Arsenal v. Birmingham City (Carling Cup Final)

I watched the Carling Cup on Television in a small Morpeth pub. Here is what I observed..

This clash was seen as an easy opportunity for Arsene Wenger’s young side, which is not so young anymore, to prove their potential and end Arsenal’s six year wait for a trophy.
Not many people were giving unfancied Birmingham a chance, despite the fact they have impressed greatly since their return to the Premier League and have picked up some astonishing points against quality sides this season.

It looked like the Blues were in for a rough day when Bowyer ran free of the Arsenal defence and poked the ball around Wojciech Szczesny.
The young Gunners keeper took his legs out from under him however a dubious offside call denied a penalty and an almost certain red card.
Arsenal had the next chance when Samir Nasri danced through three Birmingham defenders with lightning quick feet however his shot from a tight angle went wide.
In the 27th minute, Sagna inexplicably gave the ball away with a horrid pass when under no pressure and Keith Fahey sent in a cross which was cleared by Koscielny for a corner.
Roger Johnson won the resulting corner, heading the ball towards goal, with big man Zigic rising high in contention with Szczesny to flick the ball into the net.
Arsenal immediately sought to reply and Van Persie’s header from a Nasri cross went agonisingly past the top corner.
More poor defending from Arsenal in the 33rd minute saw Szczesny make a decent save from Zigic after the striker found himself free one on one with the keeper.

Arsenal had been struggling to find a way through an inspired Birmingham midfield that was pressurising and pushing the players in red back into their own half.
However in the 39th minute, Jack Wilshere inspired an attacking move which ended with the young England International crashing a fierce left-footed drive against the crossbar.
The ball fell for Arshavin who turned Ridgwell and rushed past him to the by-line, his cross met by Van Persie who somehow wrapped his leg around Johnson’s body to score a fantastic volley.
Arsenal finished the stronger side as Nasri’s shot from outside the box was parried by Foster, yet the Gunners fans could feel lucky to have come to the interval on an even keel with Birmingham.

Arsenal started the second period strongly, with Rosicky’s shot from the edge of the box zipping just past Jaaskelainen’s post.
Birmingham replied in the 58th when Djourou’s mistake in defence opened up a path for Fahey, whose second attempt smashed against the left post.
Play slowed down to near boring as Arsenal controlled possession but failed to create meaningful chances, a Wilshere effort which was deflected for a corner the only notable action.

Bendtner was called off the bench in the 70th minute to replace Van Persie, preferred over Marouane Chamakh.
In the 75th a fast break from Arsenal saw a Nasri shot saved only by Foster’s face, while moments later the former Man Utd. keeper did well to save a Bendtner effort after the Dane had cut in from the left wing.
Arsenal reverted to a 4-4-2 when Chamakh finally entered play, replacing the often frustrating Arshavin.
A long range Nasri effort brought a full stretch save from Foster, before Birmingham made a move, pulling off Fahey for the creative but unpredictable Obafemi Martins.
He proved to be the difference as Koscielny and Szczesny simultaneously attempted to clear a loose ball in the box, however they both missed the ball and Martins was in the right place and the right time to tap home an easy finish.
Arsenal were too far out of it to get anything out of the game from there on, with the side failing to test Foster again as the final minute ticked by.

It was a huge disappointment for Arsenal fans who are still waiting for a trophy despite being one of the top sides in Europe for the past decade.
For Birmingham it was a huge achievement, whose only other piece of silverware had come in the same Cup back in 1963.
The Gunners now have to bounce back and concentrate on fighting for the Premier League and FA Cup, while they also need to regather for their crucial second-leg Champions League tie against Barcelona next week.

