At least we haven't lost yet
When it comes to the Melbourne Victory I am the eternal optimist. I can take a positive out of just about anything. This positivity probably comes from the fact that I usually watch the home games with my girlfriend's dad, Arturo. He is a typical Chilean and very negative in his attitude. So I guess you could say I am the ying and he is the yang or something like that. Tonight I took the positives that they didn't concede a goal; played a lot better than their last match at home; and of course that they are still undefeated after four games, although yet to chalk up a win.
Even with my eternal optimism I do have some concerns. My main concern is how our midfield is working together. The combination of Brebner, Muscat, Broxham and Hernandez just don't seem to be working well and I think the problem may be Brebner. He is not having the same impact as he did last year and is choking up the space that should be given to Hernandez to allow for his creativity. I think the other factor may be that he is also not fully fit. I was also astonished that Merrick decided to swap Pantelidis for Caceres after only thirty or so minutes. Caceres was looking extremely dangerous and when allowed to roam on the left put in some great crosses. I was also a little perturbed by the fact that our options on the bench looked a little defensive. An example of this was late on in the game when the injection of Patafta into the game would have been more useful than that of Ryall. Central Coast, for their part didn't create that many chances, but for an alternative view you may want to check out The Fisherman's Friend.
On another note, it was pleasing to hear the crowd was much more vocal than the last home game with the crews at either end making plenty of noise. I sit in the Gold Members section on the wing and was also good to see some of them also making some noise particularly towards the end of the game. Next week looms as an important match away to Newcastle where a win is paramount to our chances of keeping the many fans happy, not that I will be all that worried.
Even with my eternal optimism I do have some concerns. My main concern is how our midfield is working together. The combination of Brebner, Muscat, Broxham and Hernandez just don't seem to be working well and I think the problem may be Brebner. He is not having the same impact as he did last year and is choking up the space that should be given to Hernandez to allow for his creativity. I think the other factor may be that he is also not fully fit. I was also astonished that Merrick decided to swap Pantelidis for Caceres after only thirty or so minutes. Caceres was looking extremely dangerous and when allowed to roam on the left put in some great crosses. I was also a little perturbed by the fact that our options on the bench looked a little defensive. An example of this was late on in the game when the injection of Patafta into the game would have been more useful than that of Ryall. Central Coast, for their part didn't create that many chances, but for an alternative view you may want to check out The Fisherman's Friend.
On another note, it was pleasing to hear the crowd was much more vocal than the last home game with the crews at either end making plenty of noise. I sit in the Gold Members section on the wing and was also good to see some of them also making some noise particularly towards the end of the game. Next week looms as an important match away to Newcastle where a win is paramount to our chances of keeping the many fans happy, not that I will be all that worried.
posted by Neil at
9/16/2007 09:59:00 pm
2 Comments:
thanks for the link Neil, now i have to write a response! ;) - you melbournians are so tactical in your analysis, i'm jealous. It was another good MV-CCM game though, eh!
Yes it was another good clash between the Victory and the Mariners - though not as dramatic as the last game at the Telstra Dome the two played. I always look forward to the clashes between these two teams. It will be interesting to see how the Mariners go next week with injury concerns for Mrdja and Petrovski and the defence looking a little thin with the absence of Vidmar.
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