Veterans regain some of the Glory

A-League round 12 analysis

WHILE version 3 has, in the main, been one for the youngsters, with the like of Burns, Djite, Zullo, Kruse, D’Apuzzo, Boogaard and Holland all making an impression to date, round 12 will be remember as the one where the veterans struck back. For Perth, there were big performances from Colosimo and Harnwell, the latter back in the heart of the defence. For the Mariners, there were accomplished displays from their experienced spine, Vidmar, Pondeljak and Aloisi all massive in their best performance of the season. Later that night, Bolton and Muscat stood out for their sides, while yesterday the likes of Seo, McLaren and Moore were all steady, despite the Roar’s youngsters and Brazilians grabbing the headlines. While the veterans shone, it was also a round that featured some accomplished displays in the front third, and while I could only choose three up front in my team of the week (below), there were some unlucky front-men, including Thompson, Simon, Kruse and Joel Griffiths. Here is my take on all four round 12 games;

NJ 1 v PG 4

Problems for Gary van Egmond at Newcastle. The manager has done a brilliant job, in my mind, to have this squad where it is at the halfway point of the season, but now the real test begins. The Jets’ South American signings – whether his or Con Constantine’s – have largely been a miss, and there is clearly not enough depth in the front third to get the job done consistently. Joel Griffiths continues to be a threat, but he was a lone ranger on Friday. Bridge has been quiet of late and needs to come back from Olyroo duty on fire if the Jets are to stay in the four. D’Apuzzo continues to impress in midfield, but could do with the support of Musalik, while Laybutt is, well, laboured. While Durante should have done better in mopping up, the first goal was Laybutt’s, and the rot set in. As for Perth, some interesting work from David Mitchell, starting with Harnwell in central defence and Rukavytsya in attack. No doubt about it, Perth was happy to defend deeper and play on the counter, especially after they took the lead fro the second time, and it worked a treat. The other good work from Mitchell was his decision at the break to go to a back three and switch Downey over to the left. His, Bertos and Rukavytsya’s pace on the counter proved far too effective for a Jets side chasing the game.

CCM 2 v AU 0

The Mariners might be sitting atop the league, but they haven’t been flash of late, despite Lawrie McKinna’s protestations to the contrary. This was their best performance in some time, perhaps all season, controlling the driving Adelaide midfield through the tagging working on Pantelis, Burns, Dodd, Diego and Sarkies. Far too physical for a United side missing the formidable muscle provided by Salley, Djite and Costanzo, it was good to see that once the Mariners won the physical battle, the football followed, and some of it was a delight. At the heart of most of the good stuff was Pondeljak who dominated the centre of midfield along with Jedinak, outstanding in looking after both Pantelis and Burns. It provided the platform for Aloisi to prove he’s still a striker of note, at least at this level. Adelaide not only lacked a physical edge, but had little presence up front, and Aurelio Vidmar will be sweating on the return of Djite. Like van Egmond, it will be interesting to observe how Vidmar comes out of this rough patch.

MV 0 v SFC 0

After a relatively average first period, things livened up in the second, both teams having a real go, which was great to watch. Melbourne might have gone up early in the second, but Bolton, after his worst period in probably a decade, appears back to his best and was up for everything Thompson threw at him. Back came Sydney, especially after the introduction of Juninho, and it was Brosque, full of confidence, who might have given the visitors the lead, but for a combination of the post and some wonderful scrabbling from an undermanned Victory rearguard, lead superbly by Muscat. Back came the hosts, the addition of Caceres (far too late in my opinion), providing the spark that might have seen Thompson grab a late winner. In the end though, I felt a point each was a fair reflection of the match, but it was a result that appeared to suit the visitors, who’s fans appeared the happier of the two. But the carry on before and afterwards and the resultant hysteria does nothing for the image of our game, so whoever knows these kids/young adults, please pull them aside and tell them to pull their heads if they care for the game. If they don’t, tell them they aren’t welcome, which is pretty much the point made by fellow blogger Mike Salter, who was at the game.

QR 3 v WP 0

The Roar are flying and still have improvement in them. In truth though, this game turned on the red card to Elrich for a silly swinging elbow a third of the way in. While the Roar had looked the more dangerous up until then, suddenly they were able to relax and get their young wide men in the game, and once that happened, it was bad news for Christie and Lochhead. Some of the Roar build-ups were patient and easy on the eye, and one memorable one in the first half saw the ball knocked around from right to left and back to the right again for at least 10 passes until space was created for Seo to blast one across the keeper. Top stuff. Yet for all their domination, the Phoenix were holding on, scrambling well, until Farina took off his holding midfielder, McLaren, and brought on the direct Marchino. Suddenly the Roar had a player who could up the ante, and it was he who started driving forward, getting into the box and linking up with his compatriot Reinaldo, confidence booming after finally getting one last week. With the two midfield pocket-rockets (McKay and Murdocca) and the two wide pocket-rockets (Kruse and Zullo) lending support, it was a matter of time, and after the first came the flood. Marchino’s work in making the first and finishing the third were sublime, while Reinaldo’s Viduka-esque back-flick was that of a man on top of his game. Meanwhile, Kruse and McKay played a lovely hand in creating the second, while Zullo’s pace in creating the third was breathtaking. Indeed, the Roar are flying, but there are still plenty of tests ahead.


TRBA team of the week (3-4-3)

Goalkeeper; Bolton (SFC)
Defence; Seo (QR), Muscat (MV), Vidmar (CCM)
Midfield; Pondeljak (CCM), Colosimo (PG), Jedinak (CCM), Marchino (QR)
Forwards; Reinaldo (QR), J Aloisi (CCM), Rukavytsya (PG)