By the Palm Trees – Western Sydney Wanderers vs Central Coast Mariners
What an incredible finish to the match against Melbourne City on Sunday! It was a rousing conclusion from our Captain Courageous, John Hutchinson, a man who bleeds Yellow and Navy. It certainly got me out of my chair!
Scrounging a point (or was it City threw away 2) can scarcely paper over the performance though and we still have a lot of work to do if we want to get ourselves on the track to a successful season. We played some reasonable football, at times, but were found out by quick and quality counter attack and yet again by our set piece defending. Melbourne City probably should have put the game beyond our reach and might have done if David Williams or Marc Marino had taken their chances to make the score three nil in the second half. Always looking under pressure, our defenders clearly lacked confidence playing out and regularly turned the ball over taking poor options and the more this occurred, the less confident we looked.
We’re going through a challenging period of scheduling and I guess this is the reasoning for the constant rotation among the squad, but to be honest I’m failing to understand Phil Moss’s methodology. For example: – I can’t remember us playing with the same back four all season. We have continually moved players in and out of the central defence, tinkered with both Fullback selections and failed to select players despite positive performances. I find it difficult to see how we can develop any cohesion or consistency in this area while selections and positions change so frequently. I also wonder how this makes the players where good performances don’t necessarily seem to mean being selected. To some degree the same could be said about the remainder of the team selections as well – I have stated my view that our best option in the number 10 role is Glen Trifiro. For whatever reason however, Trifiro cannot seem to cement himself a starting spot. Meanwhile one of our most effective attacking options has been Nick Fitzgerald (when selected) but similarly he can’t seem to cement a spot either. I’m all for rotation of players. This is required during hectic scheduling, but I also believe that our team relies, more than just about any other, on establishing some continuity and cohesion to maximise our performance. Perhaps fortunately we’re about to complete this period of torturous fixtures. For the benefit of the players and the fans, I hope selections and positions are about to begin to settle.
On Wednesday night we take on the Western Sydney Wanderers at ‘Wanderland’ who have been through plenty of selection changes themselves. There is no doubting the quality of the Champions of Asia, and this could be the first time we start to see them begin to return to form. I’m certain they will be hurting about their lowly position on the table, without a point, and it would be just like the Wanderers to put on a big performance in this match to get their season started.
Central Coast Mariners fresh import Malick Mane has been tipped to leave the club and return to Sweden. While his early performances here showed glimpses of his capability, it has been a disappointment that he hasn’t been able to deliver fully on those glimpses more recently. If he does leave our club, I’d like to think his compassionate reasons have been the significant factor in those performances rather than the big headedness in the dressing room which has been reported by some. Either way, we can only thank him for his time and wish him safe travels if he is departing.
I’m still looking to determine for myself whether our team can be contenders in the competition this campaign and looking forward to seeing some consistent selections. While the Wanderers are always difficult opposition, especially at home, I think we’re taking them on at a perfect time. They’re a little out of sorts and the one thing we can take from last weekend’s draw, which felt like a win, would be confidence.
I’m predicting a draw in this game but hoping we can take advantage of the confidence lift and steal a win.
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