India v. Australia – (0-4)

Australia beat India by a decent scoreline, however they could and probably should have had a few more goals. I only grabbed the final 20 minutes of the first half and final 10 of the second half.
From what I saw in the first half the team were playing some fine, fluid football though in the second period they seemed to become complacent and seemed to be putting a lot of passes off target.
McDonald once again failed to break his duck during his 20 minute spell, while I thought Nathan Burns impressed during his cameo and McKay looked comfortable at least in central midfield.
Ognenovski also looked solid enough next to Neil and hopefully the defensive partnership can perform against South Korea in the next match.
The Indian keeper, Subrata Paul definitely prevented the scoreline from getting higher, with two notable saves from Cahill late in the first half.
Kewell’s goal was a well placed rocket from outside the area, while Holman’s was a free header in the box from an accurate Emerton ball on the right sideline.
I missed both Cahill’s goals so I have no idea what they were like yet…

Team:
Schwarzer;
Carney, Ognenovski, Neil, Wilkshire;
Kewell (McDonald 72nd), Culina, Jedinak (McKay 61st), Emerton (Burns ?);
Cahill, Holman

Goals:

Cahill 11th, Kewell 25th, Holman 45th, Cahill 65th

Week 22 A-League Games

Friday:

Brisbane Roar v. Perth Glory – (1-1)

Brisbane were held to a draw by Glory. Sterjovski had opened the scoring in the 31st minute after some neat play from Fowler, however Henrique came off the bench for the Roar and injected some creativity into their play, providing the 63rd minute cross from which Mitch Nichols steered home. Perth dug deep and frustrated Brisbane to secure a draw

Saturday:

Sydney FC v. Gold Coast United – (2-0)

A classy first half strike from youngster Petratos and a 90th minute finish from new signing Juho Makela secured the first bak-to-back wins for Sydney this season. Gold Coast were poor and had Steve Fitzimmons sent off in the second half.

North Queensland v. Newcastle Jets (1-3)

After three successive defeats the Jets secured a vital win against a poor Fury side. A Zadkovich free kick, which was weakly handled by debuting keeper Sebastian Usai and a Haliti strike within three first half minutes all but sealed the win. A fantastic run from Tarek Elrich then allowed Ryan Griffiths to notch his frst goal in the A-League. Mark Hughes grabbed a consolation goal from the penalty spot after Wehrman had brought down Panagiotis Nikas in the box in injury time.

Sunday:

Melbourne Victory v. Adelaide United – (1-4)

Adelaide smashed Melbourne Victory to secure their hold onto 2nd place. Flores opened the scoring in the 12th minute. Van Dijk grabbed two goals in the 58th and 75th, while a Barbiero strike between the Dutchman’s brace sealed an emphatic win. Victory managed a consolation goal in the 90th minute through Mate Dugandzic and had Kevin Muscat sent off in the 65th minute.

Central Coast v. Wellington Phoenix – (1-0)

McGlinchey scored the winner from a Danny Rose cut back just before half-time, after an inspiring run from Patricio Perez. Zwaaanswijk hit the crossbar with a header just after the break, with the Mariners securing a well-deserved win.

Tuesday – Re-scheduled from Week 11:

Newcastle Jets v. North Queensland

Wednesday:

Central Coast v. Brisbane Roar

2011 AFC Asian Cup

The Socceroos start their pursuit of the Asian Cup in 2 days, having played their last friendly before the tournament against UAE, which they drew 0-0.

Lucas Neil had a goal ruled out for an apparent offside against defensive partner Sasa Ognenovski. Matt McKay and Nathan Burns got starts, while Tommy Oar, Robbie Kruse and Neil Kilkenny all got run-outs with Holger Osieck resting most of his stars.

Australia play India in their opening match on 11th January, before a game against South Korea on the 14th and Bahrain on the 18th.

They will then face either Iran, Iraq, North Korea or UAE in the Quater-Finals on 22nd January if they finish first or second in their group.

The Semi-Final is to be played on 25th January and the Final on 29th January.

A tournament which we should and can win, it will be a big test for Holger Osieck and his ageing stars and promising youngsters. I hope Qatar either loss all their games and fail to score a goal, or they make it to the Final and we thrash them 5-0. Oh and I also hope there are absolutely no supporters at the games and someone dies from heat exhaustion. Thankyou.

