GOLD Coast Utd may still be sitting comfortably on top of the A-League ladder after seven games despite the poor display last weekend, but an uncomfortable trend seems to be emerging.
United's first-half performances really have been below par. Yes, the team has won four and drawn one of seven games, but the story isn't quite so pleasant when you consider only results to the 45 minute mark.
In summary, those results are:
Brisbane Roar 0-1 GCU
GCU 1-0 Nth Queensland Fury
Adelaide 0-1 GCU
Newcastle Jets 1-0 GCU
GCU 1-0 Sydney
Perth Glory 2-0 GCU
Central Coast Mariners 1-0 GCU
That's still 4 wins, but disturbingly the team is yet to score more than 1 goal. While the defensive record is impressive with 4 first-half clean sheets, this sort of stoic performance is not what Gold Coast fans have been promised by Miron and his all-star attacking forces.
When considering the actual quality of performance by United, the story is even worse. Newcastle, Central Coast and Perth were all significantly better (and disturbingly these were three of the last four performances), while Sydney and Brisbane could argue to have at least equalled the league-leaders for the first 45. Against Fury, Gold Coast dominated but must be disappointed that it took until the second half for the limes to be put away.
Only against Adelaide could the first-half performance be considered an out-and-out success given the way United played and Adelaide's reputation for getting results at Hindmarsh. Even then, I'm sure Bleiberg would've preferred a second goal to allow himself a little less shouting during the mid-match team talk.
The question that needs to be asked, then, is why Gold Coast are struggling to score early goals? Only twice has the team scored within the first half-hour of a match. The obvious answer is that with the reputation of United's midfield and attack, all seven matches have seen their opponents attempt to "park the bus".
Certainly Adelaide and Fury attempted it. Other teams have been a little more expansive, but have definitely looked more solid in defence against United than in other games throughout the season. Teams definitely "fire up" to meet the big-spending glitter club and it's something Bleiberg will need to contend with during the season.
The more worrying aspect of the first-half trend, though, is the lack of fire shown by GCU going into matches. On more than one occasion the team has looked disjointed, uninterested and - dare I say it - lazy. It might just be possible that the pampering and praise has gotten to some players in the squad, and they really do think they can go out onto the pitch against any A-League opponent and win without much effort. Nicky Travis and Sean Rooney are hardly Danny Murphy and John Pantsil, after all.
The good news about this is that the 3-0 thrashing against the Mariners should act as a real reality check. Especially without the comfort of Shane Smeltz up front against Victory, I'm expecting a very hungry and aggressive attitude right from the first whistle.
The other good news is that the team, despite some poor first-half performances, has been able to recover more than once to put in some excellent second-half displays. The half-time changes against Roar, Fury and Glory in particular were exceptional and showed real strength in the leadership of Bleiberg and Culina plus strength of character from the entire squad.
What better remedy could there be for last week's insipid display than to thump the reigning champions? And what better way to put to rest the first-half hoodoo than to go 3-0 up in the first half and put on a real show for the fans?
