K-aram92

Griffiths, Bos, Tilio and Cola need to lift. Nabbhut is absolute class! Cmon Melborne!

On that, I know this will sound like excuses, but for the majority of this season we've been playing 3 games a week compared to the others (obviously due to acl commitments). If we do manage to finish top, that's a pretty great achievement given the significant lack in breaks between games compared to everyone else

I'm backing the Mariners to get at least a draw against WU. They're in good form and have a lot to play for. I'm also backing us to go to Perth and knock them off too as they're garbage atm. But you never know And if WU manage to get through the last 3 away games in close succession with enough points to win the plate, then they've deserved top spot

And also when Western have one of the best GKs who's saved them heaps of points

Yeah it was a complete domination. From memory it was like 26 shots to 2 or something, 64% possession. Easily could have scored 5 or 6. But in the end, we played the younger players who haven't had as much game time and whilst we may have scored more with our socceroos front 3, long term it's much better to get minutes into these players and give Nabbout and Leckie a rest. Gonna need everyone fully fit and ready to go to see out the remaining fixtures.

Without having watched BG Pathum vs Jeonnam, it does seem like it'll be between us and BG pathum as to who finishes top. So it's important not only that we keep winning but to keep our GD above theirs so that if it comes down to our match against them to separate the teams (assuming we both win our other games), then at least a draw will be a favourable result for us. One game at a time though. On to Jeonnam in 3 days!! So great to see our youth step up in Asia

Endoh best on ground imo. Very happy with Griffiths too. Some polish needed from Cola and Raphael but that's expected given their age, an otherwise good game from them! Overall very good performance and top of the group!!

Dominant first half. Not clinical enough but if it continues in the second I'm sure we'll score 2-3 more

The players that to me really need to have a big game are Cola, Endoh and Stokes. We know Cola has what it takes to fill in for the star forwards as he did last season in the finals. He needs to bring that tonight. Endoh we have seen so little of him but fingers crossed he steadies the midfield and allows us to avoid those diagonals all the time. Stokes I'm yet to ever really feel comfortable with him in the side, so I just hope he doesn't do anything stupid

Overall felt like a dominant performance up until we took the lead. Then we sat back and gave them more space. Glover absolutely to blame for the equaliser. Need to keep the pressure up play the game in their half. I'm confident if we do that we can get the win

Agreed! Had enough of his poor performances. He just doesn't even look interested either

Might be a dumb question but is this game on Paramount?

So perhaps our line up is: Glover Jenkinson Reis Good Bos/Jamo Griffiths/Gomulka Tilio Endoh Nabbout Macca Leckie It's not the worst line-up but certainly that midfield is the weak spot. Hopefully Endoh can rise to the occasion. And I'm not sure who on the bench would be able to make an impact if the game isn't going our way.

It's been a funny season. I haven't watched any non-city games but clearly every team has had their inconsistent patches. And it is very unusual to see a team at the top of the table not able to beat the 3 teams below them yet still win the plate. But the plate is all about endurance. It's not a sprint. Victory and WU have lifted big time for their games against us because we are their rivals and we are the champions. They've done that quite well this season but then they've clearly not replicated that enough in other games and continually dropped points in games they would consider must-win. We too have thrown plenty of points away but we've been the best at gathering 3 points consistently when we may not have played that well. So imo we deservedly sit at the top of the table and I think now with victory drawing at home to Brisbane, we will win the plate. WU have fallen apart and I don't see Aloisi being able to turn that around for them despite them mathematically still being in the best position

Well unfortunately a 90th minute penalty wasn't converted to have the mariners take all 3 points about Western but nevertheless, Western have dropped points again, giving us another massive opportunity to put some space between us and them. Must win game today!

I think it was Metcalfe

what a joke

Yeah we played expertly with the numerical advantage. Switched the ball often, didn't rush into anything, made Sydney chase us all second half. When they had any brief moment of possession, they had nothing left in the tank to push forward

Best team of the season and absolutely deserve the premiership/championship double! Amazing to think that we didn't have maclaren, good, metcalfe noone and only nabbout available to come off the bench. Most teams would be a shadow of their best when you take almost half of their starting 11 out. We have such a well drilled team and depth everywhere on the park. Such an amazing night and absolutely worth travelling down to Melbourne to see!! Years of suffering, enjoy this moment city fans!

Apologies in advance if there's a thread like this already. Just thought this might be a good place for people who might be unable or unwilling to travel to Melbourne (or wherever the GF is being held) to communicate and potentially meet up at a local bar/pub to watch the GF. I live in Canberra and definitely am keen to travel to Melbourne but should the circumstances change, is there anyone else here in the ACT that are city fans who might wanna meet up and support the boys here? Same goes for other states too

Yeah and am I the only one who doesn't consider Redmayne a genuine loss?

I actually think ccm have the best chance of knocking Sydney off in the semi than any of the other teams. Happy with how it's turned out

Good to see no omissions from the squad. Would have to assume that means Rostyn is fine. Which is huge because he is crucial to the team even if he's started on the bench. Enjoy the day guys!! This is what we've all been waiting for! I'm working 9-7 today so it's gonna be the slowest shift of my life. Also shout out to the guy walking around Braddon yesterday with a heart beanie. Love it! Been wearing my city scarf all week in Canberra where barely anyone watches the A league

I think it's fair enough that Tilio started. He has been lethal off the bench for so long, played exceptionally well as a starter against Perth when Nabbout was unavailable. Would send the wrong message that he should lose his spot just because Nabbout is back when he's available again. That being said, Tilio had a very quiet match so I wouldn't be surprised surprised if Nabbout starts ahead of him next game

I agree. Brisbane are looking like the only genuine threat now, with Adelaide and Sydney repeatedly dropping points. A loss tomorrow will give Brisbane the opportunity to move within 2 points (if they then win their game in hand) and keep their chances alive. But if we win tomorrow I'll be confident the title is ours