SOCCEROOS SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Mark Schwarzer, Nathan Coe, Bradley Jones

Defenders: Lucas Neil, David Carney, Sasa Ognenovski, Luke Wilkshire, Jade North, Matthew Spiranovic, Jonathon McKain

Midfielders: Jason Culina, Brett Emerton, Harry Kewell, Brett Holman, Michael Jedinak, Carl Valeri, Matt McKay, Tommy Oar, Neil Kilkenny

Forwards: Tim Cahill, Scott McDonald, Nathan Burns, Robbie Kruse

While I’d love to see Spiranovic get experience, I think it’s best to give Neil and Ognenovski the central defence roles in order to get Sasa up to speed with playing for the Socceroos. Carney and Wilkshire would take the wing-back positions.
The midfield should be made up from Culina, Kewell, Holman and Jedinak, with Emerton used from the bench and Oar and Kilkenny as back-up.
Up front we’d of course have Cahill and although McDonald has had more chances than anyone deserves I think he should be given the starting berth and this could be seen as his last chance to impress.

If I had my way Neil, Emerton and Schwarzer wouldn’t be there though I think Osieck has chosen a decent squad barring the inclusion of Kruse, which baffles. He is not a player who could play at a World Cup, so why take him? Anyway, really the minimum target here is winning the thing, whether that’s too high of an expectation…with the experience in the squad it has to be the aim…

Week 21 – New Years Games

Central Coast v. Melbourne Victory – (1-2)

Melbourne bounced back from an own goal by defender Adrian Leijer to take home a massive three points from their visit to Blue Tongue Stadium. Two goals in the final 5 minutes of the match from Diogo Ferreira and Grant Brebner secured the win after Adam Kwasnik had been sent off for two yellow card midway through the second half.

Melbourne Heart v. North Queensland – (2-0)

Second half goals from John Aloisi and substitute Gerald Sibon secured the three points for the Melbourne Heart at home to North Queensland, pushing them into a finals spot ahead of Wellington and Newcastle.

Adelaide United v. Brisbane Roar – (0-1)

Brisbane affectively secured the Premiership with a 1-0 victory over fellow title challengers Adelaide away from home. Jean Carlos Solorzano continued his fine goalscoring form with an effort in the second half.

Newcastle Jets v. Sydney FC – (1-2)

I watched the second half of this match, which was proved frustrating. I got the time-difference wrong and woke up in England to a 2-0 halftime score.
With Jeffers injured for his final match at the club, Ryan Griffiths made his debut in the A-League alongside Marco Jesic up front. Milicevic who had recently lost his captaincy due to his decision to return to Europe at the end of the season started, yet was forced off with an ankle injury after only 13 minutes.
Sydney had gone ahead at halftime due to goals from Hirofumi Moriyasu and a Bruno Cazarine effort just before the break.
The first was poor defending from a corner, as Moriyasu was able to score his first goal for the club when he volleyed in at the back post under no challenge. I think it was Wheelhouse who drifted inside the box…
The sceond was even worse, as the usually reliable Wehrman (playing centre back) sent a weak back pass to Kennedy. Although the keeper managed to put a boot to the ball, it fell nicely for Cazarine to finish into a virtually empty net despite a heavy first touch.
Many things were wrong with this goal, the backpass, Kennedy’s inexplicable decision to kick the ball when he could have dove at with his hands, and Abbas’ decision to dive to the ground instead of standing strong in front of Cazarine’s shot. Fuck me.
The Jets came out stronger in the second half but were lacking the creativity in the final third and Branko brought on Haliti and Petrovski for the struggling Jeisc and debutant Ryan Griffith in the 63rd minute.
The goald after some fine play down the right hand side, Zadkovich opting to cut back in the box in stead of crossing when on the byline, and Haliti expertly (I know, what?) drove the ball into the roof of the net.
It was good work from Zadkovich, however he had earlier had a golden opportunity to test the keeper and characteristically blasted his shot over the bar.
The Jets pushed on and had a few more chances to grab an equaliser, teh best coming when a fluffed shot from Haliti fell onto Petrovski’s head, however the veteran could only knock it onto the crossbar.
Zadkovich also had a great chance when put through on goal (I think it might have been from Fiorentini?) however for the first time in his life (possibly) he elected not to shoot and tried another cutback to Haliti.
However the ball was behind the striker and his shot went wide.
While the Jets controlled possession for the remainder of the match, Sydney actually looked the more likely to score and the game petered out without much goal action for the Jets.
A disappointing result in front of a good crowd of 12,000 too. Hopefully the team can make a good finals push in their final 8 games, though they will have to do it without Francis Jeffers who has completed his short-term contract.
Also just on a side note, poor form for the section of the crowd who booed off Nicky Carle. I know he said that the only team he’d play for in the A-League would be us, but we have Con to blame for the decision not to sign him. He needs to make a livelihood.
Ona second side-note, Terry McFlynn should not have been on the pitch by the end of the game, with two filthy, dirty tackles resulting in not even a yellow card. Shocking again from the A-League referees..

