What do Sydney FC last weekend and the Mariners the weekend before have in common?

They both made their opposition look much better than they actually were. Don't get me wrong both the Roar and the Mariners played well in the first half of their respective games but neither played as well as the score line at half time suggested. Both teams were the beneficiaries of poor defensive work almost school boy errors. Last weekend's complete surrender of the Sydney FC defence may have done the Mariners a real disservice. I guess we will find out over the next few games how good or bad this game was for the attitude of the Mariners squad.

The first goal of the Mariners in military terms could only be compared to the Nazi Germany invasion of Poland that was the catalyst for World War II. The superior German army found they were able to invade the Polish lands in nine days, similarly the Mariners waltzed through the defence of the Sydney FC side. The central defenders putting up little resistance and the resistance that was offered was almost as farcical as the attempts of the Polish Cavalry against the Panzer tanks. If the Mariners had been a little more clinical the score could have been 6 or 7 nil at half time. In realistic terms if the Roar were on the field last Sunday instead of the Mariners the score was likely to have ended up 10 nil at half time.

At the end of the game on Sunday I was really happy with the result, however I have watched the replays in the cold light of day and realised that the Sky Blues were far worse on Sunday than the Mariners were good. Obviously the Sydney squad could only play as well as the Mariners let them however if you took the goals out of the game that came from goal keeping errors and defensive lapses the score was maybe 1 nil or I think more likely a nil all draw. Let me just illustrate my point:

  • First Goal - 29 seconds a cut back from Simon, no real great pace on the ball and it manages to run past two defenders who both wrong foot themselves. The second central defender fails to track the Kwasnik run and the ball finds the net with good contact from Kwasi. This goal is possibly a defensive error or maybe just a good pass. Depends which colour glasses you have on when you watch it.
  • Second Goal - Ball crossed into the 6 yard box. Should be gathered simply by Necevski but somehow he trips over his hands or the ball and fumbles the ball into the waiting feet of Simon who makes no error with slotting the ball for the second score of the day.
  • Third Goal - Another innocuous cross from Matt Simon across the edge of the six yard box which Foxe has covered easily. In what can only be described as a scene from an under sixes game Foxe tries to clear the ball with both feet (missed with his front leg and then tried to use the back leg that was planted to kick the ball as well) and lets the ball run to a hungry Kwasi.
  • Fourth Goal - Well we know that as bad as Sydney FC were playing they could not have meant to score in their own net, right?

So given this evidence you would have to agree the Mariners deserved to score maybe one of the four goals they managed to haul. The Mariners created a few other great chances that could have and possibly should have resulted in goals but they didn't. As my very wise mother would always say ‘if wishes were horses then beggars would ride', likewise ‘if scoring chances were goals Mrdja would be in Barca'. The most attractive of these chances was a dink over the top from Zwannswijk and Kwasnik took the ball first time on the volley only to sting the gloves of Necevski. This piece of skill from Patrich and Adam really deserved to pocket a goal but as is the will of the football gods they only made the keeper look good.

So if the Mariners were to play this game against Adelaide, Gold Coast or Brisbane do any of you think that the Mariners would win?

I hope that Graham Arnold has kept the pressure on this young playing group and showed them that while the win was great for the team and they played well. There was a large amount of luck in getting such a good result. I hope the Mariners players can take a bucket full of confidence and a desire to keep the results coming with hard work. However if the Mariners read too much into this result they may be brought back to earth in a big way by the up and down Glory.

Let all Mariners supporters pray for another 4 - 0 to the Mariners in the near future, but this time I would like to see less luck in the goals.