Round 9 City v Roar 5pm Sunday

[belaguttman]

Lol yet we have scored every game and we were prior to last game inside the top 4 scoring teams

Yes but we have a bad habit of conceding more than we score in most games.

[carlings]

Anyone notice the player were flying into more challenges, appeared to be putting their bodies on the line a lot more than normal. Nothing pleases me more than seeing big paddy line some cunt up and run in straight lines.

[cityzen]

What was with the Muscat chant? From what I could see there was a few bald blokes in that corporate section none of whom were Muscat??? Pls explain

[Cityamatic]

Lol yet we have scored every game and we were prior to last game inside the top 4 scoring teams

Fair call- however my comment wasn't really questioning our ability to score (perhaps I could have worded it better), rather about the ability of our forwards to do so in open play (or set pieces for that matter).

[Harrison]

One of the worst football matches I've witnessed by City. Slow, uninspired play against a timid and uncreative opponent.

 

The penalty wasn't there. Referee saw an attacker go down in the box just after brief contact from a defender. Textbook A-League refereeing right there.

 

Aside from Williams' and Melling's chances, we were hopeless. We were bereft of ideas. Mooy is virtually the only player capable of picking out a forward pass in the forward third.

 

Brisbane were thoroughly disappointing. Losing Broich will make it tough for them to break down opponents, as we saw today.

 

When all is said and done, the three points are ours. Yet, and this is the worrying part, against a decent team, we'd be torn to shreds.

[Kiro Kompiro]

why is that when the 87th minute rolls up, we camp in our own penalty box and can't or the life us win the ball back for the next 7 minutes?

[Kiro Kompiro]

One of the worst football matches I've witnessed by City. Slow, uninspired play against a timid and uncreative opponent.

 

The penalty wasn't there. Referee saw an attacker go down in the box just after brief contact from a defender. Textbook A-League refereeing right there.

 

Aside from Williams' and Melling's chances, we were hopeless. We were bereft of ideas. Mooy is virtually the only player capable of picking out a forward pass in the forward third.

 

Brisbane were thoroughly disappointing. Losing Broich will make it tough for them to break down opponents, as we saw today.

 

When all is said and done, the three points are ours. Yet, and this is the worrying part, against a decent team, we'd be torn to shreds.

 

IMO Glory and Adelaide are the only two really decent teams.  Everyone else we can beat on our day.

[Nate]

 

One of the worst football matches I've witnessed by City. Slow, uninspired play against a timid and uncreative opponent.

 

The penalty wasn't there. Referee saw an attacker go down in the box just after brief contact from a defender. Textbook A-League refereeing right there.

 

Aside from Williams' and Melling's chances, we were hopeless. We were bereft of ideas. Mooy is virtually the only player capable of picking out a forward pass in the forward third.

 

Brisbane were thoroughly disappointing. Losing Broich will make it tough for them to break down opponents, as we saw today.

 

When all is said and done, the three points are ours. Yet, and this is the worrying part, against a decent team, we'd be torn to shreds.

 

IMO Glory and Adelaide are the only two really decent teams.  Everyone else we can beat on our day.

 

Victory are quality, despite having a shit manager and being a generally shit club. 

 

They're up the top of the table for a reason.

[M13]

Spank me with a kipper and call me Charlie... A win!

[Kiro Kompiro]

 

 

One of the worst football matches I've witnessed by City. Slow, uninspired play against a timid and uncreative opponent.

 

The penalty wasn't there. Referee saw an attacker go down in the box just after brief contact from a defender. Textbook A-League refereeing right there.

 

Aside from Williams' and Melling's chances, we were hopeless. We were bereft of ideas. Mooy is virtually the only player capable of picking out a forward pass in the forward third.

 

Brisbane were thoroughly disappointing. Losing Broich will make it tough for them to break down opponents, as we saw today.

 

When all is said and done, the three points are ours. Yet, and this is the worrying part, against a decent team, we'd be torn to shreds.

 

IMO Glory and Adelaide are the only two really decent teams.  Everyone else we can beat on our day.

 

Victory are quality, despite having a shit manager and being a generally shit club. 

 

They're up the top of the table for a reason.

 

 

Yeah I don't rate them, and its not because of the obvious.

 

What i see from them is a very Muscat-like philosophy this season. Stop the opposition first.  I think the game against Adelaide average a foul every 120 seconds and a break in play every 90 seconds.  I've never seen Finkler mouth off and put in dirty tackles, until this season.

 

One thing I will concede is their competitive streak.  They won't beat themselves.