Gold Coast United v. Perth Glory – (0-0)

Perth held onto a scoreless draw away to the Gold Coast.

Wednesday Midweek Game:

Wellington Phoenix v. Melbourne Victory – (2-0)

Wellington put in a blistering offensive performance against the Victory to move them to within a point of 6th place Melbourne Heart.
Having had numerous chances in the first half they had to wait until the 67th for the breakthrough.
Marco Rojas, who had a brilliant game, crossed for Macallister, who finished his own saved header from the rebound.
Rojas then got a goal of his own, with Macallister turning provider for the youngster to smash a shot past Petkovic.
Victory had had chances of heir own, mainly through Hernandez and Ricardinho but it was a deserved performance for the Phoenix.
Danny Allsopp made his return for the Victory as a 35th minute substitute.

Week 20 – Festive Games

I flew out of the country on the 28th December which explains the lack of a post in the past week or so..I haven’t managed to see any of the games apart from the second half of the Sydney v. Newcastle match yesterday…so here’s just a rund-down of recent games.

Boxing Day Games:

Central Coast v. Adelaide United – (2-0)

The Mariners grabbed the win thanks to two second half goals, the first from Matt Simon, while the second was an own goal from Sergio van Dijk

Brisbane Roar v. Gold Coast United – (2-2)

Brisbane continued their unbeaten run after coming from behind twice against the Gold Coast. Kosta Barbarousses had cancelled out Dino Djulbic’s effort in the first half, before Robson put the Gold Coast ahead again in the 55th minute. Jean Carlos Solorzano brought Brisbane level however, and the Queensland side could have won had it not been for the inspired keeping of Glen Moss.

Day After Boxing Day Games:

Melbourne Victory v. Newcastle Jets – (2-1)

I watched this game, and it was a hard one to take. I thought we were by far the better side and despite dominating the first half we were behind at half-time to a Hernandez long range effort. Wheelhouse (I think) and Wehrman had allowed the Costa Rican to turn way to easily near halfway and then the little man’s outrageous shot should really have been kept out by Ben Kennedy.
We started the second half brightly and were back in the game after Zadkovich had pulled one back and we looked the more likely side to score a winner.
However substitute Ricardinho poked hom the winner in injury time to leave the side with an up-road battle to make the finals.

North Queensland v. Wellington Phoenix – (1-1)

The Fury and Wellington both missed the chance to secure a vital victory, with Chris Payne’s first half effort beign cancelled out by a Dylan Macallister effort in the 74th minute, with both sides sharing the spoils.

Later on the Wednesday:

Adelaide United v. Sydney FC – (2-0)

Adelaide got back to winning ways against a struggling Sydney outfit, who just couldn’t find the back of the net. A Sergio van Dijk effort in the first half was followed by a Hayden Foxe own goal in the second as the Reds moved back into 2nd place.

Week 20 – Sydney v. Melbourne Heart – (0-1)

I only saw the final ten minutes of this match and it took a great piece of skill from Gerald Sibon to break the deadlock in what I was told was a fairly even, drab game.

The game looked to be heading for a stalemate before Sibon brought down a high ball, got ahead of his marker with three classy touches and then set Adrian Zahra free inside the box.
The youngster’s first touch was heavy but he reacted well and took a quick shot on the half-volley to send the ball flying into the corner past a stranded Reddy.
Brilliant goal, absolutely brilliant. Sibon is a male.
Apart from that Jason Hoffman, who started the game (yes, you’re not dreaming), should really have put the game beyond doubt when set free one-on-one with Reddy, but he made his shot too obvious for the keeper and though it was from a tight angle he should have finished.

