The post-communist world is booming. Russia and China may not be paragons of democratic virtue but there is no denying that there’s far greater prosperity all round. People are shopping up a storm. Fortunes are made and lost. Out-bound tourism is at an all-time high.

And yet there is still a section of people out there that crave the predictability of the old days. The days when everyone had little but all had something. The days of “equal sharing of miseries”, as Winston Churchill put it. Life may have been depressing but people knew what the next day entailed. Another queue. Usually for toilet paper.

Or consider a boyfriend who whisks his girl off for a surprise romantic getaway and then spends half his time chatting up waitresses.  Doesn’t talk to her for a week and then spoon feeds her beluga caviar after blindfolding her with a silk scarf. Continually refers to her as the love of his life and then screams at her for putting forks into the spoon section of the cutlery draw.

By now she either thinks he is an utter wanker and does a runner or has been confused and exhausted into a state of absolute submission. A kind of Stockholm Syndrome. Which pretty much describes my post-match state on Saturday night.

So here I am, declaring my somewhat pathetic love for the Sky Blues who have treated me so appallingly this season. When I get my hopes up, they crush them. When I approach the match in a state of depressed resignation, they pull a performance out of their nether regions that astonishes and delights. Now if only Del Piero could blindfold me and feed me some caviar…

Sixteen thousand fans turned up at the Football Stadium, a few dreaming of victory, a few resigned to defeat before the opening whistle and the rest unsure of what to expect. The Italian master aside, there has been so little for the Sydney fan to hang his or her hat on this season that few fans had any idea how to approach this vital fixture.

That sense of confusion may well have transposed itself onto the visiting Central Coast Mariners. Heck, if our own players had no idea how they would perform, why would the opposition be any different?

Tactic 1 – Baffle and confuse. Check.

Tactic 2 – Keep the grass long, denying the Mariners an opportunity to get into their fluent passing game. Check.

Tactic 3 – Put in a defensive performance based on the formula where bravery plus concentration equals success. Check and mate.

It was a wonderful display by the Sky Blues to overwhelm their more highly rated opponents on Saturday night. Some of our passing could improve but overall there is no denying that this was one of our best performances of the season.

The backline finally put in a dominant display and a clean sheet ensued. Tiago was immense, Adam Griffiths threw himself at everything and fullbacks Ryall and Grant were rarely beaten.

I know that Lucas Neill is the national captain and, as Frank Farina stated, “you don’t sign the Socceroo captain to sit on the bench”, but Frankie, PLEASE don’t change the defence! Not now!

Playing Neill matters even less in the context of his suspension for the Oman qualifier so there is no doubt that club selection needs to be made on merit and nothing else. And as things stand, there is no conceivable justification to alter the winning lineup. Fabio would suffer the same fate. It is unfortunate for both but our defence needs to be rewarded for its display of solidity against a side that has scored more goals than any other in the competition.

My player of the match was Terry Antonis, who at last cashed in fully on his mercurial talents. As the great Jack London wrote, “He was justifying his potential, than which life can have no greater; for life achieves its summit when it does to the utmost that which it was equipped to do”.

Antonis’ young footballing life has yet to achieve its summit. But on Saturday night his display came damn close. Forget “What a talent!” How about “What a player!”. In a performance that comprised artistry, vision and fearless determination, he has surely made himself indispensable for the remainder of the season, whatever that may bring.

Central midfield was steel rather than artistry and the combination of McFlynn and Triantis worked well. Yes, there was an occasional misplaced pass but their total output was superb and contributed to Mariners’ demise.

Brett Emerton raised his game to its previous, pre-slump level and his movement and linking with Ryall and Del Piero played no small part in the victory. A champion shoulders a greater burden and must answer his critics. On this display Emerton certainly did. More of the same please.

Del Piero played it clever and kept the visitors on the run with intelligent passing. His one-on-one dribbling was still a massive factor and kept the Mariners guessing, but by releasing the ball early he made sure that Central Coast could never quite settle into a rhythm. He should have had a goal, but Matt Ryan’s save down to his left was world class.

It must have been inspiring for his teammates to watch Joel Griffiths tearing up and down the field, making runs into channels, tracking back and winning the ball on the edge of his box and putting his body on the line time and again. And he was lucky that Patrick Zwanswijk’s stray elbow didn’t connect cleanly with his face. So was Zwanswijk. Griffiths looks as if his hamstring is still not entirely healed so let us all hope he is right for the Big Blue derby.

Those who have met the Sydney players will know what a good bunch they are. But among the best is Joel Chianese. A calm, positive and humble individual with a smile on his face, a joke at the ready and always up for a chat, he is the quintessential all round nice guy.

Which is why it was extra gratifying to see him score after a wonderful one-two with Antonis. Wisely staying onside, Chianese tucked the ball away with ease. After a season marked by injury, frustration and bad luck, Chianese put it all behind him to emphatically state his case. Chianese’s recent cameos have been quality and the goal has been coming for weeks.

Were the visitors bad or did we make them look ordinary? Was their upcoming Wednesday night eliminator against Kashiwa Reysol playing on their collective minds? Are they missing Tom Rogic? Is this the continuation of the traditional curse of the “Mariner Choke”?

Who knows? Who cares? This win was about us.

Fifth spot but still so much to do, and still assured of so little. At least it’s in our hands now.

The gloom has been lifted but no one quite knows for sure which Sydney will turn up on Saturday night to play the visiting Melbourne Victory. With an expected crowd of well over twenty thousand, it should once again be a massive occasion. Let’s hope the boys keep the required intensity and continue our great form at home.

My wish is for the same eleven to start against our traditional Victorian rivals. The players deserve it and it is good coaching to keep a winning formula.

Dare we raise our expectations to contemplate another quality performance? Against another of this season’s powerhouses?

I have no idea.

I have been beaten into a state of confused, exhausted submission.

Que sera, sera.