There is something not working for the Costa Ricans....not sure what it is but they seem often to be on a seperate wavelength to the rest of the team. People bagged Cunningham but watching it live he made lots of very intellegent runs, short sprints into space and he was rarely given the ball. At the end of the first half he gave Manny a real spray after he darted down the touch and Manny just hit his pass into the guy standing 10 metres in front of him. There was also lots of arm waving and talking before the second half.....Carlos talking to Fenton and Muscat.Obviously there is some lack of connection going on. Might be a language problem, who knows. Carlos looked more and more frustrated as the game wore on.
Part of our problem is we are not bossing the midfield. Lia, Hicks and Reira are all OK. But there is a sense they are journeyman players who are basically squad players but are playing full time. There is a lack of us taking the game by the throat and imposing our style on it. I think this is what Ernie was eluding to in the DoomPost. He said the team lacked positive aggression. He wanted more drive and passion. Certainly to me the team looks timid on attack. Ernie sited an example when Hicks was cut down in the box against Sydney and nobody screamed for a penalty. Maybe they are just lacking confidence and once the goals start coming they will really push on.
Can't complain about the style of play though. Having sat through some really turgid stuff over the years at the ROF Ernies game is really entertaining.