The Professionals
This was the consummate professional performance; the most professional display by the Mariners since the Grand Final. They had a game plan and stuck to it; they out thought and out played Brisbane. Brisbane had all the game, and none of it. They had all the possession but it was the Mariners who had seven shots on target to Brisbane’s one.
Outstanding teams have a swagger about them: they walk into the cauldron of hate, looking the opponents in the eye, daring them to come at them. There is no doubt that the experience of playing in the ACL has given the Mariners the necessary steel. They marched on to Suncorp, set up their fortress, and with Nick Montgomery roaming the battlements, dared Brisbane.
Phil Moss had left out Hutchinson, Simon and Kim and fielded a very young forward line of Caceres, Trifiro, Ibini, Duke and Fitzgerald with gnarly veterans defending at the back; it meant the Mariners were tough to break down and lethal on the break.
Bosnar signalled the Mariners intent: Bernie went on a typical run, all pace and skill, and some added muscle, before being brought down on the edge of the area. How Theo saved Bosnar’s shot I don’t know – I don’t think he knows either. The shot was so hard it could have broken his wrists; a few centimetres to left or right or higher and Theo would have been picking it out of the net.
Brisbane had started with their ultra possession game, the Mariners working hard to plug the gaps. Bosnar’s free kick lifted the pressure; Bernie and Fitzgerald had shots but Theo was untroubled. Brisbane continued to turn the screw but could not find a way through. Caceres with beautiful skills found Fitzgerald out left but again his shot didn’t trouble Theo; Reddy fumbled a shot from Smith.
The Mariners sprung the siege emphatically in the 21st minute with a lightning fast break: Fitzgerald picked the ball up in midfield, turned to find Ibini whose perfect pass found the fast running Roux; he cut the ball back intelligently and Fitzgerald, backing up, coming from deep, wrong footed Theo placing the ball past him with the outside of his right boot. It was perfect in its execution, lethal in the outcome.
Five minutes later it got even better. Duke’s persistence won a corner, the ball came to Bernie at the far post. He seemed to have taken the soft option by playing the ball back to Caceres; I thought he would have a go himself. Caceres proved me wrong as he took one touch and then fired a rocket beyond the helpless Theo. Boom! Who needs a cannon when you have Anthony Caceres!
Brisbane was still enjoying, if that is the right word, all the possession but it was the Mariners who were enjoying the goals. With Monty ferociously leading the way the Mariners defenders were standing tall. Bernie reminded Brisbane of the danger when he made his way to the by line but couldn’t quite get the cut back.
Brisbane is too good a side to be denied for a whole game and in the 40th minute Mackay played a smart one-two and found Petratos at the far post. It seemed for all money to be a goal but desperate work from Josh Rose was just enough to put him off and he hit the post. Never write off the Mariners!
In the second half a surprising change was made by the Mariners: Brent Griffiths replacing Bosnar who had been magnificent in defence. I can only guess that Bosnar had taken a knock. As we all know, a 2-0 lead to the Mariners at Suncorp is not a safe lead, we have been here before, more than once. Any alarms at Griffiths coming on though, were allayed by an assured display by the young defender.
The Mariners came out of the blocks and almost made it three. Anderson’s brilliant tackle set Roux free and from his cross Fitzgerald, under pressure from North, might have done better.
As Brisbane kept grinding through the possession gears the Mariners young guns kept reminding them how vulnerable they were. Caceres, Trifiro, Fitzgerald and Ibini were not afraid to show off their skills. Ibini had a free kick on target but easy for Theo – but he did easily beat the wall. Duke fired just wide from distance, cutting in from the left. The Mariners were smothering every Brisbane move, determinedly tracking Broich and squeezing out Berisha. Brisbane seemed to have scored however when Reddy spilled a tame shot from Petratos but Berisha was offside as he finished.
Mackay and Broich fired over from distance; no danger to Reddy’s goal.
Duke’s determination again won him the ball, he cleverly found Fitzgerald who fired into the side netting – he should have returned the pass to Duke who would have had an open goal. It was a chance missed, and Duke needs goals.
With twenty minutes to go Caceres, hemmed in by three defenders, seemed likely to cough up possession but he dragged the ball back with the sole of his right boot and wrong footed all of them. If his name was del Pierro it would have been all over YouTube, if his name had been Rogic he would have been in the Socceroos. But his name is Anthony Caceres and he is our little beauty.
The Mariners continued to dare Brisbane, Brisbane could not break them down. Duke came close, Theo having to go full length to a left foot shot, but it didn’t quite have the weight on it to score. Roux in the dying seconds wriggled his way through but over did it and a chance was gone. Berisha grazed the post after an errant Rose header. It didn’t matter: the Mariners had overcome the most severe of challenges and laid down a marker to the competition: they are the Champions! It will take a very good team to take that title off them.
In what was an outstanding team effort, with so many players performing so well, it is difficult to find a Man of the Match. Roux, Rose, Bosnar and Griffiths, Montgomery, Caceres, Ibini, Fitzgerald and Duke can all be considered but my MoM, in a photo finish with Caceres, goes to Nick Montgomery. The fiery grizzled warrior who made sure that Fortress Mariners was not breached by the Roar.
then the broadcasting deal should stipulate that the game has to be offered to the FTA carrier ... afterall its not like they are going to lose any viewers (apparently)
