BY THE PALM TREES – Round 15
Central Coast Mariners trip to Geelong to take on Melbourne Victory produced mixed feelings for yellow fans. I predicted the Victory to win by a goal so had anyone ask if I would be happy if they got a point against the A-League Champions, I would have taken it in a heartbeat. I was more than pleased with the overall performance, the result and the continuation of the improved intensity from our boys.
Failing to follow the script the Mariners shot into the lead through a Harry Ascroft header from a set piece and when Mickey Neill provided the pass for a clinical Josh Bingham finish, it started to look like the Victory’s form slump was about to grow. Mitch Austin’s runaway one on one finish would have had many Mariners fans thinking the game was almost over – it wasn’t quite that simple. As I expected, the Victory were far from done…and so it was, the Champions completing the comeback with just moments to spare. Along the way they provided some breathtaking passages of football. None better than the lead up and finish for the Archie Thompson goal. There was plenty to like about the Central Coast Mariners that night though – taking advantage of their opportunities, Josh Bingham making it known he has what it takes to lead the line and, if not for some supreme quality presented by the Victory players, the Mariners might have come away with the points.
Since the game the club has announced the departure of Nick Fitzgerald and Anthony Caceres and while I have mixed feelings about their departures, it’s important to note that the Central Coast has been easily the most active club in the transfer window so far. For fans wanting to see something change, you got it. The rumour is the Mariners are about to sign young Australian striker Matthew Fletcher, who has been trialling with the club since last year, and at the same time Brad McDonald is rumoured to be making a return to the Yellow and Navy. While neither of these signings is likely to create an instant result and many fans seem to think signing anyone other than known experienced players is a waste of time, it’s heartening for me to see that while we are languishing at the bottom of the table, the club is looking to change things and continues to have an eye for the future with each signing. How anyone can view change negatively right now is beyond me.
The latest news includes the Mariners announcing their plan to appeal the sentence handed to Roy O’Donovan for the infamous head butt on Manny Muscat. There is no doubting the action itself is totally unacceptable in the game, the A-League or in my club’s shirt. Having said that it’s hard to explain how the punishment compares to sanctions for similar foul play in either Australia or throughout the world and that is why the club is rightly pursuing an appeal. No one is suggesting the crime should go without punishment, simply that the punishment has no basis in relation to other offences. I would go so far as to suggest that decisions such as this one and others made by the Match Review Panel should be handed down with a published description of the logic and basis for the conviction and for the sentence. A cynical person might draw comparisons between this random and subjective disciplinary process and the other FFA disciplinary process recently in the news – where fans accused of misbehaviour were banned without any right of appeal – a process clearly found to be missing fair play and common sense.
This weekend the team travels to Adelaide to take on the Reds in a contest which is hard to pick. There are plenty of ‘vagaries’ in FFA’s match scheduling this season but none more so than how it is that we’ve passed the halfway point of the season without encountering Adelaide at all. Despite recent improvement seeing Adelaide break into the top six, the Reds have had a tough campaign so far. Not so different to ourselves in some ways. They are unbeaten in several matches now and took the points in Perth last start, but the way the Glory dominated sections of the match while being a man down did nothing to inspire confidence that Adelaide are really hitting their straps. The Mariners will go into the match with plenty of confidence. Despite being run down in the end last start, they showed their attacking potency against arguably the measuring stick of the competition and this will not have gone un-noticed by the Reds or other opposition. They also showed a continuation of the improved intensity and attitude and so they find themselves in a decent position for a positive result. Key for the Mariners will be converting opportunities as the speed of their two outstanding wingers will no doubt produce plenty of them.
I’m going to cautiously predict a draw but won’t be surprised if the boys can bring home the points and the confidence for the following week’s home match against the Wanderers.
My prediction – 2 all draw
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