Twists and Turns
This game had more turning points than a game of Twister of which the referee’s failure to award a clear penalty to the Mariners was the most significant. The suspended Nick Montgomery, much missed today, and the yet to be registerd Kim Seung-yong were unavailable but Eddie Bosnar made his A League debut with Isaka Cernak and Matt Sim on the bench.
On a Super Heroes Saturday the Victory brought along their own superstar in our Tommy Rogic, and ultimately had too much kryptonite for the Mariners.
Bosnar made an instant impression with a crunching first minute tackle; he followed that with a booming free kick from distance which was deflected for a corner. Anderson’s header was cleared off the line. The bright start by the Mariners got its deserved reward after ten minutes when good play saw Rose cut in and have his shot saved but not held by Coe. Bernie Ibini followed up force the ball home.
It should have been 2-0 when Simon’s clever pass put Bernie through one-on-one with the keeper but he delayed and the chance was gone. It was the first of the turning points; a 2-0 lead would have been very hard for Victory to claw back.
Missed chances can hurt and Melbourne came close in a flurry of chances of their own. Seconds after that miss Bosnar almost scored but fortunately he didn’t as it would have been an own goal, his deflection almost beat Reddy, skidding just wide of the far post. Archie Thomson, one of the all-time great A-League players, missed a trade mark sitter; he is as good at missing as he is at scoring. Storm Roux had to clear off the line after poor possession work from Simon and Ibini. Our Tommy Rogic was showing what we were missing: languid skills, beautiful first touch, intelligent passing and deceptively quick slalom runs. He was a real handful.
There seemed little to worry about when Hutchinson gave away a free kick with a lazy foul. It should have been too far out for Victory to score but Gui Finkler has form – he has already scored from this distance this season. The shot was a beauty, wonderfully flighted. Superman would have struggled to reach it and, as we were to learn later, Liam Reddy is not Superman. Despite a valiant flying effort he was beaten but the ball hit the woodwork and James Triosi was the first to the rebound to bring the Victory back into the game.
Emboldened by their goal Victory came it all cylinders firing at the start of the second half; they brought out the kryptonite and pressed the life out of the Mariners. They smothered them and they suffocated them. They applied a choke hold and the Mariners choked. Triosi nutmegged Roux and Thomson made up for his earlier miss comfortably turning the ball past Reddy.
Credit to the Mariners, the y came straight back and we got the final, and most telling of the turning points. Sterjovski cleverly lured Contreras into a rash challenge; the referee had no hesitation in blowing for the foul. A yard inside the box, it was a dead-set penalty. The referee did not see it that way and denied the Mariners a great chance to equalise by awarding the free kick outside the box. It was a horrible error by the referee who was near enough to get the decision right.
The Mariners pushed forward again and Ibini set up Sterjovski but he got his balance all wrong and a chance was gone.
As ever, when you miss, or are denied the chance, the other team makes you pay. When Finkler and Rogic strolled through the Mariners defence Triosi was in and exposed Reddy at the near post. This had nothing to do with Super Heroes this was the error that all goalkeepers hate.
The game now screamed for Moss to make changes but before he had Rogic was in, a delightful caress of a goal but there had been an offside in the build-up – incorrectly as the replay showed.
Cernak came on for Sterjovski and later Duke for Ibini but to no avail. Cernak brought energy but Duke barely got a touch. The Mariners were like headless chooks except they were barely running around. You wished for a McGlinchey to take hold of the game, or some blinding skill from a Flores or, especially, a Tommy Rogic to knit it all together. But that ship has sailed; the milk is spilt; there is no point in crying.
The Mariners were reduced to aimless long balls enlivened only by Matt Simon kicking Adrian Leijer in the melon, drawing blood. Leijer, a Melbourne thug for many years, unsteadily left the field reducing Victory to ten men for the closing moments. The Victory were unfazed, they strolled comfortably over the finish line.
The Mariners lost their way today. Monty’s drive in midfield was sorely missed; Sterjovski simply could not pull the strings; Fitzgerald struggled for traction the whole game. Bosnar impressed early but was clearly short of a gallop although there was enough there to get excited about.
Nobody put their hand up as Man of the Match; I will probably give it to Rose but in truth the most impressive player today was the band who came through the broadcast loud and clear.
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he won't be there.
