ON Friday morning when Miron Bleiberg said he was going to "keep Perth guessing", I bet Dave Mitchell never suspected that Gold Coast United wouldn't even turn up for the first half.
I'd love to take a wild guess at what Miron's opening tactics were, but that's clearly impossible because nearly every Gold Coast touch was so abysmal. Any pre-arranged tactics simply didn't matter.
As the clock ticked towards half time, a word began creeping into my brain. A horrible word I have heard all too often on these pages. I tried to block it out, but to no avail.
The boys in blue and gold seemed to be always delaying their passes just that fraction of a second too late. We were taking on our opposing numbers, but losing every time. The Glory players were taking possession off us like candy from a baby. A massacre was in the making.
We had never been in this place, even against Newcastle. There seemed only one way to explain it. Was this divine retribution for the Gold Coast's supposed 'arrogance'? God forbid!
But then, mercifully, something wonderful happened. And I was not too surprised, because I have seen it happen before.
Jason Culina dropped all the way back line to the defensive line to collect the ball. I love it when he gets really, really angry. It makes all the suffering worthwhile.
Culina smacked the ball 60 meters forward, right onto the chest of Smeltz. A few minutes later, he did the same thing again. How the hell does he do that?
Suddenly the momentum of the game shifted. The TV guys didn't pick up on it. They were still indulging in slow motion replays when the first goal whipped in. Pow! What was that?
The second goal was like another bee sting. Thwack! Bang. Three points gone for Perth.
From then on, it was just a question of whether Gold Coast could pull off a win. It wasn't to be, of course, but at least the footballing planets were back in alignment. And don't give me your Matthew Breeze complaints - he was all Perth in the first half!
Anyway, at least Perth fans got to see the majestic GCU machine in action, something which Newcastle fans completely missed. I am expecting to see these two teams in the Grand Final.
I'm also expecting to see more of Gol Gol Mebrahtu. He did well, and Miron loves him. Just don't tell Andrew Barisic, who is going to rip up the Youth League while waiting for his chance in the top squad. Bravo to our new kids on the block for their debut win!
