Rnd 1: Perth Glory v CCM

[JoyfulPenguin]

My player ratings:
Ivan Necevski: 9
Kept us in the game and only mistakes were a few dodgy passes but did terrifically well. Cementing the number one spot.
Storm Roux: 6.75
Struggled with fitness and two of their goals came from crosses from his side will get better as he regains fitness. Made great forward runs in the second half and linked up well with Tavares and Buhagiar.
Ryan Peterson: 6
Had lots of heart and defended reasonably well but struggled to offer anything on the ball.
Jacob Poscoliero: 7.5
Was the best of our defense but was caught out of position a couple of times made great decisions on the ball and never rushed the possession game.
Jacques Faty: 0
Deservedly got dragged and doesn't deserve a spot on the plane home. Was lazy and didn't care and was constantly out of position not only defensively but offensively as well.
Jake McGing: 6
Played well but struggled to deal with Keogh and was saved by Necevski numerous times. Kept possession well and resisted the urge to bomb it long when pressed.
Michael Neill: 6
Had a great partnership with Connor Pain down the left side but needs to overlap more. Passing was poor in the first half but improved needs to work on his positioning.
Mickael Tavares: 7.5
Was terrible in the first half epitomized by trying to take on a player in his own box. Improved massively and linked well with Poscoliero and Roux. Connected the team and was apart of our best moves.
Nick Montgomery: 6.5
Had trouble breaking up play and often tried the hard ball instead of the easy one. Frustrated Powell and needs to get back to basics. Joined well with Pain but didn't have his best night.
Blake Powell: 4
Was mostly invisible and had minimal impact. Out of position and it showed.
Trent Buhagiar: 8.5
Was a shining light in the first half and worked tirelessly forward and back. Raw but promising and looked more than comfortable. Showed technical class with his assist.
Kwabena Appiah: 5.5
Had good positioning and a decent strike but needed to attack with his pace more.
Roy O'Donovan: 9
Did everything you could have asked of him and delivered when it counted. Fabulous penalty and great positioning for his first goal.
Connor Pain: 9.5
Worked harder than anyone else and deserved his man of the match. His control failed him once or twice but was fantastic down his left side.

Paul Okon: 8.5
Obviously delivered a magical half time team talk and was brave in dragging Faty. Had a clear game plan and is making the team believe in it.

 

[Leigh]

 

[Forum Phoenix]

First 45, utter...

Second...

• They all held the ball better. Movement was much improved. Passing had far greater accuracy and with a lot more purpose.
• Tav ran the show - great 45 minutes - and it was no fluke. He has class.
• Monty found his terrier spark finally.
• McGing - simply by virtue of the fact that he could ACTUALLY move - made a difference.
• Posc had a very good second half.
• Ivan saved us, and was rock solid throughout. 2pts
• Neil still suspect and easily could have cost us the game but was steadily improving once Tav took control and controlled the tempo.
• Roux also suspect - though marginally better than Neil.
• Powell, I actually forgot him on my first draft... there's a reason for this... but he did inter link far better second half.
• Peterson looked like a youngster on debut.
• Kubi once Fab returns should clearly not make the bench over Trent.
• Pain MOM. Great game. He is the goods. Should have had three assists.
• Okon 1pt, great sub of Faty (I liked how Big Al put it - made the sub TW would have taken all season to make) clearly read the riot act and got the tactical feedback right at half time.
• Reddy - 10pts for scoring with his judas fcuking wingnut!

• We need another CB. We knew that BEFORE Faty let us in on the fact that he plays in lead boots. Now we REALLY need another one.

• McDonald is surely worth a look against Neil.

• Be nice to get Bingham back on the bench.

Overall great result. Perth destroyed us first half, so we have plenty to work on. But we were good second half - so there is clearly some hope. Before that all I could think was Sydney were going to beat us 10 nil next week. Now I think it will only be by 2 or 3.