[Thrillhouse]

Anyone go to the post-match meeting?

till about 7:50 i think, I didn't see williams or redmayne. Good to see liam miller turn up when he isn't even here for the whole season

 

First time in a long time where I thought to myself why I'm even going to a game, take the points but we are still so bad going forward 

[sheepdog]

If wr win we win, if we lose we lose

[silva10]

The game today was about stopping conceding goals and earning a win. We achieved that and for me the only thing that matters was that we got 3 points.

 

The defence was shaken up and eventually got it together. Of course there will be tougher tests but when we have been shipping goals like us, a clean sheet is not to be sniffed at.

 

I thought that Duga, Connor and Mooy and Melling were our best players and a big reason for the win. I don't see Brown has a central striker. Much prefer him as a wide man. When Williams came on in the second half we had 3 guys with pace that caused them trouble when we broke.

 

Although Garuccio did well, we need a genuine left back in January.

 

So at least we can be happy for a week and hope they take confidence from the win into the next game.

Edited December 7, 2014 by silva10

[gunheart]

What a difference Connor Chapman makes. A bit of mobility. Also Garrucio into the defence and also a half competent keeper. Who can command the six yard box at least.

Ordinary game though.

Shit game. I didn't want to see Ramsay again so soon. Manager can piss off with Ramsay, Brown. Brown is shocking.

Brown was good today? No

Brown is shit. Evident from today's match. Brown is the colour of shit, Brown is shit FFS. If anyone's shit is a different colour, then put a fucking photo up and show me otherwise. Shit is brown.

[SF33]

I was generally happy with all of the unfamiliar faces that started, although I'm certainly not a big fan of Brown's work. That was the main thing to take out of the game for me: that Velaphi, Garuccio and Chapman all looked quite good and all probably should start in the derby. I also thought Murdocca looked like he could play a regular role as a DM off the bench, if we ever start to find ourselves in the position that we're defending leads late in the game

 

Beyond that, I refuse to look further than the next game, until this team gives us the slightest indication that it can be trusted. Hopefully the rescheduling of the Wanderers game gives Duff and Koren a better chance of getting up.

[jonniek]

Got to give credit to the Brisbane roar players for not necking themselves after losing to us twice

[Thrillhouse]

smallest travelling crowd i've seen in a while too, even ccm had more

[Heart of Melbourne]

Our crowds are dropping each week. 7700 is like the old heart games. Lucky we are playing the scum next home game.

[japiedog]

Our crowds are dropping each week. 7700 is like the old heart games. Lucky we are playing the scum next home game.

Like the good old days

no problems getting food or drinks!

[n i k o]

Melbourne City press well against Brisbane Roar

In a match between two sides struggling for form in the current campaign, it perhaps wasn’t surprising to see a certain level of apprehension in Melbourne City’s 1-0 win over the Brisbane Roar. Arsene Wenger would probably have described it as two teams “playing with the handbrake on”, and while it took a contentious penalty decision for City to claim the three points, their proactive approach in defence meant they were good value for the win.

It’s true that John van ‘t Schip didn’t ask his players to press all the time, and they actually sat back in a “medium block” for the vast majority of the match. But when they did press, they did so in a well-orchestrated and aggressive fashion, and that was enough to trouble Brisbane on a number of occasions.

Typically, City pressed as their opponents tried to play out from the back. Their midfielders would go man-on-man during this process, while the front three would close down Brisbane’s back four at the same time. The most important thing about this was that both the midfield and attack moved forward in unison, and when combined with City’s high defensive line pushing up in support, it meant that Brisbane’s ability to play through the press was limited.

City created a number of chances in transition using this strategy, but the best of these undoubtedly came in the 63rd minute. As Brisbane attempted to play out from a goal kick, City’s press not only forced the opposition to pass back towards their own goal, but also allowed Aaron Mooy to nip in and pinch possession from a ponderous Luke Brattan. Mooy’s well-weighted pass then allowed James Brown to shoot at goal, and although his effort was saved by Jamie Young, it was nonetheless a good example of City’s synchronised pressing game.

City’s win saw them jump ahead of Brisbane and into the top six, but despite that, the most pleasing aspect of the club’s performance was consistency. In contrast to many of their previous outings this season, they defended well for the entire 90 minutes against the Roar, and with this in mind, van ‘t Schip will surely look to use this as a foundation upon which to build for the future.

[Deeming]

Our crowds are dropping each week. 7700 is like the old heart games. Lucky we are playing the scum next home game.

