R25 vs Melbourne Victory | Sun 2nd April | 7:00pm | SS2

Don't you need completion rates for both long and short passes to tell that? 

People just like change. Especially if we win. Italiano was ok but not tested. He also almost got caught on the ball once as he had to work it to his right foot.

Yeah, Italinao has kept 2 clean sheets, but has been entirly untested. I'm not sure he's made a non-routine save yet. Keep him in the XI by all means, but if his reserve performances are anything to go by, he's not ready to be earmarked as next years #1.

The good news is that SFC should provide a much sterner test than the last 2 games.

Pulled from Nix website.  'long pass' is one that is 35 yards or more.

What your cold hard facts can never show is that Moss cannot distribute, and it was great to finally have someone that can, and also that Paston organises the defence better than Moss ever could.

I can't get my head around the fact we gave Victory an absolute towelling. Why has this team woken up all of a sudden? I think we should be told.

It is quite strange.  Not taking anything away from the two results, but the Jest were very unmotivated with their season basically over.  MV have essentially locked in 2nd place so didn't have a lot to play for.  BUT we are usually terrible in must win games.  Seems trite, but one major thing was we didn't concede early.  That's been a huge problem for us, if we go a goal down we have zero confidence/liklihood of getting back into the game.

We've given the victory a hiding twice this season.

The thing is the people who give excuses to the opposition when we win are usually the same people who refuse to except any excuses that we might have when we lose.

Victory were only poor because we put so much pressure on them and had them on the back foot. We didn't give them the ball directly, which we often do. We ran at them and tested them out. They buckled.

The first was very different to the second - the second we were better from start to finish, the first was closer.  Even though we won 3-0 it felt like we were backs to the wall a lot more.  There is an explanation why they were so flat, that's not our problem though!

wonder if there is a copy of the game online somwhere. 

Best can do is the highlights 

Roly, Mambo and A-Rod in the team of the week, Des the coach

http://www.a-league.com.au/photo-gallery/hyundai-a...

Good keeper is essential, but is not enough if he is carrying the rest of the team.

Has Italiano been that bad for the reserves, or was he just keeping for a mediocre reserves team?

I think its a little unfair to say Italiano has been untested. In the first game he made two sharp saves in a row, showing positioning and bravery.

Secondly, one of the reasons he may not have been tested is because of his dominance in the air. Him taking the ball, may be the difference between a shot been made on target or him throwing the ball out.

He's also pulled off some cracking saves - so it's swings and roundabouts.

Are you sure you're not describing yourself here Patrick?

had to work it onto his left foot*

PS4 controller can be a bitch in a fast game

Des on Ridenton injury:

"He's jarred his knee, I don't know where the Fox commentators got an ACL from.

"We can't confirm anything like that at this stage. It's impossible to tell, it could be some meniscus jarring. Out for four or five days might be our best hope, but until he has a scan when he gets back we won't know."

STUFF

I think that is good news for Ridenton.

So I was at the game and saw some of it and wrote about it here

and you're lucky there are no pics of me with my top off!