 

[Rowdy]

May we never see or hear from Faty EVER again.

Noticed in a lot of pre-game media Faty interviewed and repeating over & over again the mantra that "this is, we're a real family club'

PO & Monty need to sit him down and beat it into him that "we're the fcuk'n work hard, tradesman-like performance club !!!"

Do THAT ! ......... then, THEN you'll be considered a part of The Family.

The Central Coast IS a nice place to live BUT ....... "your NOT just here for the Lifestyle"

 

[Capt. Awesome]

88% passing accuracy

 

[Forum Phoenix]

Hows those passing stats? Teams are going to press the shit out of us. So we need another ball playing CB.
Faty will never do. He was just far too slow. It came across as lazy to most, but I doubt this. Unfortunately I think it's worse, because it's incurable... he's simply passed it.

 

[Rowdy]

Arnie signed our treasure.
(Wilko, Vuka, Simo, Bernie & McGlinch to Japan)

Walmsley signed his trash.
(Faty, Tav & Necevski)

 

[Forum Phoenix]

@CCMariners
The official Twitter account of Central Coast Mariners FC - the boutique Hyundai #ALeague Club that routinely defies the experts & odds. #CCMFC

1. #CCMFC Retweeted
   Michael Zappone ‏@Michael_Zappone 55m55 minutes ago
   Brilliant fight back by @CCMariners Okon's influence shone through in that 2nd half. Encouraging signs
   
   3 retweets11 likes
   
2. #CCMFC Retweeted
3. TIM CAHILL ‏@Tim_Cahill 1h1 hour ago

Credit to Paul Okons Mariners. What a comeback and they keep the ball well.
17 retweets48 likes

Ok, at risk of sounding like a 10 year old fan boy... it feels pretty cool to have Timmy tweeting about us

 

[Rowdy]

It's painful to think our most expen$ive signing may possibly NOT be considered worthy of the teamsheet next week.

.... on 2nd thought, it's probably BEST
- after his performance tonight, BECAUSE next week IS Sydney FC !!! .... AWAY !!!

And here's why:

Speaking to Shaun Mielekamp at Pluim on the CCM Fans Day, he mentioned in a roundabout way that Faty was 'going to un-load on Graham Arnold' in media interviews leading into the game - about his time under him whilst there and all of the goings on, in particular what 'happened' to cause Arnie and him to part ways.

A bit of 'media warfare' dare I say, in the vain hope of getting under the skin, so to speak and/or trying to build on the rivalry from past history through to present.

 

[Rowdy]

In my personal opion, I would strongly suggest to ABORT that MISSION !
.... post haste.

The 'less said the better' from CCM, when it comes to SydFC - Jaques Faty - &/or Graham Arnold !

Arnie was tagged by many in the media (particularly FoxSports) as 'The Master of Mind Games' when he was coaching us as the perrenial 'underdogs', 'under the radar' etc he often said BUT always doubling up with the clever digs back at opposition teams and/or their coaches.

Why o' why play with fire when we just put one OUT !
- nearly 'self-combusting' in Perth tonite, in no way thanks to the guy you wanna use to hype-up an away derby against a Sydney that's coming off of a raping of the Wanderers 4-0 !

We'd come off as Muppets.

 

[Capn Gus Bloodbeard]

Faty is worth ten times as much on the bench as he is on the field.
Look, one performance is one thing....and Okon needs to give him another chance.
But I think Okon will let him know that it doesn't matter how much he's paid, he needs to earn his spot on the roster.
That has to be a contender for the worst individual performance in the history of the HAL.

 

[Capn Gus Bloodbeard]

In my personal opion, I would strongly suggest to ABORT that MISSION !
.... post haste.

Agree. We're not in a position to be trash talking the other clubs. Just shut up, build the support, turn up and do our job.
The only club we should even consider trash talking in the leadup is the Jets - and even then that would probably get us in the wrong headspace. We just don't have enough to show that we can back up the talk yet. That would wreck our psychological preparation.

