BY THE PALM TREES

Things didn’t go too well when we travelled to Hamilton, New Zealand to take on the Wellington Phoenix. Costa Barbarouses scored the Nix opening goal in the first couple of minutes and the Mariners rarely looked likely after that. For me the chances of taking the points from the hardest away trip in the A-League, with the inexperienced squad we took there was marginal at best. Add to that the motivating effect the departure of coach Ernie Merrick had on the Phoenix players and it was more than a tough assignment.

The previous weekend we took on Western Sydney at home and while we were overcome by a very good Wanderers side that day, the overall performance showed some signs of what we are capable of. After opening the scoring early, we immediately conceded an equaliser and WSW followed that up by going ahead a short while later. With a little more luck however, Roy O’Donovan’s shot against the woodwork or Connor Pain’s unmarked volley inside the box just before the break could have had us ahead at halftime. Instead, WSW went to the break with a 2-1 lead and when early in the second half the Wanderers drew Jake McGing into stabbing a cross into his own net, things suddenly became more difficult. Despite having goalkeeper Jerrad Tyson sent off, WSW were good enough to seal the result with a fourth goal late.

Many of our fans are calling for new signings and it’s hard to disagree that some change to the squad is necessary. When we have our full squad available for selection, we have managed to compete with almost every opposition. It is patently obvious to most that we just don’t have the depth to cover missing experience at this level.

At the same time, it’s clear that many fans don’t understand how a salary capped league works. Despite the constant calls for it, we cannot hire more players until others are either released or move on by themselves. Let’s be clear here, we simply cannot afford to pay out any more contracts for staff or players. We have been doing that continuously since Graham Arnold’s departure and in my opinion the constant changing is one of the primary things which have hurt us. There are certainly players who at this stage don’t appear to figure in Paolo’s plans but that doesn’t mean we can afford to just pay them out and find others. Even if we could, mid-season is hardly the time to find the best talent – the majority of players worth interest are already contracted to others. I’m absolutely certain that Paul Okon will want to adjust the squad to suit his own plans and will do so as soon as it is possible. In the meantime the best he can do is use the personnel he has as wisely as he can and with a focus on how each player fits into his future plans for the team.

This weekend we’re back at home in Gosford hosting Brisbane Roar for their second visit of the season and we will have our work cut out for us. It’s a bizarre feature of the draw that we have already played Perth, Western Sydney and Phoenix twice, will play Brisbane for the second time this weekend, and yet have not played a Melbourne side at all yet. The Roar is in great form after easily accounting for Adelaide in their meeting in Brisbane last weekend. You can’t take anything away from them based on that performance either, while Adelaide were poor, there is no doubt a number of Roar players are hitting form right now. New signing Thomas Kristensen in particular looks like an excellent addition for them, putting away two excellent goals against Adelaide. During their last visit to Gosford it was he who scored the goal which differentiated the two teams. Brisbane however has quality players across the park so the Mariners will need to be switched on in every position to be in with a chance on Sunday.

It would be unfair to say the Mariners weren’t in the match against the Roar on their first visit to Central Coast Stadium this season. The best description of that was that Brisbane “scraped past” the home side for their hard fought win. In reality the Mariners probably looked the most likely in that match but were wasteful, with a series of set piece chances spurned when it mattered. This weekend is an opportunity to set the wrongs of last week right with a response the home faithful certainly deserve. On the ladder going into this round the Mariners were just two points behind 6^th spot and three behind 5^th, with a  five point gap appearing to separate the top four (Sydney, Melbourne City, Melbourne Victory and Brisbane) from the rest. If there is not already enough, the incentive for a win over 4^th placed Brisbane would be the possibility of clawing our way back into the mediocre finalist’s 6^th position.