A committed and positive first 35 minutes backed up by 10 minutes of stupid passive possession that saw Western get a chance to push forward. Bility made the clear decision NOT to go goal side of Ibusuki and our 2 goal cushion was back to business as usual at the break.
The first half was fantastically positive for the first 35 minutes without being anywhere near flawless or polished - but great to see us getting lucky with some of the bounces of the ball and making luck for the rest. A whole team effort that kept us pressing without being overly aggressive.
Second half was a struggle. We made it hard for Western most of the time but we just aren't geared/structured/motivated to killing off opponents when we lead. We always play the kick it anywhere option when calm heads could see us continuing to dominate play safely instead - just stop going back to the keeper when it isn't a crucial safety release. It makes for a tense 90+ minutes every game when we know how liable we are to conceding piss easy goals.
Great to get the win and stay in the very serious and intense race to avoid the wooden spoon. I don't care what people say about the bottom of the table having nothing to play for - we do not want the wooden spoon and I am finding the struggle highly motivating as a supporter.
Herrington, Brazete, Burke-Gilroy, Klein - once again stand out players bit this time in a side that played some really nice football in the first half particularly. Wouldn't be surprised to see all 4 disappear before next season.
Jelacic is showing more and more a bad touch. He takes the ball into conflict and loses it often but after putting himself in great positions his first touch coughed up the ball several times tonight and turned promising attacks into desperate defensive recoveries.
Berenguer showed some excellent touches and moments of vision again. I liked his pause on the ball to flat foot the wide defender and give Hingert a nice headstart on his overlapping run. Bought a couple of seconds for him with experience and timing when many would have simply played the ball first time.
Filthy at the dirty Western bastards not giving the ball back after we put it out due to a player genuinely down. Booooooo!!!!
Western just looked to be going through the motions of a strategy without the individual or team commitment required to win. Got to look at Aloisi for that - must have said "keep playing the system and the goals will come" without actually going out to earn the goals. Maybe they looked at our table position and the whole season and figured it was sewn up.
I cannot think of a standout Western player - but that doesn't mean there weren't any of course - just that I don't remember anyone making a difference.
1 shot each in the first 30 odd minutes of the second half summed up both Western's lack of drive on goal and our backed off defensive mindset.
Got to shout out Burke-Gilroy again though. He shut down that left fullback area brilliantly tonight.
A win still feels bloody brilliant even in a write off season
Thursday 17th April 2025
19:35
Suncorp Stadium
Paramount+
all season. However I don’t think he is going to improve much.