 

[Rowdy]

I really, really think Okon should 'leave him out' altogether next week.

If he did, Okon would be taking a leaf out of Popa's book - in that when he signed Reddy last season, (after the shit-storm he created here with us), Reddy made the starting XI pretty quickly - displacing Redmayne (who was doing all right)
BUT ....... inexplicably
Popovic started Redmayne when facing us (CCM) next time round, leaving Reddy on the bench for our game.

NO explanations from Popovic.

I thought it was a shrewd decision on Popa's part, not allowing us to garner any strength from the hate for Reddy or to allow Reddy himself to let emotion 'get the better of him' ...... & we ALL know how easy Reddy could let that happen.

I think Paolo should err with same caution in regards to Faty.

A brain-snap in the first 10 mins from Jaque trying to get one over his former team mates / the Coach who 'cut-him'
....... I nearly bled out in my lounge room in the 1st half tonite !
- for Faty v SydFC ? well that would warrant a death notice in the CCExpress if that played out.

 

[Rowdy]

We just don't have enough to show that we can back up the talk yet. That would wreck our psychological preparation.

That's spot on.
As R'OD said in a pre-game interview 'talk IS cheap'

 

[tim...]

Faty appears to have come in for some harsh criticism here - on face value mostly justified.

That said after reviewing Okon's post-match media last night, he was at pains to point out Faty copped a cork early on and wasn't 100% which may have contributed to his slowness and poor positioning. The penalty was stupid and inexcusable though.

I'd rather he didn't start based on last night but at the same time I don't think one game is a fair go to see where he's really at either.

 

[Wombat]

My player ratings:
Ivan Necevski: 9 AGREE. 2 POINTS.
Kept us in the game and only mistakes were a few dodgy passes but did terrifically well. Cementing the number one spot.
Storm Roux: 6.75 6. AGREE.
Struggled with fitness and two of their goals came from crosses from his side will get better as he regains fitness. Made great forward runs in the second half and linked up well with Tavares and Buhagiar.
Ryan Peterson: 6 NOT ON LONG ENOUGH.
Had lots of heart and defended reasonably well but struggled to offer anything on the ball.
Jacob Poscoliero: 7.5 7. LOOKING COMPOSED.
Was the best of our defense but was caught out of position a couple of times made great decisions on the ball and never rushed the possession game.
Jacques Faty: 0 1. I AM NOT WILLING TO HANG HIM AFTER 45MINS BUT WILL NEED TO WIN HIS SPOT BACK.
Deservedly got dragged and doesn't deserve a spot on the plane home. Was lazy and didn't care and was constantly out of position not only defensively but offensively as well.
Jake McGing: 6 6.5 DID QUITE WELL BUT I DON'T WANT HIM THERE FOR 90 MINS.
Played well but struggled to deal with Keogh and was saved by Necevski numerous times. Kept possession well and resisted the urge to bomb it long when pressed.
Michael Neill: 6 6. BOTH FULLBACKS ARE WEEK LINKS IN THE CHAIN. RELATIVELY EASY TO FIX.
Had a great partnership with Connor Pain down the left side but needs to overlap more. Passing was poor in the first half but improved needs to work on his positioning.
Mickael Tavares: 7.5 7. SWITCHES THE BALL BETTER THAN ANY MIDDY WE HAVE HAD IN THE LAST FEW YEARS. GREAT POTENTIAL.
Was terrible in the first half epitomized by trying to take on a player in his own box. Improved massively and linked well with Poscoliero and Roux. Connected the team and was apart of our best moves.
Nick Montgomery: 6.5 6. AVERAGE GAME FROM THE SKIPPER BUT GOT 2 SHOTS ON TARGET AND WORKED HARD.
Had trouble breaking up play and often tried the hard ball instead of the easy one. Frustrated Powell and needs to get back to basics. Joined well with Pain but didn't have his best night.
Blake Powell: 4 6. LINKED QUITE WELL. WORKED HARD.
Was mostly invisible and had minimal impact. Out of position and it showed.
Trent Buhagiar: 8.5 8.5 I'M A BIG FAN OF THIS PLAYER ALREADY. SIGN HIM TO A 5 YEAR DEAL.
Was a shining light in the first half and worked tirelessly forward and back. Raw but promising and looked more than comfortable. Showed technical class with his assist.
Kwabena Appiah: 5.5 5.5. LIKE BAMBI ON ICE BUT STILL A HANDFUL. USEFUL SUB.
Had good positioning and a decent strike but needed to attack with his pace more.
Roy O'Donovan: 9 9. LOOKS CHOCK FULL OF GOALS. GREAT GAME. 1POINT.
Did everything you could have asked of him and delivered when it counted. Fabulous penalty and great positioning for his first goal.
Connor Pain: 9.5 9.5. AS I HAVE TOLD EVERYONE THAT WILL LISTEN.....HE IS A FAR BETTER PLAYER THAN AUSTIN. MOM PERFORMANCE. 3PTS.
Worked harder than anyone else and deserved his man of the match. His control failed him once or twice but was fantastic down his left side.