It has to be a concern given we've got over 10,000 members. On those figures ~1/3 of the paid members didn't even show-up.

[jw1739]

Well, I enjoyed the match and we did at least go home with a win to talk about! Overall IMO we played more as a coherent unit, and the new faces justified their inclusions, particularly Chapman and Melling.

 

Pleased to see Tando get a start, and overall he did what he had to. Liked the way on at least two occasions in the second half his quick thinking and distribution got the forwards away and we should have scored on at least one of those occasions. Should hold his place.

 

I agree that Brisbane are all possession and not much bite, but I thought our defence looked better. Hoffman was serviceable, but is frustratingly narrow in his vision; Chapman times his tackles well, Kisnorbo looked more comfortable on the left and seemed a little more motivated than usual, but IMO Garuccio is no full-back. Gave his winger far too much room every time.

 

Midfield OK, especially Melling. Paartalu seemed to have gone up a notch. IMO Mooy's only problem is he takes too many touches to make up his mind where the pass should go, and this is probably why Popovic let him go.

 

Up front nothing changes and we were once again wasteful. Dugandzic is knocked off the ball too easily, although this time it brought us the penalty. I differ from others; I thought the penalty was definitely there. The Brisbane defender was behind Dugandzic and there was contact. Soft maybe, but Heart have copped plenty against them like that and everyone would have been howling had this one not been given. Brown and Duff didn't offer much.

 

Off the bench Murdocca ran around in a few circles but did nothing, and Williams was just plain lazy and butchered the usual opportunity; too much Christmas pudding too early. I think Ramsay possibly touched the ball once in his 20 minutes?

 

 

Main thing for me that we did lift our intensity and looked as though we wanted the match. The usual panic in injury time was there, but I'd say that was more palpable in the stands than on the field.

 

We all know where the problems are, and they won't be fixed overnight, but be happy with the three points.

[Red or Dead]

Great win! I agree with many of you that leaving the stadium in a happy mood was great! It did feel weird; I actually remember thinking, "Hey, I'm not angry...we should win more games!" Lol

 

I really liked JvS's starting formation apart from Brown...he should never have started before Williams IMO. So many times he would just ball watch and not move to make space or get in a position to receive the ball. I don't think he can afford being a 'luxury player' because he's not good enough.

 

Mooy is a level above everyone else.

Melling is determined and goes in hard, I like that about him. He had the case of the Williams yesterday, blasting the ball 10m above the crossbar.

Chapman was great for his first game, I'm not going to miss Wieleart...

Garuccio was miles better than Ramsay at left back, but do agree that we need a natural Left Back.

Hoffman had a couple of nervous moments, but held his own for most of the game

Kisnorbo I think has to stay in the side, he's the captain and is committed to the hard challenges.

Williams was just Williams yesterday, pushed hard, pressured from the front, just needs to get his shots on target.

 

JvS' final sub was good, but perplexing at the same time. Brown needed to come off and Ramsay wasn't a bad choice because he could've put him on the left wing, bring Duga to the right and keep Williams in the centre, however in the late stages were Brisbane was pressing us hard for an equaliser, it seemed like Ramsay was playing as a lone striker.

Considering he had fresh legs and good pace, I would've moved Ramsay back into the midfield to plug any holes, stop Brisbane's flow, get more bodies behind the ball, etc etc etc.

 

Edit: Tando - how can I forget about the boy in green! He was good without being great. I did though notice something that I hadn't with Redmayne; his voice! He was loud, he was commanding and he instructed his defenders on what to do. I don't think I've heard Redmayne yell like Tando did.

 

Would've we have had a cleansheet if Redmayne played? Who knows, but let's hope JvS has found the defensive formula to get this club moving in the right direction.

Edited December 8, 2014 by Red or Dead

[n i k o]

Totally agree about Tando being very vocal and that's the first thing in noticed early in the game.

[stewmac]

Tando doing what every keeper should be doing , talking to his defenders , it's not rocket science it's what keepers are taught to do , he is better than Redmayne but next season I hope we get better options between the sticks

[mattyh001]

 

Our crowds are dropping each week. 7700 is like the old heart games. Lucky we are playing the scum next home game.

It has to be a concern given we've got over 10,000 members. On those figures ~1/3 of the paid members didn't even show-up.

 

 

cant speak for everyone, but i'm sure there are a range of reasons for this.  

 

the country membership only allows for 5 games attendance to allow people who travel a fair distance to support without having to commit to each and every game; i'm sure a number of people with that sort of membership have to be very selective and (given how we have been going) i cant blame them for being cautious about this game.

