I've sat on this cause I am not sure how I feel about this game.
On one hand, I sit here and go 'Did we play really dumb?' We had no width to our game at all and when we used Doyle, he stunk it up and got caught out of position going up the flank and losing it. Because we had no width, we had to put everything through Riera whom was then pressured into mistakes when they ran a second man at him or sat off him and blocked all options. He was also guilty of holding the ball too long. Lets be honest, his performance was shithouse. He has been ultra consistent and everyone has a bad game at some time. That game was it for him. I also look at what we did with Burns. Perth ran an extra man at him and shut him out. Did we not consider using him as a decoy and dragging the defense? I saw no alteration. When we did not have the ball, we pushed Krishna and Brockie wide to the touchlines and basically said 'come up the middle'. We made some dumb decisions (1st goal) and when they were a man down, all we did was pass it around. I respect we don't want to go back to Ricki ball but there needed to be a directness or more of a directness than what was shown. If you are passing it around half way with 2 to go, you can guarantee Perth are gonna sit off and leave you there to pass around. From 50 out, you are not a threat! I also wonder the substitutions. I would have dragged Doyle at the half and bought Rodriguez on for Riera and Boyd in sooner for Burns once it was picked he was squeezed out of the game.
On the other hand, I don't think Perth are that flash so I sit here and go 'Did they play well'? We can't mark a ball into the box (be it set piece or a cross) and they capitalised on that. Every single time, we looked like deer in the headlights. I think as much as people say they have a nose bleed being that high, are they that good? Did we make them look good or are they good. I have to ask this because surely we can not be THAT dumb as I wrote above.
I thought Vince Lia had a good game and was split between him and Moss as MOM. I guess Moss has those kind of saves where you go 'WOW' so he stands out. Lia showed some skill I did not think he had with some deft turns and then the field opened up for him. He is looking more like a footballer than a thug along with Sigmund. I have not been a fan of Sigmund but he is playing well, looking like a footballer and not a street thug. Kudos to him for consistent performance.
McGlinchey brings a lot of players into the game that Krishna does not. Krishna has his own talents and he is looking better in his own HAL skin but I think he one of the 3 men off the bench. He has taken that from Kenny whom has been poor this year and is not looking like recovering. Adios Kenny. Nice to have had ya.
Otherwise I though Doyle had that game that all new players have where you remember that they have no experience. That 1st goal...... Why you need to lunge in there when you can jockey and leave him out there..... I thought Brockie suited his game vs the top high striker at the point. I thought he put in a good shift.
Next game will see McGlinchey for Krishna. You have to wonder on that showing and JBSs one prior, do you swap JBS and Doyle? I also wonder about Rodriguez and I think he was a missing link in there. I was obvious we had nothing creatively in the front 3rd so push Roly a little higher and let A-Rod be a link man. It means Brockie to the bench again which is not fair on him after that game I think but we are not a team with a 3 man front line.
I think Ernie comes out of this trip with a headache in terms of player personnel decisions to make and also how to get out backs to defend a ball in the box. Its inherently obvious we can't do that so if I was MCFC, I would pump the shit out of it.