Monty Leads the Way
Character won this game for the Mariners. Lead by the incomparable Nick Montgomery the Mariners, despite not playing well, had too much determination and sheer guts for a disappointing Melbourne City and ran out deserved winners.
Acting coach Tony Walmsley brought back John Hutchinson, as promised, and Eddie Bosnar, with Storm Roux on the bench.
Liam Reddy, who had a splendid game, had to be at his best in the opening minutes to save a swerving shot from Koren. Fitzgerald responded with a strong shot of his own, but it was too straight to trouble Velaphi.
The Mariners were looking to play to the wings with Bosnar finding Fabio Ferreira out wide with a raking pass, from which Ferreira won a corner; and then Montgomery accurately finding Cernak wide on the left. The wingman cut inside and unleashed a powerful shot, just wide, with Velaphi nowhere near it.
City was piling on the pressure as the Mariners struggle to maintain possession. A Poscoliero mistake almost had Josh Kennedy away but he was too slow to react. It seemed as if there was no stop to the aerial bombardment from corners and free kicks. But the Mariners defenders, in particular, Anderson, were doing well to deny the tall men of City and when they were beaten there was always Reddy who threw himself three times to thwart Kennedy.
The defence was breached though when Williams ran onto a killer pass over the top; all looked lost but Rose was sharp enough to deny the chance. Caceres was growing into the game and from his typical slalom-like run on the edge of the penalty area the Mariners won a free kick, but Bosnar’s shot was tame, and the chance was lost. Late in the half Cernak was causing problems with his lively pace, once setting up Fitzgerald for a blocked shot and then brilliantly winning a corner with tight skills along the goal line.
Ferreira was having a real battle with the feisty Singaporean Baharudin but the truth is that the defender should have been red carded in the 42nd minute for a second yellow offence, a glaringly obvious deliberate handball. Obvious, as is the way with these things, to all but the match officials who may have been thinking about their half time cuppa.
The Mariners had struggled for rhythm in the first half but they lifted the intensity in the second half and penned City back. It wasn’t pretty, it was frantic at times, but it was effective.
Monty, whose passing game showed an imagination rarely seen, superbly put Ferreira in space and on goal but the winger hit the shot wide. It was a golden chance but Monty wasn’t deterred. A magnificent chipped pass down the right wing, as good as anything by Perez, Amini, Rogic, McGlinchey et al, found Ferreira whose cross was equally accurate and was well met by Fitzgerald. Unfortunately the header was poorly placed and Velaphi saved easily. It was a huge let off for City.
The Mariners continued to apply pressure and City eventually cracked. Cernak running at pace at the defence was hacked down on the edge of the area. Four Mariners stood over the ball before Cernak rolled it into the path of Ferreira, whose shot comprehensively beat the sprawling Velaphi. It was no more than the Mariners deserved.
The Mariners defended with gutsy determination; City huffed and puffed, but the belligerent Mooy no longer had influence on the game. In the closing moments came a bizarre incident as pantomime villain Eddie Bosnar hoofed a clearance down field which bounced higher than pantomime clown Velaphi expected and he had to embarrassingly tip the ball over the bar. Reddy then completed the game as he had started it, with a vital save from Ramsay, as City looked as if they were going to steal an undeserved point. Hutchinson, captain on the day, sought out Montgomery, the leader on the day, and gave him a long and emotional man hug.
The Mariners were far from their best but put in the hard yards to win this. Reddy was brilliant; Anderson was a rock at the centre of defence; Cernak was lively as a firecracker and Ferreira showed you cannot keep a match winner down for long but the Mom for me goes to Monty who ran all day, threw himself into tackles, played some beautiful passes, and constantly urged and cajoled his team mates to victory. Hutcho’s hug said it all.
lol.
