R16 vs Brisbane Roar | Sat 21st Jan | 7:35pm | RoF

We were lucky Tratt only got a yellow.

Yes that was a dreadful challenge.

Agree - unlucky to lose like that, but the goal had been coming as we predictably got leggy, and they started running over us.

Brisbane were fresh and smart throughout and deserved to win.       

shame. Great game of football, credit to Brisbane they perhaps deserved it in the end. We didn't score, thought we should either have left smeltz on or replaced him with Watson. At times we we were great, the speed thru the midfield is  different league to under Ernie, kosta, roly, lia and Rodriguez were outstanding, at times sublime, but our delivery to the box let us down when we needed to find smeltz. Shame for durante at the end as he had a great match. So many positives, just not quite good enough.

I don't think so. No studs showing, not intent in the tackle.

Also, I notice Borello went in for a bouncing ball with his studs up and collected A-Rod in a  challenge not to dissimilar to the one Krishna got red carded and suspended. 

Mostly good reffing, but that stuff went against us.

I don't think  there was intent, but studs got him.

We were a bit disjointed on attack again. Didn't quite create the chances.

It was really tense. Heard one of the commentators compare it to an arm wrestle. At times we were really defending hard, at times it was just a midfield scrap and at times we had attacking momentum. Had to do much better with our space and chances.

Overall I think it was a good game if one looks with the hindsight of early season performances. It could have easily been a draw and I don't really agree that Brisbane win was somehow "deserved". It was neither deserved nor undeser4ved.  The goal is best described a "work related accident" by Dura and we simply need to move on from the disappointment of a late loss and focus on the next game.  There are good signs with the team development under Buckacre and I for one am happy to be proven wrong about their coaching.

Was a very close game. 0-0 probably would've been fair, but it was always going to be decided by a defensive error and unfortunately Dura was the first to fall over.

Note to self from Danger Danger. Make a chant out of Take On Me. Tune.

Both teams kept attacking so much I felt like one had to go in eventually.  It's judt you bad it happened with minutes to go.

I don't think it is fair to blame Dura. They used their subs better and Maclaren just had too much pace and skill. With no Lia in front was too much of an ask.

If it was not Dura at fault, who was it.  Only mistake he made all game and I bet he will put his hand up and admit his error.

Dura admitted that it was his fault after the game. Greenacre also blamed him in an indirect way.

Fact is we were over run at that stage. The outcome was the most likely result given their superiority as the game neared its conclusion.

Anyone going to deny how vital Vinnie Lia is to the team after watching how we fell apart when he got subbed off last night?

I hate it when we lose.

I was worried before the match about how we would manage three games in a week and how we would be for the last 30 minutes. As it turned out we were overrun at the end. The loss of Lia really upset the equilibrium of the team because  along with taking Smeltz off resulted in quite a reshuffle positionally. You could see that guys were getting leggy and were just not tracking back anymore. Plus you add in Finkler who is slow and just doesnt defend much. It seemed just a matter of time before theb Roar were going to score.

Still it was a good week for the team. The defense looks a lot tighter now with Lia and A-Rod screening.....plus the wide guys are now tracking back properly. 

What was the crowd?

I might go back to the previous games thread vs the victory . The reading is much more positive in that one 

The sound of silence

I think we just looked tired after the last couple of games, but we still held our own for much of the game. There's still a problem scoring goals for us though - we've conceded the same as the 2 Melbourne teams in 2nd and 3rd on the table, but MC have scored 8 more than us and MV have scored 18 more, or twice as many as us. We haven't sorted out the best combination of our attackers/midfielders yet, or if we have we haven't been able to get them settled and playing together for a run of games because of tinkering with things due to injury or suspension or fatigue or whatever. There's also the issue that this squad was built by Ernie to play a style of football which just wasn't coming off and now Green Eggs and Ham are trying to implement a new style with a group of players not ideally suited to it. Overall there are definitely promising signs and we are looking like we are moving in the right direction. Still definitely a work in progress though.

One thing I did notice is that we seem to be dribbling a lot more now, and it looks like a deliberate tactic rather than just a result of running out of options to pass or anything. It kind of reflects the overall vibe that our players (most notably Roly, Kosta and WeeMac) seem to be enjoying themselves on the pitch in a way that they weren't doing under Ernie.

Coaches didn't really seem to adjust to it, or have a plan if it happened. No Ridenton, Rufer or Fox on the bench right? McG, Watson and Fink. 

I'm saying it wasn't Dura's fault because it was clear Mclaren was too quick for him and had the better of him, but we failed to stop the supply of ball to him, failed to use our subs better, failed to react to Vinnie's injury, failed to find scoring opportunities despite being top heavy with attacking talent. 

Sure the goal was a case of Dura failing to do his job, but the coaches and other players had also failed to do theirs too.

Watson should have been on much earlier. There was no midfield cover for Lia, unless wee mac played deep.

I thought the attack didn't get enough crosses fired low across the box. Tratt was one case that came to mind, shooting off his left foot with Smeltz and Krishna at the back stick. I don't think the attack isn't firing, but perhaps it was a) tiring and b) a little over confident after the great week we've had. 

Overall this week: goals for =4 goals against = 1

That's a good week guys!

double post

Sorry for getting stuck into one sentence, but over the last however many seasons have we ever had a style suited for the players we had?  It would seem to be our perennial problem, and ours alone.  Never heard this bothering other teams.  

I agree with the rest of your post and we should be scoring more goals. Our poor scoring early this season is reflected in your statistics. However, the current setup on the park is conducive to us scoring more goals from now on; more so than early this season under Ernie. 

It just so happened that Brisbane are a good team but yet it was an even game overall. Brisbane were more fluid and more cohesive and looked more threatening from the start, then again they have been playing the same way for quite a while now and have it all sussed. Let's not forget we had our chances too but they did not have a defensive lapse like we did. That's just football.

I am keen to see how we perform now against Adelaide, away from home. I expect an improvement on our previous results this season (we have drawn in NZ and lost away). This would be another good measure of the overall improvement or otherwise under Des and Greenie.

I have been a critic of Lia over the two previous seasons because he has been sub substandard. Since Ernie stood down he has contributed well to the team notwithstanding that his mobility is lacking and he gives away free kicks in dangerous areas.

But to suggest that he is some demi god is simply hyperbole

not even a semi god

more demi god

Dunno who was officially man of match, but I would say first Vinnie, second Roly, third Mossy.

If Vinnie's hamstring was the issue I'd be guessing he won't be playing this coming week.

... or goddess. They're rare as hen's teeth nowadays.

Anybody know what's happened to the Radio Sport week on demand? I wanted to have a listen to the always entertaining McHardy/Chotey commentary of the game but week on demand has been out of action for days now.

;>)