 

for me (and i'm sure there are others) 5 pm games on a sunday just dont work.  including the time it takes to get through the city, breaks every 2 hours, etc., after the game it is a 7 hour drive back to Mildura - hence i wouldnt even get home until 2 am (at best).  taking public transport means i have to leave the game at half time - not really an option and even then it still gets back at 2 am.  in any case and long story short, it makes it hard to both go to games and balance with work commitments.  would love to rock into work late every monday but will never go down well unless i actually cut down my hours.

 

as for other / newer members, it is a reflection on how shit things have been at the start of the season and how poorly the club has managed different issues.  bringing Villa out was great from a marketing perspective was great, but the club has well and truly fallen short in terms of ongoing quality in the way we play.  there just hasnt been any real substance.

 

imagine if, on the other hand, our results were more reflective of the visitors?  all those new members, bandwagoners, etc., would have seen something successful. however (and regardless of their reason(s) for jumping on board), these new members have paid good money for shite.  they have little to no attachment to the club, so what do expect them to do other than bail?  the club has to do more than just getting its proverbial foot through the door with new members.  it has to create an attachment, some sort of lingering enjoyment so people think their money has been well spent.

 

until then, there is little incentive for new members to remain when and where performances turn to shit.

[MHFCROB24]

Tando doing what every keeper should be doing , talking to his defenders , it's not rocket science it's what keepers are taught to do , he is better than Redmayne but next season I hope we get better options between the sticks

Did notice this and thought good on him, Bit of communication to the defenders was good. I am sure the chanting to Tando would of lifted his confidence too.

[jw1739]

On the attendance...before yesterday we had played 17 Sunday matches for an average attendance of 7,763. And those matches included the "ADP match" and the "David Villa match." So yesterday, our sixth highest Sunday attendance, was right on the average (now 18 matches at 7,760).

[SF33]

 

 

Our crowds are dropping each week. 7700 is like the old heart games. Lucky we are playing the scum next home game.

It has to be a concern given we've got over 10,000 members. On those figures ~1/3 of the paid members didn't even show-up.

 

 

cant speak for everyone, but i'm sure there are a range of reasons for this.  

 

the country membership only allows for 5 games attendance to allow people who travel a fair distance to support without having to commit to each and every game; i'm sure a number of people with that sort of membership have to be very selective and (given how we have been going) i cant blame them for being cautious about this game.

 

for me (and i'm sure there are others) 5 pm games on a sunday just dont work.  including the time it takes to get through the city, breaks every 2 hours, etc., after the game it is a 7 hour drive back to Mildura - hence i wouldnt even get home until 2 am (at best).  taking public transport means i have to leave the game at half time - not really an option and even then it still gets back at 2 am.  in any case and long story short, it makes it hard to both go to games and balance with work commitments.  would love to rock into work late every monday but will never go down well unless i actually cut down my hours.

 

as for other / newer members, it is a reflection on how shit things have been at the start of the season and how poorly the club has managed different issues.  bringing Villa out was great from a marketing perspective was great, but the club has well and truly fallen short in terms of ongoing quality in the way we play.  there just hasnt been any real substance.

 

imagine if, on the other hand, our results were more reflective of the visitors?  all those new members, bandwagoners, etc., would have seen something successful. however (and regardless of their reason(s) for jumping on board), these new members have paid good money for shite.  they have little to no attachment to the club, so what do expect them to do other than bail?  the club has to do more than just getting its proverbial foot through the door with new members.  it has to create an attachment, some sort of lingering enjoyment so people think their money has been well spent.

 

until then, there is little incentive for new members to remain when and where performances turn to shit.

 

 

And little incentive for the opposition supporters to travel either, particularly if their team is rubbish as well and they're not confident of a win.

 

But, no matter how you slice it, getting less than 8k when the membership is over 10.5k would and should be a cause of concern for the club. We'll obviously get a huge crowd for the next home game, but the only way to keep people coming is by continuing to get good results.

[Kiro Kompiro]

RE: the penalty.

 

I don't get the "its a soft penalty".

 

 As striker running at full speed, a defender behind puts his arm on the striker's shoulder and makes body contact as well, and its enough to knock the striker off balance and fall forward.

 

Look at this way: why as a defender you would even think about putting your arm over the striker shoulder on the referees side in the penalty box, unless it was a goal scoring opportunity you were trying to thwart?

 

Clear penalty.

[pattyd89]

 

Our crowds are dropping each week. 7700 is like the old heart games. Lucky we are playing the scum next home game.

