A -League – Tactical Analysis – Wellington Phoenix 1 Central Coast Mariners 1
A-LEAGUE
NICK AMIES
Roy O’Donovan scored his second goal of the season as the Central Coast Mariners came from behind to secure a 1-1 draw with Wellington Phoenix.
The Phoenix hit the lead after just eight minutes, pouncing on a wayward pass from Josh Rose to set up former Mariner Michael McGlinchey to score at his old stomping ground.
However, the Phoenix only looked dangerous on the break and ceded the majority of possession and field position to the Mariners. The home side were relentless in their approach, peppering the penalty area with crosses and corners until Roy O’Donovan secured an equaliser in the 76th minute.
A return to parity sparked a late resurgence for the Phoenix amidst the continued pressure of the Mariners, but despite a handful of good chances for both sides the scores remained unchanged until fulltime.
The result does little to help either side on the table, but halts a run of three straight losses for the Mariners. Ernie Merrick will no doubt be disappointed by his team’s poor showing in the second half, but the point will be welcomed after last week’s thrashing at the hands of Melbourne Victory.
Formations
Tony Walmsley continued his commitment to the attacking structure used from the start of the season. Last week’s defeat saw a slight variation on the system though, with Liam Rose joining Nick Montgomery and Anthony Caceres in central midfield instead of Nick Fitzgerald. Rose continued his run in the first team against Wellington, occupying a deeper midfield position next to Montgomery behind Caceres. Nick Fitzgerald was shifted out to the left flank last week due to Liam Rose’s selection, but his subsequent red card allowed Mitch Austin to return to the starting side against the Phoenix.
Austin and Ferreira have been crucial to the Mariner’s attacking impetus and the plan was the same on Sunday, give the ball to these two against the Wellington fullbacks and wreak havoc. With fullbacks Storm Roux and Josh Rose offering support, the home side would have plenty of opportunities to create overloads out wide.
However, counter-attacks have been damaging to the Mariners’ defence this season and Wellington possessed more than enough players to offer a threat on the break. Speedsters Roy Krishna and Jeffrey Sarpong started up front, with dynamic midfielders Michael McGlinchey and Roly Bonevacia sitting in behind. Alex Rodriguez made a start in the holding midfield role next to Albert Riera due to Vince Lia’s injury while Justin Gulley made a surprise start at right back after Thomas Doyle was ruled out with a slight knock.
Counter-attack costs Central Coast
Much has been made of the relative inexperience of the Mariners’ defensive line in the early rounds of the season, but it was veteran fullback Josh Rose who cost his side a goal in the opening minutes. Rose’s errant pass saw his side turn over the ball near halfway with very little defensive cover. From there it took a matter of seconds for the ball to reach Michael McGlinchey inside the Mariner’s penalty area, where the New Zealand international delivered a clinical finish.
However, this was not an isolated incident in the first half. Following on from Rose’s poor turnover, fellow defenders Jake McGing and Storm Roux brought unnecessary pressure on their goal due to errant passes out from the bacl. Whether it was a case of a lack of options for passing or poor technique, situations like that need to be eradicated from the team. The early goal gave too much of an early advantage to the Phoenix, forcing the Mariners to commit more players going forward as they pushed for an equaliser. There were several occasions where the Phoenix were given the numerical advantage on the counter-attack in the second period, but luckily for the home side they failed to properly take advantage of the situation.
Quantity of quality
Although the Phoenix did take an early lead and looked dangerous in patches, the Mariners gradually eased into complete control of possession and field position. As they searched for an equaliser the home side delivered a barrage of crosses in order to find a solitary goal. Roy O’Donovan eventually produced the goods in the 76th minute after rising highest to a corner from Anthony Caceres, but in the end the Mariners ran out of time to find a winner, despite their dominance of possession.
The final scoreline is surprising when you look at the final statistics. Central Coast outshot their opponents 17 to eight, but only had four find the target compared to the Phoenix’s three. This also featured 47 crosses, while their opponents managed just ten. With those sorts of numbers, questions surely have to be raised about both the quality of these deliveries and whether or not there was a sufficient number of players making an effort to get on the end of these crosses.
Central Coast Mariners Conclusion
The past two weeks have seen remarkable improvement despite less than impressive results. The decision to rebalance the midfield with Liam Rose has certainly benefitted Tony Walmsley’s side, it’s now a question of removing individual errors from the backline and improving the quality of the final ball in attack.
Wellington Phoenix Conclusion
After starting competitively the Phoenix were overrun in the middle of the park, an imbalance not solely caused by the absence of Vince Lia. Roly Bonevacia and Michael McGlinchey faded in and out of the action far too often, limiting their side’s ability to control any meaningful possession.
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