Paul Okon: 8.5 9. WELL DONE PAUL.
Obviously delivered a magical half time team talk and was brave in dragging Faty. Had a clear game plan and is making the team believe in it.

GOOD REVIEW VIC.

 

[FFC Mariner]

The spirit they showed after Faty was hooked is what we lacked last year.

Compare that to Wanderers who collapsed when Sydney went ahead. Their heads dropped and they did a great impression of us last season. Funniest night at the football for ages. We were laughing our heads off

Point away from home is always a good result.

Faty was bootedout of Sydney for being lazy and crap. Nothing has changed.

 

[Wombat]

First 45, utter...

Second...

• They all held the ball better. Movement was much improved. Passing had far greater accuracy and with a lot more purpose.
• Tav ran the show - great 45 minutes - and it was no fluke. He has class.
• Monty found his terrier spark finally.
• McGing - simply by virtue of the fact that he could ACTUALLY move - made a difference.
• Posc had a very good second half.
• Ivan saved us, and was rock solid throughout. 2pts
• Neil still suspect and easily could have cost us the game but was steadily improving once Tav took control and controlled the tempo.
• Roux also suspect - though marginally better than Neil.
• Powell, I actually forgot him on my first draft... there's a reason for this... but he did inter link far better second half.
• Peterson looked like a youngster on debut.
• Kubi once Fab returns should clearly not make the bench over Trent.
• Pain MOM. Great game. He is the goods. Should have had three assists.
• Okon 1pt, great sub of Faty (I liked how Big Al put it - made the sub TW would have taken all season to make) clearly read the riot act and got the tactical feedback right at half time.
• Reddy - 10pts for scoring with his judas fcuking wingnut!

• We need another CB. We knew that BEFORE Faty let us in on the fact that he plays in lead boots. Now we REALLY need another one.

• McDonald is surely worth a look against Neil.

• Be nice to get Bingham back on the bench.

Overall great result. Perth destroyed us first half, so we have plenty to work on. But we were good second half - so there is clearly some hope. Before that all I could think was Sydney were going to beat us 10 nil next week. Now I think it will only be by 2 or 3.

Sydney are beatable but they finished their chances well. I can see another draw.

 

[Wombat]

I'd like to see the Wanderers in 9th spot at the end of the year, one place in front of Scum.
They do look weaker than last season.

4.0 weaker!!!
He is a weird Coach popa.......I can see him getting the sack this year.

 

[Blackadder]

At Half Time I was thinking, back to back Spoons , but removing Faty and whatever Paolo said at HT worked a treat.
Positive signs for the season ahead.