R6: Melbourne City vs Central Coast Mariners

[sydmariner]

Not great at all but a baby step in the right direction. Two quality strikes saved our arse and Melbourne will be annoyed they didn't close that game out.

The defence is shambolic. The midfield is toothless and we are poor in front of goal. Movement is still poor.....but that point may give us some belief and confidence

Reddy 8.5. Only reason we got a point. MOM.
Neill 6.5. Lively. Quite good going forward but not great defensively.
Postco 6.5. I saw some good signs but still too loose.
Ando 5.5. Better than Bosnars last game but not by much. Sloppy.
Rose 6. Mixed bag. Sometimes looked out best defender but sometimes caught out.
Monty 5.5. Not his best game.
Hutcho 6.5. Good finish. Did a reasonable job for most of the game. Still too slow in movement and thought but showed some guts.
Fitz 6. Did very well in the first half and unsettled Heart/City with his direct running.
Caceras 6. Not really dominating any games so far this year.
Sim 5.5. The millstone around Mossy's neck. Some good deadball delivery but basically very average.
Duke 6. A couple of good layoffs.

Vernes and Trif made a difference and Trifs goal was classy.

so you still don't rate hutch do you

 

[tsd]

I liked Hutcho's comment afterwards that there's no disharmony "now".
I know many on here are spruiking Caceres as our #10. Not for mine. We looked much better when Tricky came on and Caceres went back to DM.

not exactly what happened, when tricky came on we switched to 433, with caceres and tricky playing the attacking mids. You could see tricking holding up his fingers in a V to caceres and hutch as he came on.

 

[justafan]

A point was won yesterday thanks to the never say die spirit which is still alive in this mariner's team. Wasn't our best performance football wise but at least we showed attitude and determination. Well done boys. Special mention to Hutch. Not my favorite player but he deserves credit for the very important goal he scored.

Reddy : 9. he won the point.
Posco : 6. better at cb.
Ando: 5. lost his man in Mc's first goal and should have been marking Partalu (whatever his name is) in the corner. .
Rose: 5. not a cb.
Neill: 5. inexperience. Will be very good.
Hutch: 7. Tried hard and scored.
Monty: 6. Not the mont we're used to.
Fitzy : 6. Getting there.
Caceres : 5. Bad game. Can do much better.
Sims :5. not a starting player.
Duke : 4. Poor.

Trifiro : 7. Great goal
Vernes: 6. the best I've seen of him.

 

[greenlig]

Some jumbled thoughts: We are generally waiting too long on passes it seems. There's hesitation, and then if the pass is made, it's rarely into space. We don't seem confident to make aggressive attacking passes. A lot of our offsides seem to be happening because we are too slow and direct with the passing. This all changed when Trif and Vernes arrived. From the away support bay, it looked like Vernes was running everywhere across the midfield looking for sharp passes.

It was also my first time in away support since the '11 grand final. Loved it, and when we scored at the death it went off. Lots of fun, and well done to everyone there who made all the noise!

 

[ccmjack]

Mariners played a lot better still to much reverse back passing for my liking but Neil is a breath of fresh air he really looks the goods just needs to finish off his game . Anyway I enjoyed the game and the boys looked as though they had one a grand final instead of bagging a draw , only way is up for the rest of the season.

 

[nearlyyellow]

I just checked in at the MC forum. Wow. Lots of F's and sack JVS and cheating refs. and over time score by Hutch etc. Makes our little "Mossy" thread seem very tame by comparison. They make the Smurfs whingeing about coaches look tame. Boy, are they filthy.
And anyway, we got an away draw against an extremely well funded club. Now that's worth crowing about.

 

[dibo]

The were undone by a combination of a tactical change and sheer guts. It's interesting that City didn't respond to the change well, we pinned them back hard and they couldn't seem to get out of it. They had Monty locked up and largely eliminated from the game, and when we replaced him with Trifiro and changed shape it meant that Paartaluu then had two midfielders running at him and we caused a lot more trouble (when we controlled the ball). I reckon the same trick would've worked last week against Perth to overwhelm Rostyn Griffiths. The simple thing is maybe if the opponent has a single dominant DM, to push Monty/Caceres (whoever is playing as the 8) higher in possession and create a 2-on-1. That stops them being able to monster our little guys and we can start working angles around them.