The win puts the Heart into 5th position and sends the Jets back to 7th, though we have four games in hand. While I’d love to see the Heart make the finals I think we’ll catch them easily and I think Victory will take out the last finals spot after that. Sydney meanwhile, are well and truly out of it and need to start rebuilding for next season.

MidWeek Games – Week 19

Central Coast v. North Queensland – (1-0)

The Central Coast saw off the Queensland Fury at home on Wednesday night, with Adam Kwasnik once again grabbing the winning goal to send the Mariners into 3rd spot.
While Chris Payne had returned for the Fury to combine up front with David Williams, the lack of penetration meant it was a fairly easy win for the Mariners.
The Fury enjoyed a superior amount of possession, especially in the first half, but despite their fluid passing they all too often broke down in the final third of the pitch.
The opener came after some nice build-up play from the Mariners, who too often played long-ball football in this match.
McGlinchey fed Matt Simon on the right hand side, and the forward crossed to the far post for his strike partner Kwasnik to head home under pressure from Matthew Storey. While it was a good goal the defence from the Fury was hopeless, with little pressure placed on Simon and three players in the box watching as Kwasnik rose to head the ball in.
The Fury had two decent chances before half-time, with Payne shooting straight at Ryan on 34 minutes, while Edds also saw his shot from a tight angle blocked by the young Mariner’s keeper.
Williams led the attack in the second half and despite some promising signs the Fury fizzled out as the game drew to a close. Far too often the midfield gave the ball away cheaply and they really didn’t provide the Mariners with enough problems.
The only sign of a goal was when Panagiotis Nikas danced through the Central Coast defence only to see substitute Dyron Daal fall asleep and let his perfect cross into the box go unrewarded.
Meanwhile the introduction of Amini for Perez seemed to spark a bit of life into the game, the youngster once again impressing, with a brilliant chipped through ball for Simon in the 70th minute an example of the kid’s class.
The game finished with the Fury unable to string more than three passes together and it was a comfortable win for the Mariners.

Perth Glory v. Adelaide United – (4-2)

Great game, some great goals and a good, timely win for Perth Glory.
Perth opened the scoring very early on through a Jamie Coyne header, but I missed the goal so I don’t know a thing about it.
Perth looked good from there on, threatening more so than Adelaide, however the Reds found an equaliser after substitute Joseph Keenan found the net in the 22nd minute.
It came as a result of poor defending from the Glory, as Velaphi and Mitchell challenged together to clear a corner, the ball falling to the former Chelsea youth player, who easily finished.
After that it was all Adelaide, with Iain Ramsay making headways down the left hand side and Perth struggling to get a hold onto the game after dominating the first 20 minutes.
However some poor goalkeeping from Eugene Galekovic allowed Perth to regain the lead, Sterjovski latching onto a long, hopeful ball forward by Harnwell, rounding the keeper and calmly finishing into an empty net.
It was just reward for the former Socceroo after he had terrorised the Reds defence down the left side of a number of occasions.
S the Glory went into half-time ahead, however they once again spurned their lead when Sergio van Dijk continued his great goalscoring form with a well taken half-volley in the 50th minute after a poor clearance from the Perth defence. It was the Dutchman’s 10th goal of the season.
Perth had to call upon the services of Marquee man Robbie Fowler in order to record a deserved victory after that setback.
On 67 minutes Adrian Pellegrino put through a perfect, quite astonishing first time through ball for Fowler, and the former England International finished with a strike that can only be hailed as absolute class. It was a tight angle but Robbie calmly slotted the ball home and nestled his shot into the far corner.
Iain Ramsay then had his own opportunity to rival Sterjovski’s effort, but this time when the youngster rounded the keeper he put his shot high and wide, perhaps highlighting his tender years.
The miss was made to pay when Robbie Cornthwaite was adjudged to have bundled over Sterjovski in the box and the defender was sent off as he was the last man.
When I first saw the foul I immediately agreed with the decision but on second viewings I think it was pretty damn soft, no way should a big man like Mile go down like that so easily.
Ah well, Robbie Fowler stepped up and put the spot kick past Galekovic with an effort that could be easily described as perfect and confident. Brilliant.
I missed the last ten minutes due to work commitments, but on this showing I feel Perth could make a late push for a finals spot. They definitely have the quality and hopefully this win will spark a bit of a run for them…as long as it doesn’t affect the Jets getting a finals spot.
Still question marks over their discipline however, with Naum Sekulovksi picking up his 8th yellow of the season, while Mile Sterjovksi was lucky to escape with only a yellow after kicking out at Iain Fyfe.
Their defence also looked fairly dodgy, with both goals conceded being avoidable.
Meanwhile the Reds have their own suspension worries and will be stretched at the back for their trip to the Central Coast on Boxing Day.
Both Fyfe (5th yellow) and Cornthwaite (red) will receive suspensions and with Daniel Mullen out for the season that leaves Cassio as the only fully fit defender, with Boogard making his return off the bench in this match.
update: The FFA have clarified that Fyfe’s yellow card was in actual fact only his 4th of the season, which is a timely boost for the Reds..

