Bloody hell. Onya Roar - the starting lineup, other than Bility, played really good football. Bility did brilliantly some times and horrendously on others. His inconsistency is a worry because his mistakes are big ones.
As soon as Zadkovich decided we had the game won and swapped out an attacker for a defender we lost all momentum and almost lost the game.
It is not smart football to miss the fact that our attacking midfield and forward line were what kept Sydney back and without great prospects. Swapping out an attacker to have two DMs, and playing 2 rows of four in defence instead of having 6 players battling in the midfield, was the very strategy that has lost us games before under Zadkovich - and won us the Mariners grand final when they did it. He has not learned.
Berenguer just brings the team down. His offering is not as good as our starters and he just holds a place on the field rather than being instrumental in our attack and high press.
Klein is fantastic for us. His ability to win balls, hold the ball under pressure, and pick a pass or run with it is lovely to watch.
Brazete for Halloran would have been a much better option - allowing us to keep the pressure on Sydney and stop them all coming forward.
Halloran was probably the most effective I have seen him and when we used his runs in behind what a difference it made. Hore lifted us with his attacking mindset and his finish was top class. Zimarino looked like he belonged on the field - and from me that is a big change. Zabala surprised me - I could not believe he would be able to marshall Lolley at all but he held in there. Going forward he added something too. His recent roles in midfield may have opened up more of his potential and I was really pleased for him.
Jelacic was heavily involved and I am happy to withdraw my concerns about him. He still did not use his pace, but his control and involvement was positive and effective.
Love Burke-Gilroy's talent, engine and enthusiasm. He would be as good as any of our players across the season and consistently better than most.
Herrington is quality with potential. Worth keeping an eye on him.
Freke's distribution was much better tonight with players looking to receive the ball forward. I agree playing the long ball to actual players gives us much better results than playing out from the back mindlessly.
For Sydney - good on them for pushing to the end. I was expecting Kucharski to put the ball in the net again at the end of a match. Sotirio is a prick and always has been. Smacking his forearm across Freke's face is just typical of his scum mindset.
Great to get a win (obviously) but FMD I earned it watching.
