R5 v CCM | 7pm Sunday 8 Nov | SS3

Never sub while defending a set piece, we were lucky to get the draw imo

Yeah, very harsh - after 20000 corners we were bound to concede.

Krishna on O'Donovan didn't help either

No doubt a good header,  but yes, for once, I'm gonna say Moss should have dealt with that comfortably I think

Rodrigues did, god he had a moderate first half, I was even calling for Lia back

The amount of times he gave the ball away or gave a ball to Roly in a terrible position was alarming. It looked like his first thought was "There's Roly, give it to him" without considering any other options or the 4 guys within a metre around Roly. Maybe Roly calls for every ball so he thinks he should give it to him........

A-Rod hasn't had a pre season and it shows. Ernie was trying to ease him back gently - but with Lia out he's had to throw him in the deep end. He'll get better.

Not by much for this one: 6460 

Yeah we could get smug about CCM's weak croud but you know that the FFA will just say it's because they were playing us.

I think the conditions were a big factor in our poor performance and we looked alright before the rain set in. Having said that, there were some issues with the shape which meant that we struggled to create chances. Neither Gulley or Muscat really advanced on attack much so we lacked width. The box shape in midfield made our passes and runs easy to predict and shut down and everyone seemed reluctant to run at players. All of this can be at least partly explained by players not wanting to risk getting  injuries or slipping and getting caught out of position because of the wet ground, especially because CCM's team looked a lot larger than ours.

The other thing which really stood out for me was CCM's goal - what was Krishna doing marking someone in the box? He's our quickest, most potent attacking weapon, and he's tiny. He should be left out for the counterattack or used to man mark the short corner option or something. That goal also showed the perils of man-marking on corners. The near corner of the 6 yard box where the goal was scored from is the most dangerous place  for a ball to be delivered because the keeper can't come and claim it, and the striker can use the pace of the cross to help it on its way rather than having to generate as much power in the header himself. If we were using a zonal marking system on the corner then Dura or Siggy would have been in that spot and I would have backed them to either win the ball or at least get in the way enough to prevent such a golden chance. It's not Krishna's fault that his runner was much taller than him and attacked the near post - it's a tactical issue that CCM did a good job of exploiting.

That's why they were all over us, we had a bigger box to defend.

I am just guessing, but he is probably in the Top third of player salaries, and while he is the best we have, I for one think we could probably do better for the money spent.

Of keepers in the League at the moment, I would rather have Vukovich, Janyetovich, Theo, Reddy (despite his "issues") and probably Covic.  

a few times Krishna seemed to make an average run, not get the ball, and then was out the game offside meaning our ball carrier slowed down completely. The number of times we are slow in the final third and allow them to get men behind the ball is alarming.

Agree about A-Rod being horrific.

I think our lads were wearing concrete boots in the second half

I noticed a lot more hoof-ball than usual.  Could have been due to A-rod not making himself as available as Lia might have?

Incidently, why was Lia out?

Hes injured isnt he?

I think the hoofball was more a result of the conditions than anything else. Pretty hard to play a quick short passing game on a boggy pitch with rain coming down.

Think Martin Luckie in July.

I'll just say this - when the thought 'gee, we really need Lia in there' is flashing through my mind constantly as I'm watching the game, you know that the guy who stepped in for him was having a horrid game.

Oh, and our running off the ball in offensive transition was dreadful, especially in the second half.

I thought A-Rod was OK.  And if Lia hadn't pulled a hamstring last week he would have done so on that wet pitch in Gosford.

Personally I am more worried about Roly's "performance" than anyone else's.   The unnecessary yellow card against Victory last week and the less than subtle body language and facial expressions last night are one thing; playing performance is another.  Last night I expected him to show more leadership in midfield, especially against such middling opposition (same thing against the Jets in R1). Instead it looked like McGlinchey grew an extra pair over the last few weeks, which is not a bad thing.

Yep, agree that Roly hasn't been great the last couple of weeks. Wonder if all the off-field drama has affected him too much.

And yep, WeeMac has improved quite a bit since Round One.

I think that Roly is playing too far forward at the moment. All our opposition have worked out that they should double mark him and he's struggling to find space to turn into or time to get on the ball and find options. If he dropped deeper and played a Pirlo-style regista role then any attempt to double mark him will be dragging his markers further away from our other attacking players and will create more space for them too. If he isn't double- marked then he'll have more time and space personally to create our attacking chances.

I think it's pretty obvious that the license kerfuffle has affected Roly the most - probably the Jeff as well. He doesn't look happy out there.

Ernie has just realised how many Not A Strikers we have.

Well, can be a bit of both, but what was noticeable last night when we were breaking was that the runs were in straight lines, and direct at defenders - this makes it really easy to defend, as you can step up to put pressure on the ball carrier without the fear of an onside diagonal run beating you. It then forces the ball carrier to pass either too early, with defenders in front of the runner, or square, which kills the counter-attacking momentum.

Just as well the site was down..less angst.  Didnt think much of subs at all tbh.  Distribution was weak as was go forward.  Badly missing strike power in this game.

Great CCM header btw.

Where has Appiah gone? Scored a bucketload in pre-season and has barely featured.

I did wonder if that has affected the guys or not.

Unless Roly has been told to take a more commanding role on the field (ah la Siggy yelling but at the other end of the field) and that's how he provides constructive criticism (I only yell because I love you).

And Jeff is still finding his feet in the team, we are only in fricking round 5.

EDIT: spelling

Was it a case of giving young players game time in preperation for the All Whites being away next week?

Intersting the lack of Appiah and Powell.

An issue with Roly the last couple of games is how is receiving the ball, a lot of the time he is moving into space in wider areas of midfield, moving into the channels, but is receiving the ball facing the touchline with little passing options that can be closed down. WeeMac on the other side more often starts wider and is able to receive the ball facing towards the middle of the pitch and has more options at his disposal.

These are all valid points.  I am still wondering though:

- if taking Sarpong off at halftime was a tactical move i.e. he was not injured, then why did we get even more under the pump in the 2nd half?

- was the rain in the first half affecting CCM more than us? Was the wet surface in the 2nd half giving us more trouble than them?

- CCM repeatedly got through our defence on wide wing (both sides) in the 2nd half - would Doyle have done a better job?

- does anybody have a phone number for Boxall? 

Who the hell knows where Rufer and Ridenton's position are at this point.

Gulley had a good debut, didn't get forward much but was really composed in what was all out attack. 

Ernie said in the press conference afterwards that he was surprised at how many people CCM threw forwards and he was just content to sit back and score another goal on the counter, which with so much space exposed at the back and the pace of our front men you'd expect to happen.

The questions as raised above are:

Why was Rufer subbed in to defend when he is an AM or striker?

Why was Powell not subbed on at all?

Why is Appiah not even making the bench?

Someone let Ernie know cause Roly is my favorite player. 

Your backs played exceptionally well yesterday congrats to them ....