Have a great Chrissie, and enjoy the Boxing Day Test/A-League matches!!!

World’s next Ronaldo?

Eden Hazard. Star. All his youtube videos are accompanied by techno bangers as well. Brilliant. Google him braaaaaaaaaaaa

A-League Week 19

Maaan, bad week. I watched zero games except for the Jets game (gay) and the second half of the Adelaide v. Melbourne Heart match.
So here are the scores of the weekend games..

Melbourne Victory v. Perth Glory – (2-0)

Haven’t seen highlights. Will not watch highlights. The Victory continue their rise up the table. Pricks.

North Queensland v. Brisbane Roar – (0-2)

Ahhh the Roar’s march towards the Championship continues but I really want the Fury to be around next season..daaaaamn

Gold Coast United v. Central Coast – (P-P)

Postponed after 20 minutes because of adverse weather conditions, despite almost 11,000 fans turning up to the match. Really devastating for the Gold Coast after Clive Palmer had given tickets away for free and over 20,000 were snapped up…Hopefully we see another free fixture for this struggling side who also MUST stay in the A-League.

So onto the games I watched/briefly watched..

Adelaide United v. Melbourne Heart – (1-2)

I saw the second half of this match and to be honest it was all Heart. Adelaide looked like scoring a second on the break and definitely had the better chances after the first half ended 1-0 to the home side.
However Heart pressed and their perseverance was rewarded on the 89th minute when Colosimo jumped highest to head home a corner. It was poor defence from the Reds, who had scored late in the first half through a skilful header from Sergio van Dijk.
The Heart pushed on after their equaliser and Aloisi became the hero of the match, sending in a shot off the outside of the boot into the net. He was teed up by the blundering Jason Hoffman (I reckon his touch was a fluff) and I believe the former Socceroos’ shot was heading wide before taking a deflection off Adam Hughes and settling into the net past Galekovic.
A great win for the Heart and it stopped a seven game losing streak. Yewwwww!!

Wellington Phoenix v. Newcastle Jets – (4-0)

