King Ange didn't sleep well last night. He dreamt he was at Suncorp and looked up to find the Grand Final score was 2-1 against his precious team.
Although he tried to make a couple of clever substitutions it was to no avail. Instead of finding space at the back, his speedy little attackers slammed into the gigantic forms of Zwaanswijk and Wilko who boomed "none shall pass !"
Without the need to pursue another goal, his opponents simply parked a big yellow bus at the back. And then the ultimate horror : Ange is confronted with the sight of the toilet seat being held aloft by someone he's certain is too tall to be Matt McKay.
He wakes up in a cold sweat, knowing full well that he will have the same dream again tonight and every night for the next ten days. The Mariners have murdered sleep, Arnie has murdered sleep. In days to come the crown will rest heavy on Ange's head.
While it may sound melodramatic, anyone who was at Suncorp last Saturday night will have smelt the fear. All the perfumes of Arabia could not rival the sweetness of that scent. I wish every Mariners' fan and player past and present could have been there to be part of that moment, to witness the stunned, terrified silence that descended on 25,000 Roar fans after Bozanic's beautiful goal.
It was worth flying to Brissy just to see the sheer panic on Ange's face as he left the pitch at half-time and to walk around the stadium savouring the worried expressions of Roar fans. Their sense of entitlement suddenly looked shaky and like most high flyers they had not seen it coming. "We thought it would be an easy game" said Ange afterwards. Oh please ! We're The Mariners, not Gold Coast ! But hey, keep up the arrogance, it only makes it more enjoyable to watch you squirm.
Watching The Mariners at Suncorp was a moment of sublime pride for me and showed just how far this team can go. They fear nothing, they are capable of anything. Who could possibly doubt that without the necessity to find a third goal we might not have kept the score line 2-1 ? Or that a different linesman may have ruled Roar's first goal offside ?
Perhaps a referee with some knowledge of performance skills might have noticed the terrible acting of Thomas Broich, a man who drops to the ground and rolls over like he's on fire whenever an opponent comes near. To be fair, maybe he was simply stunned to be facing Bojic, the fittest man in the A-League and fainted in shock. "OMG ! Aren't you the guy from Cleo?"
Either way, Pedj's second yellow was ridiculous and it disgusts me to see how easily a ref can be duped in such an important match. Luckily we have the depth in our squad to face GCU without him, in fact perhaps we should simply rest half the squad and put the Youth Team boys out again. Let's face it, nobody (except for Ange and Miron) wants to see GCU in the Final. Of course Ange wants to face the easiest opponents and Miron just wants to make the ACL.
But guess what ? Nobody else would care ! Roar vs GCU would be a dull one-sided contest which wouldn't be good for the A-League. Mariners vs Roar however, could set Suncorp alight.
Whoever does end up playing in the Grand Final, I hope their fans receive better treatment from security than was evident at Suncorp last Saturday. When Roar scored their first goal, for example, a very drunk guy (NOT wearing a Roar shirt, so please don't defend him) lurched into the away bay and started throwing beer and random punches at Mariners fans. A family with kids were forced to move. The police took a considerable time to intervene.
In fact, the security around the away bay seemed more concerned with policing Mariners fans than stopping Roar fans invading us. As we were massively outnumbered (about 25,000 - 60) this made my kids feel very threatened, especially at the end of the match.
And having sat in this Bay (315) for half the match, I must repeat my assertion that this is a terrible place to put away fans. The Yellow Army had nowhere to hang their banners and fan interaction with players / Roar supporters was almost impossible. I believe away supporters deserve a better and BIGGER spot in the stadium for the Final but it seems the FFA don't agree.
To add insult to injury they're selling tickets this week to Roar fans and the general public BEFORE the outcome of the GCU/CCM match. Not to mention the massive hike in ticket prices which put them beyond many ordinary families. (And there were many families at Suncorp on Saturday - the A-League needs them).
Let's get this straight, Ben. A small group of us are crazy enough to put up with anything for our beloved A-League, the majority are not. This is not the way to expand your market and disrespects those who already loyal.
Losing the Grand Final 2-1 to The Mariners in a half-full Suncorp ? Now that really would be Ange's (and Ben's) worst nightmare.
