserved the faith Monty placed in him.

Marco Tùlio: 6, Not the Brazilian's best night at the office and failed to show some of his silkier skills. Worked extremely hard defensively in tough conditions and should be commended for that. Unlucky not to have a goal. Needed better combination play from him.

Sam Silvera: 8, Composed mature performance from a player on top of his game. Deserves praise for his defensive work rate in tough conditions. Deserved his goal, even with the slight deflection, and would have had an assist if Ruhs had gambled more on his ambitious ball in the 73rd minute. Disgusting scenes from the RBB hurling bottles at a player who didn't really celebrate out of respect for his old club.

Paul Ayongo: 4, Worked hard defensively in sweltering conditions but we need more going forward from a visa player. Anonymous most of the night.

Michael Ruhs: 5.5, Another who worked extremely hard and improved on his performance last week. Consistently made good runs and got in much better positions than last week. Was unlucky not to snag a goal from Silvera's cross late on.

Substitutes:

Jason Cummings: 8, Lifted the team when he came on and deserved to be fortunate with his goal after having so many chalked off. We're a much better side with the Cumdingo involved.

Sasha Kuzevski: 7, When I saw both Roux and Farrell out I was surprised to not see Sasha start. Without knowing his fitness capacity he surely would have been a better option at left back then Hall. Made some great marauding runs when he came on and provided the width we desperately needed.

Harry Steele: 6, Not sure if left back is a future position for him but was competent during his time there. Good to see him bounce back after a rough last game.

Christian Theoharous: 8, What a home debut! Can't ask more, apart from maybe a goal, from a substitute and was absolutely electric. Fantastically weighted pass to allow Triantis to shoot first time. The width of a post away from two worldies in two weeks.

James Bayliss: 6, Played competently defensively and got up and down the touchline well in his short time on the pitch.

Coaches

Nick Montgomery & Sergio Raimundo: 7.5, Not many sides in A-League history could lose 3 starters and still get a result against a team one place behind them. Monty and Sergio have built a hell of a squad and culture.

Our slow starts are becoming a bit of a concern, we could have easily been more than 2 goals down in the first 15 minutes. While we slowly wrestled back control of the game it would be good to have more intensity from the start.

Once the team clicked into gear Monty's & Sergio's tactics helped us take control of most of the game, even with a weakened starting eleven. Balard dealt well with the press that clubs had started using to target Harry Steele. But the conditions, and selection of Hall at left back, significantly reduced our offensive capabilities from full back, at least until half time.

If Kuzevski is fit he or Aquilina should have started at left back. Hall clearly isn't a left back and he was extremely culpable for both goals, simply because he didn't know how to position himself as a left back. While Hall at left back was potentially worth an experiment it felt like it cost us points today.

Monty's first triple change probably could have done with being five minutes earlier. However, to be fair to him, they were apparently ready to go on a fair way before the Wanderers second.

Overall Monty and Sergio got us back into the game and adeptly adapted our tactics on the fly to better deal with the Wanderers' game plan.

My man of the match votes:

3: Brian Kaltak
2: Sam Silvera
1: Christian Theoharous

aqualina was not 4.5 ,probably 6.5 fought hard against old team
tulio 7.5 was a one man band and busted his arse
dan 6 was played out of position and got skinned

edit

 

[FFC Mariner]

It was probably a f**king 12 year old goading them, but that's neither here nor there, if as an adult you can't deal with a little goading at an away game without vandalizing the ground and intimidating innocent parties and being physically restrained, maybe being in an active supporters bay isn't for you, maybe a bit of self reflection is required.

Grow up. They were on the bags all day.
Any parent who thought it was NRL banter learned a lesson.
My WSW people say they show restraint

 

[Tevor]

aqualina was not 4.5 ,probably 6.5 fought hard against old team
tulio 7.5 was a one man band and busted his arse
dan 6 was played out of position and got shinned

Yep agree with those amendments, Tulio and Aqualina both played ok and gave it all. I also thought Hall did pretty well and I don’t blame him for the second as every defender was slow to react even brickwall Brian. If we didn’t have Tulio in this match we would’ve barely had a shot.

 

[turbo]

As for their fans. Handbags. People need to settle. I'm hearing they were being goaded and they reacted. As would we.

What a shit take. Even if there were people geeing them up there were a lot of others that would have been scared with what happened and may not come back. I would hope that our supporters wouldn’t react in anything like that manner.

 

[Corsair]

What a shit take. Even if there were people geeing them up there were a lot of others that would have been scared with what happened and may not come back. I would hope that our supporters wouldn’t react in anything like that manner.

It was obvious there was insufficient/Under Prepared security. That behaviour should have been crushed immediately, if you give them an inch they'll take a mile. The young kids would have no understanding of what was going on, just downright frightened and probably never want to return, really awful for them to experience that.

 

[Coastalraider]

I’ve sat in that bay a number of times with my young kids and their friends this year, and there has regularly been a group of 12 year olds getting really lippy at players and away bay fans. My 8 year old asked me why they are being so rude to everyone, I said ‘it’s just kids acting tough - one day they will abuse the wrong people and find out what a consequence is to their actions’. He watched the video from the weekend and said ‘guess you were right dad’.

Not even close to being and excuse on the RBB side, and no idea if it was those kids again. But potentially security should be better and damping out a spark before the fire starts.

I missed this game in person, but it would have been hard to explain that if we were in the bay, especially after being right at the Australia cup street ‘riot’ earlier in the season. It’s not what the mariners are about.

 

[turbo]

Not even close to being and excuse on the RBB side, and no idea if it was those kids again. But potentially security should be better and damping out a spark before the fire starts.

Security should have been better prepared but as you said no excuse. Do those people actually live one badly timed beep of a horn or harsh comment at work from an assault charge? Because that’s the level of maturity shown by those that crossed the closed off bay because someone was stirring them up at a football game.

 

[Ozhammer]

If a supposedly ‘grown’ man can’t stand a 12yo taunting them or an opposition (former) player celebrating in front of them without behaving in such a disgusting manner, they have no right to be called adults and are a blight on the game.

WSW and it’s supporter base has always been about intimidation and over the top machoism, something which is utterly embodied by its current coaching staff.

The RBB’s behaviour on Saturday night was inexcusable and the fact that their social posts blame the supposed actions of others clearly show that they can’t see they were in the wrong.

Passionate support has its place sure but there is a line that shouldn’t be stepped over and destruction of property and intimidation of families is clearly over that line end of.

I will be forever grateful that our fans do not conduct themselves in such an appalling manner win, lose or draw and I would again shout out to our active group for contributing so positively to the atmosphere on Saturday night. ??

 

[Ben10]

3 - Niz (ran the game. This is a very over the top comparison but reminds me of Iniesta the way he shifts his body and moves the ball when dribbling)
2 - Triantis (gem, showed so much hunger to get forward whenever he received the ball. Hope we can keep him for another season)
1 - Kaltak (He's a rock, only gonna continue to get better and better)

 

[Hello Sailor]

WSW and it’s supporter base has always been about intimidation and over the top machoism

They also smell weird

 

[Nik Mrdjas Disco Bikkie]

No one was ‘taunting’ them. After they started throwing shit on the field the crowd started booing and some started calling them dickheads. Once again they won’t take responsibility for their own behaviour