Now. Before I head into this report I would like to say that the performance from the Newcastle Jets was absolutely abysmal, however two of the goals for the Phoenix should not have been awarded and we did have a lot of players out through injury and suspension. Regardless though, this was a poor showing from a side which had gone seven games unbeaten.
We were missing Milicevic (and his replacement Regan was having back troubles as it was), player of the year Wehrman, as well as Zadkovich, not to mention Wheelhouse, Kantarovski and Bridges.
The team was obviously affected, most clearly by the loss of Wehrman (who calms down our midfield and can hold onto the ball) and Milicevic (who has the ability to play the ball out from defence). We also lacked any penetration down the right wing which Zadkovich usually provides, while Kantarovski is a class act and could have filled the hole left by Wehrman if he had been fit.
Anyway the inexplicable decision to start Jacob Pepper (a youngster with no experience) over Patafta was a joke. Culina had spoken about the fact that Patafta had had three chances this season without impressing, though all those opportunities had been 20-30 minute cameos off the bench…this was the chance to give the kid his first start and see if he could grab it with both hands. However Pepper was given a starting role instead, and no offence to him but the youngster had a shocking game. I’m not saying he won’t develop into a top player, but young players like Pepper need to be given their debut when they have experienced heads around them such as Wehrman and Milicevic to guide them on the field. It was a stupid decision and another vote of non-confidence in Patafta, who really hasn’t been given a fair go in the A-League.
Anyway, saying that, experienced Italian Fiorentini also had a poor, poor game, and that is where the match was lost…Pepper and Fiorentini never had control of the central midfield role and it showed, we were hopeless at containing the ball and that is where the responsibility of the central players come into the game. I swear Fiorentini made more wayward passes than good ones, I would love to see his passing statistics…
With the lack of service you also can’t blame our debuting new striker Tomislav Misura, who also had a poor match and only succeeded in getting a yellow card for a stupid challenge on Jade North. Though in my eyes anyone who puts North on his arse is a God, I love him. But yeah, the lad had a shit game though really didn’t have much to work with so I don’t think he should be judged on that performance alone.
Let us get away from the deficiencies of the Jets however and talk about the goals, which I believe only brings up more questions about the quality of referees in the A-League.
So the first goal was a result of the brilliance of youngster Marco Rojas (making his full debut) but also because of the poor defence from a number of Jets players. The tracking back and communication from Pepper and the ultimately hopeless D’Apuzzo allowed Rojas to split them and run between them, laying off the ball to Greenacre, who delivered a cross for Tim Brown to head home. Not only were D’Apuzzo and Pepper caught out in defence but an absolutely half-hearted challenge from Jesic on Brown from the resulting cross was equally pathetic.
Anyway, 1-0 down, but with Wellington’s start striker Paul Ifill off early due to injury there was still hope..
To the second goal now. On 31 minutes. PISS OFF REFEREE. I really should look up who the ref was on the Internet but I can’t be stuffed. It was a soft call to award a free kick. I know I’m bias but that was not a foul. The problem is some referees in the A-League give them, some don’t. We need to become consistent in our refereeing. It’s a joke, are we a physical league or are we a soft, South American/Spanish League? Let’s make our minds up and give referees a reference point.
It wasn’t a foul for the free kick. But disregarding that, the Jets defence fell asleep, Wellington took a quick restart and scored of the resulting cross. Good goal. Poor defence. Poor initial decision. 2-0.
Ok, now to the third goal just before half-time. Rojas sent a corner in, Jacob Pepper failed to clear a ball he really should have booted skyward if he had more experience, and Greenacre shot the ball towards the net, with Elrich clearing the ball off the line. However, despite the clearance the goal was given as a result of the linesman’s flag.
It was not over the line. SIMPLE. How anyone could claim that the WHOLE ball had crossed the line is beyond me. Look at the replays. I have a sneaky suspicion that the FFA may have leant on media organisations to report that the ball had clearly crossed as a result of the criticism that has been aimed at A-League referees recently. For Foxsports and other sources to suggest the decision was correct is astounding. IT was not over the line. Man. But despite that Jacob Pepper again showed his lack of experience when failing to clear a ball in the box. Out of his depth to say the least. Poor kid.
I won’t talk in full about the rest of the game. Basically the Jets played slightly better, but that was to be expected with the Phoenix conserving energy with a three goal lead. Haliti could and probably should have had two goals to his name but in truth we were poor and deserved the thrashing. To make matters even worse former SCUM Mariner Dylan Macallister scored the fourth goal in the 88th minute.
On the substitutes, Patafta came on and looked hopeless, but I still feel he should have got the nod over Jacob Pepper, I’m extremely disappointed he didn’t. I also feel Branko has been a bit of an ungrateful manager when he handed Misura his debut over Petrovski, with the veteran saving our skins with last-minute goals in the past few games. Yes he is old, but if a player is performing, give him a chance. Man-management Branko, man-management. Keep them happy buddy.
So tactics and team selection was in my opinion totally wrong for this game, but that doesn’t save the players who were chosen in the starting eleven from criticism, they were useless. Even without the two dodgy goals we still deserved the loss.
Hopefully we see an improvement when we travel to the in-form Melbourne Victory. SHIT.