One thing we did quite a bit yesterday and I've seen it a few other times this year is that we pressed much higher up the park. To be frank, it actually nearly cost us a few times when the press was beaten and either Neill or Pascoliero in particular were caught out as City strung two or three passes in behind a now staggered and scattered defence.

*Normally*, we drop deeper to soak, with two banks of four that are very hard to play through. That is one reason why the back 4 looked so shaky. The other is a few really pretty poor individual performances.

In possession, we weren't too bad (especially after Trifiro came on) but for the constant basic skill errors. We gave the ball away a lot, and short of constant passing drills I'm not sure what we're supposed to do to fix that. The bright side is that we were actually running on and pushing passes on where in the past we'd be too static. So aggression good, skill... not so much.

In the end, it was a more aggressive side, but I think we've played better this year and could/should well have lost this one, but there are a set of building blocks going down to set out the foundation for a good team that plays good football.

 

[Capn Gus Bloodbeard]

I just checked in at the MC forum. Wow. Lots of F's and sack JVS and cheating refs. and over time score by Hutch etc. Makes our little "Mossy" thread seem very tame by comparison. They make the Smurfs whingeing about coaches look tame. Boy, are they filthy.
And anyway, we got an away draw against an extremely well funded club. Now that's worth crowing about.

Did they forget about being gifted that corner that led to a goal?

 

[dibo]

Yeah, that was a shocker. Paartaluu heads it straight out, gets a corner, Paartaluu scores... FMD.

And what could they whinge about with the free kick that Trifiro converted? Melling *clearly* encroached *and* raised his arms to block the shot - new FK. Boom. Pick it out and quit your whinging.

 

[Capt. Awesome]

Yeah, that was a shocker. Paartaluu heads it straight out, gets a corner, Paartaluu scores... FMD.

And what could they whinge about with the free kick that Trifiro converted? Melling *clearly* encroached *and* raised his arms to block the shot - new FK. Boom. Pick it out and quit your whinging.

JVS was whinging that the free kick was moved forward to where the line was. Is that ruling correct?

 

[dibo]

If it's for encroachment, no. If it's for handball, yes. He handled, so you give the direct free kick to the attacking team for handball and you penalise encroachment with a yellow.

 

[Roy Law]

Hutcho Man​

Hutcho Hutcho Man! One day on the Central Coast, if there is not one already, a Cargo Cult Religion will emerge in tribute to the great Mariner; and Phil Moss will be the first to pay homage. John Hutchinson’s last second equaliser not only saved the game for the Mariners but saved Moss’s sun baked skin. Moss had stuck by his bizarre theory that Josh Rose is a centre back and moved the returning Poscoliero to right back with Neill at left back. There was no sign of Kim or Mané with Vernes on the bench.
The Mariners made a shaky start; it took less than ten minutes for Melbourne City to take the lead. Ramsey was given acres of space down the left. Duganzic is quick, too quick for Anderson, and met perfectly with his head the perfect cross to guide the ball past Reddy.
It wasn’t the start the Mariners wanted, the defence again found wanting. Reddy then had to show his skill in the air with a great diving heard to clear his lines. The Mariners lifted, began to overcome the setback, and played positive football, calmly playing the ball out from defence, and led by the feisty Fitzgerald they took the game to City. Redmayne saved from Fitzgerald; Sim was unlucky not to get a touch on a dangerous cross and Fitzgerald was unlucky not to find Caceres after a brilliant run.
City though began to turn the screw, their pace creating all sorts of problems. The Mariners’ playing out from the back, which had looked so calm and assured, was being exposed. Neill, so confident going forward, was finding out that the veteran Damien Duff is a class act. On the half hour the Mariners were brutally exposed by Hoffman’s cross but Williams blew the chance and then Reddy finger tipped William’s fierce drive on to and over the bar as the defence gave the ball away.
As they went to the sheds at half time it had been City calling, and taking, all the shots.
The Mariners had a great chance to equalise when Duke’s sweeping pass put Sim one on one with Redmayne but his weaker right foot didn’t have the quality to beat Redmayne and it was an easy save. Rose then showed the folly of him at CB with a horrible sliced right foot clearance which fell to Melling but fortunately his shot had no power. City then made the Mariners pay when the giant Partaluu, the Brisbane Grand Final nemesis, muscled his way in to score the second with a header from a corner.
The Mariners were now on the rack. It seemed only a matter of time for City to score again as they constantly exposed the Mariners’ defence. Williams blew his second chance of the game and only Marino will know how he failed with two chances in two minutes. The Mariners looked gone for all money, Reddy the busiest man on the park.
Trifiro had replaced Montgomery on the hour with negligible effect; Vernes followed, coming on for the willing but limited Sim. With barely ten minutes left Trifiro brilliantly changed the complexion of the game. A free kick, retaken, curled over the defensive wall and beyond Redmayne into the corner of the net. Suddenly there was hope!
The flow of the game didn’t seem to change, the Mariners were still under the pump and then with just seconds left came the Hutcho moment. A moment to put alongside his two goals at Sydney; a moment to join his post match Newcastle interview into folklore; a moment that summed up the skill and spirit of the one man who so completely sums up what it is to be a Mariner.
A melee on the edge of City’s penalty area; the Mariners desperately trying to get a meaningful touch, and then Hutchinson with a sweetly timed right foot daisy cutter to the bottom corner of the net. There is a God! The Mariners fans, and what a good turnout in Melbourne, on their feet in elation. The players, belying any dressing room rumours of disharmony, in ecstasy as they hugged and leapt all over each other. Hutchinson sought out Moss for a meaningful man hug.
Houdini never explained his escape acts and I have no explanation for this. Outplayed for most of the game the Mariners frustrated City with this remarkable comeback. Perhaps this is the turning point for the season.
Reddy was our best, because he had to be, but I can only give the MoM to Hutchinson after that amazing finish.

