Yet another epic at Bluetongue
Sunday, 24 August 08, 07:39 AM
Bluetongue Stadium this evening, with the Mariners defeated 3-2 by their southern rivals in another exceptional endorsement for Australia’s premier football
competition.In front of 10,932 spectators – the largest ever attendance for a
first home match of a new Hyundai A-League season on the Central Coast, Sasho Petrovski’s brace for the Mariners was matched by Steve Corica’s for Sydney and then bettered by Shannon Cole’s
outstanding free kick winner.Both sides traded blows with frequency throughout, as
has become commonplace for matches between the Hyundai A-League’s two nearest rivals, with the dismissal of Sydney FC debutant Stuart Musialik midway through the second half capping another
dramatic chapter in the history between these two east coast adversaries.The
Mariners have now opened their Premiership defence with a draw and a loss and despite having failed to register a win over the past fortnight, can reflect on many positives and look forward to
the return to fitness of key players Andre Gumprecht, Dean Heffernan, Mile Jedinak, Dylan Macallister and Greg Owens."It’s not as though we’re not scoring goals, tonight we just gave away two easy goals – I think they
made three passes in the six yard box for the second goal," said Mariners Football Manager Lawrie McKinna after the match."After we got over that initial fifteen or twenty minutes, we had a few chances but a few things just
didn’t bounce for us and it was the same in the second half which was disappointing."The good thing is that we got two goals, but losing three at home is harsh – the first two we could have done something about, the third one we couldn’t have – it was a very well taken free
kick."Until Cole’s sensational late winner, the match was very much a tale of two
talismen.Corica, the Mariners’ nemesis in the inaugural Hyundai A-League Grand
Final in 2006, firstly showed his experience in just the sixth minute with a calm left footed finish from close range after some sound work on the right flank by Alex Brosque.Brosque outpaced the Mariners backline and delivered an inch perfect centre for the Sydney FC
veteran, who made no mistake in slotting home the first Bluetongue Stadium goal of season four.Within minutes, however, the Mariners were back level when Petrovski was presented with a chance from the penalty spot after Robbie Middleby and Simon Colosimo brought down Matt
Simon.Petrovski duly found the back of the net – his ninth Hyundai A-League goal
for the Mariners, after sending Clint Bolton the wrong way to draw the home side level for barely one minute.Corica was on the spot again to slam home an assist from Mark Bridge to hand the visitors the
ascendancy once more – the third goal within fifteen minutes inciting memories of last December’s nine goal epic between these two sides for the large gallery on hand.Though Sydney could boast superiority at the break, the were plenty of positives for the Mariners to
carry into their half time team talk – particularly the contributions of wide men Adrian Caceres and Ahmad Elrich.Both were busy throughout the opening forty-five and looked the most likely options to provide the
Mariners with an equaliser and, indeed, from an Elrich corner towards the end of the half, captain Alex Wilkinson had a rare shot on goal cleared off the line by a Sydney
defender.Elrich was again provider early in the second half when Petrovski nodded
home a typically precise cross from the Qantas Socceroo, only to have his strike correctly ruled offside by the assistant referee.However, Petrovski did net his second in time and Elrich was predictably the
provider.Elrich showed great invention to flick a pass into Petrovski’s path, with
the former Sydney FC lynchpin turning defender Jacob Timpano and sliding a low shot past the outstretched arms of Bolton.Musialik was shown the red card soon after following a crass challenge on midfield counterpart
Bradley Porter, only for Cole to step up to the mark in the closing stages and net a goal worthy of winning any football match.Like this blog? Help spread the word: 
Olyroos Shocking.
Wednesday, 13 August 08, 08:01 PM
After watching the game last night against the Ivory Coast, it was a little bit embarrassing to say the least. It is obvious that the coaching is just not working from Graham Arnold and we need to look for someone better. The mistakes being made by the players at this level is just not on, also when it is imperative that Australia needs to win the game to advance to the next stage you would have thought a more attacking formation would have been set, say a 4-3-3 at least. The team needs to learn how to penetrate the ball through the opposition lines and not just hit and hope balls over the top one after another. I feel for the players as they can only do as the coach advices, and it is clear to me that Arnold must take the blame for a poor Olympics campaign. It’s time the FFA got serious about our coaching staff and start employing coaches with real experience. As far as Graham Arnold coaching any Australian sides, I suggest the token is over.
Tonki.
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Tonki
Central Coast, AU
Harry Kewel A Fair Go!