It has to be a concern given we've got over 10,000 members. On those figures ~1/3 of the paid members didn't even show-up.

 

 

Was saying with a mate of mine at the game, Sunday 5pm is such a putrid time slot. Especially for families bringing kids. The game finishes 7/7:30 by the time you get out etc, that's dinner time, so if you go home and cook, it'll be 9 by the time you eat after the drive home. Too late, so means you have to eat out which means for most families time to get their young kids ready for bed. 

 

Look at Sydney on a Saturday night, more electric, more vocal and more support. People can go out afterwards, families don't have to get their kids ready for bed for school etc.

 

As for everyone else, lack of winning, Sunday 5pm, the rain, etc. all contributing factors.

 

As for opposition fans, well we are such a big country it's way too hard to travel considering last minute flights are $200, accommodation pushes over $100 a night.

[Kiro Kompiro]

The crowd dropping is due to the same reason Heart never got a foothold like it should have:  Shit football.

[japiedog]

The crowd dropping is due to the same reason Heart never got a foothold like it should have:  Shit football.

so true , my bru

[Paulski]

Agree. Given the quality of our recent performances, 70% of our members attending on a shit weather Sunday evening was not too bad.

As a St.Kilda member(30,000 membership), we had plenty of games last year where only 15k attended. No that's shit!

Shit performances = Shit crowds.

[SF33]

 

 

Our crowds are dropping each week. 7700 is like the old heart games. Lucky we are playing the scum next home game.

It has to be a concern given we've got over 10,000 members. On those figures ~1/3 of the paid members didn't even show-up.

 

 

Was saying with a mate of mine at the game, Sunday 5pm is such a putrid time slot. Especially for families bringing kids. The game finishes 7/7:30 by the time you get out etc, that's dinner time, so if you go home and cook, it'll be 9 by the time you eat after the drive home. Too late, so means you have to eat out which means for most families time to get their young kids ready for bed. 

 

Look at Sydney on a Saturday night, more electric, more vocal and more support. People can go out afterwards, families don't have to get their kids ready for bed for school etc.

 

As for everyone else, lack of winning, Sunday 5pm, the rain, etc. all contributing factors.

 

As for opposition fans, well we are such a big country it's way too hard to travel considering last minute flights are $200, accommodation pushes over $100 a night.

 

 

I'm all for going on at least one road trip to support the club per season, but in planning that, I'd look at the fixture and put a cross next to any game on a Sunday, especially a game that kicks off after 3pm.

[cityzen]

Did anyone take photos at this game?

[Jovan]

 

 

 

Our crowds are dropping each week. 7700 is like the old heart games. Lucky we are playing the scum next home game.

It has to be a concern given we've got over 10,000 members. On those figures ~1/3 of the paid members didn't even show-up.

 

 

Was saying with a mate of mine at the game, Sunday 5pm is such a putrid time slot. Especially for families bringing kids. The game finishes 7/7:30 by the time you get out etc, that's dinner time, so if you go home and cook, it'll be 9 by the time you eat after the drive home. Too late, so means you have to eat out which means for most families time to get their young kids ready for bed. 

 

Look at Sydney on a Saturday night, more electric, more vocal and more support. People can go out afterwards, families don't have to get their kids ready for bed for school etc.

 

As for everyone else, lack of winning, Sunday 5pm, the rain, etc. all contributing factors.

 

As for opposition fans, well we are such a big country it's way too hard to travel considering last minute flights are $200, accommodation pushes over $100 a night.

 

 

I'm all for going on at least one road trip to support the club per season, but in planning that, I'd look at the fixture and put a cross next to any game on a Sunday, especially a game that kicks off after 3pm.

 

Seriously were stuck with 5pm sunday until we finish higher up the ladder. Both my kids asleep on the way home and no dinner. Wife not happy. 

 

We won, so its ok, if we lost, boy would i be in trouble.

[mulhollanddrive]

Typical Heart/City result.

 

Just do enough with a soft penalty to keep the coach's job another week.

[bt50]

Typical Heart/City result.

 

Just do enough with a soft penalty to keep the coach's job another week.

Id say its the opposite. We never grind out wins...

[thisphantomfortress]

Typical Heart/City result.

 

Just do enough with a soft penalty to keep the coach's job another week.

 

The opposite actually, refer to below.

 

Nice to see the team grind out a win for once. This is only the club's 3rd 1-0 win since December 2012, with the last 1-0 win coming in February this year, and the last one before that December 2012. The team doesn't get enough of these 'business-like' wins.