 

[style_cafe]

so you still don't rate hutch do you

3 goals in 5 years won`t change anyones opinion.
If he repeats it 5-6 times this year & plays like a demon...maybe.

 

[Capt. Awesome]

3 goals in 5 years won`t change anyones opinion.
If he repeats it 5-6 times this year & plays like a demon...maybe.

That goal represented so much more than just a point. It released a great show of unity and may well turn around our season. It silenced the neigh sayers that have taken shots at our for that last few weeks and showed that we have the best culture of any club in the country.

To me that goal was worth 20 goals. Hutch to stay as long as he wants to.

Legend period.

 

[Capn Gus Bloodbeard]

That goal represented so much more than just a point. It released a great show of unity and may well turn around our season. It silenced the neigh sayers that have taken shots at our for that last few weeks and showed that we have the best culture of any club in the country.

To me that goal was worth 20 goals. Hutch to stay as long as he wants to.

Legend period.

One goal (and off a deflection at that) doesn't overturn a stack of mediocre performances (and a rather mediocre performance all game).

It harked back to what he used to be capable of (given that he's scored a number of goals from that exact same blade of grass), but one goal isn't enough to change anybody's opinion.

Don't get me wrong, walking out of that match without a loss should have a massive psychological impact - but that goal wouldn't have been created without the first goal; if anything, the first goal of that game was more important, despite the fact that we celebrated like we won the grand final.

 

[Wombat]

so you still don't rate hutch do you

As a player....not hugely. As a leader and good man....I definitely do.

3pts reddy.
2pts Hutcho
1pt. Fitz.

 

[Roy Law]

One goal (and off a deflection at that) doesn't overturn a stack of mediocre performances (and a rather mediocre performance all game).

It harked back to what he used to be capable of (given that he's scored a number of goals from that exact same blade of grass), but one goal isn't enough to change anybody's opinion.

Don't get me wrong, walking out of that match without a loss should have a massive psychological impact - but that goal wouldn't have been created without the first goal; if anything, the first goal of that game was more important, despite the fact that we celebrated like we won the grand final.

He played a lot better than Montgomery IMO

 

[Wombat]

He played a lot better than Montgomery IMO

He did.
The score is now something like Hutcho 2 Monty 45.

 

[Roy Law]

He did.
The score is now something like Hutcho 2 Monty 45.

The second one would be the Grand Final

 

[Wombat]

The second one would be the Grand Final

That was his best game for years (the GF) I would love to see that sort of focus and determination each week.