Pictures

One of the Argentinian training ship in the harbour, and one for general interest, back from Langkawi.




Jackfruit

So peaceful...

Phoenix 2 - 1 Sydney FC

Sydney were flying and the Phoenix struggling to play with any fluency or style. Surely this would be an utterly predictable game?
Well, no. It started that way. Pretty even, but the Phoenix a little fragile. It was an odd line-up. 4-4-2 (which was nice) and no Ferrante (even nicer) but different keeper, Dodd returned to his rightful centre back slot (harsh on the better ball-player Durante and McKain, but they were injured/ill). Moss replaced by Paston (a better dominator of the area, but weaker on shots). Brown (finally!) and Johnson in the middle with Gao and Kwasnick on the flanks.
Sydney took the lead fairly early on, but didn't really look any better than our lot. Paston is strong in the air, and Dodd is so powerful and good at judging headers. Ben Sigmund was a surprise selection at centre-back, being a short and muscular midfielder by trade, but he put in a very effective performance. But I can't help feeling this reflects badly on Sydeny. They were niggly and poor, assisted by an inept referee. But their goal was pretty good, a looping header over the tall but non-jumping Paston.
But the Phoenix stayed strong. Sydney had a bit of swagger about them (helped by the referee's tolerance of their antics), but didn't really threaten again. Gao was easily the stand-out player of the half, showing self-belief and no little skill to constantly probe, but Brown and Johnson were failing to get up there. The equaliser was more of a surprise because we have scored so few, rather than because it wasn't deserved. Kwasnick getting good mileage out of the full back and crossing for Smeltz to glance a fine header home.
I don't recall Sydney getting much of a sniff after that. There was a worrying sign that the Phoenix might be settling for a draw when the ordinary Coveny was withdrawn to be replaced by Christie and Gao (either marked out of the game or not supported by his teammates) by Ferrante. Christie's lack of pace was more than made up for by his superb first touches today, and Ferrante showed glimpses of quality in his gaining of possession. Both were instrumental in the attacks that, eventually, led to the winner. Brown had had a good game. Nothing spectacular, but doing the job imagined of him. Uncompromising and old-fashioned, he thundered around without showing any great flair, but an indomitable attitude. He then picks up the ball just outside the box and, seeing the typical lackof movement, has a go. It wasn't hit the cleanest, but it was aimed right in the corner and the keeper must have been unsighted by the defender and it rolled into the corner. That felt soooooo gooooooood.
MoM was Leilei Gao for me: he played with heart and skill through the first half, when there was precious little to cheer about. But Brown and the centre backs deserve much credit as well.

Did you miss me?

I've been working. And I mean properly. This is annoying, now that I no longer get paid by the hour, but it has to get done. Realising that it doesn't matter how much I work, it still ain't gonna get done is not going to help.
So you've missed out on the Marist tournament and the Homeric journey to return for the Phoenix match.

Phoenix 2-4 Melbourne

Well, that was annoying. A promising start, a decent 4-4-2 formation (although Kwasnik was dropping a little deeper than I like), Daniel looking keen and Johnson getting a start. The same back 4 retained should have been a good thing, as consistency of selection should lead to consistency of form.
But Allsopp for Melbourne is really good. Far too strong and experienced for poor Manny Muscat, and so was Ney Fabiano. With the referee seeming to miss much of the action, they physically dominated the Phoenix defence. Johnson started sharp but faded quickly (although, interestingly, he re-asserted himself impressively in the late stages). Daniel stopped playing wide and did his usual, nearly useful, tricks. Hearfield looked excellent with good pace and sharp skills. But they did us proper, like. Defensive muddles and stupid decisions left us vulnerable to the savvy of the forwards, and they made us pay in spades. The opening goal was soft, with Manny poorly positioned, allowing Allsopp to attack and then cut inside with Moss failing to make the save. Blame the slippery surface if you like. I don't. Crikey - that might even have been the second! I can't remember.
We got back into it with a Smeltz goal - he looks so sharp and motivated. But he always looks unhappy later, as his efforts look to have been wasted by other players.
The Victory went ahead again (possibly with the goal described earlier) and the Phoenix were awarded a penalty which wasn't especially controversial from my angle. But then the same thing happened for Victory.
I have no idea where it went wrong (although Ricki's tactics and Ferrante's presence rather swing my blame allocation) but this was not good enough. So many encouraging signs, wasted by the fact that the Victory strikers got so much joy out of our defenders. Maybe we just don't play niggly enough? The ref doesn't give the fouls, so they pay off.
Hearfield, Smeltz, Coveny and even Christie come out okay, but the others need seriously to look at what happened today.

Well, that was no fun

A draw in a football game against decent opposition is not really disappointing, but my role in it is of immense frustration. I have many failings, but a lack of honesty is not there. The second half of the game I refereed. It was all fine until there was a controversial offside decision. I called it as I saw it and there followed a lot of abuse and confrontation. No fun at all. And I didn't play the second half at all, even though my first half performance was just fine.

Horrible game in a poor day.

Spot the difference

Can you guess which one of these medal counts is taken from Fox News, and which from the BBC? As a clue, the BBC is in Britain, and Fox News in the US...




But, to give balance (and to my surprise) here's the ABC in Australia...

The draw that feels like a loss

Wellington Phoenix 1-1 Queensland Roar
The names have been changed (largely) but the performance was so similar to early last season that it was again immensely frustrating. McKain and Durante had less understanding than Dodd and McKain last week; Muscat looked less assured at right back than left; Leilei Gao was replaced by Daniel whose every stupid, wasteful decision was cheered by the crowd; Smeltz was offside; Kwasnik played deep and lacked influence; Dodd in midfield was ponderous (taking over the 'lummox' role from Aloisi). And then there is Ferrante. Appropriately-initialled MF, he offers little going forward, his sideways play blocks his partner at defensive midfield, his limited control drops him in trouble and his unambitious decision-making perpetually frustrates.
Maybe more blame needs to attach to the coach. The lack of width must come as a strategic instruction and the pairing of poor distributors must be a selection he makes (with Wriggler's hero Richard Johnson on the bench).
But. We didn't lose, and Smeltz scored with a superb finish (after a lovely pass from Daniel).